I am looking into doing some media buying myself, but I must admit it is completely new territory to me. I have a very limited understanding of the process, and I was hoping some fellow forum members can answer a few questions I had.
1) Are the terms ad exchange/ ad server the same thing? They seem to be used synonymously in certain cases, but I wanted to know for sure. Also, I know Google uses DoubleClick to serve their display ads (or at least that's what I am assuming, please correct me if I am wrong), which is why I wanted to know what the differences are between an exchange and an ad server, if any.
2) When making a media buy on a network such as Sitescout or CPX Interactive, who exactly am I bidding against when it comes to my ad placement? Is it just the other advertisers on Sitescout's network who are using the same keywords/ channels as I am, or are there advertisers from other networks involved as well?
3) When making a media buy with a bigger network such as Facebook or Google, do they provide tracking tools for CTR, conversions, etc or is that a separate piece of the puzzle that I acquire on my own? Also, do other networks such as Sitescout typically provide tracking, or is this something I acquire on my own?
Like I said the display/ media buying landscape is pretty foreign to me, so any help/ comments are much appreciated.
1) Are the terms ad exchange/ ad server the same thing? They seem to be used synonymously in certain cases, but I wanted to know for sure. Also, I know Google uses DoubleClick to serve their display ads (or at least that's what I am assuming, please correct me if I am wrong), which is why I wanted to know what the differences are between an exchange and an ad server, if any.
2) When making a media buy on a network such as Sitescout or CPX Interactive, who exactly am I bidding against when it comes to my ad placement? Is it just the other advertisers on Sitescout's network who are using the same keywords/ channels as I am, or are there advertisers from other networks involved as well?
3) When making a media buy with a bigger network such as Facebook or Google, do they provide tracking tools for CTR, conversions, etc or is that a separate piece of the puzzle that I acquire on my own? Also, do other networks such as Sitescout typically provide tracking, or is this something I acquire on my own?
Like I said the display/ media buying landscape is pretty foreign to me, so any help/ comments are much appreciated.
