Perfect for the new Outbrain user, we'll take you through using the Outbrain platform and the key optimizations you need to make to get your campaign among the top performing content on our network.
How to Create a Social Media Plan Like a Pro - Jordan Scheltgen
Campaign Optimization Tips for Success
1. The
Webinar
Will
Begin
Shortly:
• All
participants
will
be
muted
• For
audio,
select
“Mic
&
Speakers”
in
your
GoToWebinar
control
panel
• To
submit
Q&A,
use
the
“Questions”
tool
in
the
control
panel
Outbrain CampaignOptimization: Tips forSuccess
#OBwebinar
2. • How
we
recommend
your
content
• Best
practices
for
campaign
creation
• Optimizing
for
Outbrain success
• Interpreting
your
Outbrain
data
• Q&A
Session
#OBwebinar
TODAY’S WEBINARAGENDA
3. • Outbrain
has
more
than
45
algorithms
working
together
to
recommend
each
piece
of
content
to
the
most
interested
reader
across
our
network
• The
algorithms
largely
fall
into
the
following
buckets:
• Personal:
things
we
know
each
reader
likes
• Behavioural:
readers
who
like
this,
also
read
this
• Contextual:
related
to
what
you
are
reading
• Popular:
content
trending
across
our
network
HOW WERECOMMENDYOUR CONTENT
4. • Outbrain’s
algorithms
automatically
serve
all
titles
in
a
campaign
to
try
and
appeal
to
as
wide
an
audience
as
possible
• After
the
initial
‘exploration’
phase,
which
can
last
a
day
or
two,
the
algorithms
will
automatically
optimise
towards
the
most
interesting
titles
in
the
campaign
HOW WERECOMMENDYOUR CONTENT
12. • Set
Google
Analytics
campaign
UTM
using
Google’s
Tool
URL
Builder
• Suggested
tagging
UTM_Medium
=
Discovery
UTM_Source
=
Outbrain
UTM_Campaign
=
Campaign
Name
• We
can
also
add
dynamic
content
to
your
tracking
codes
1.
Tracking:
Identify
the
Correct
Traffic
#OBwebinar
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
14. Acquisition
>
All
Traffic
#OBwebinar
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
1.
Tracking:
15. Measure
bounce
better
#OBwebinar
• Google
defines
a
bounce
when
a
reader
doesn’t
take
any
action
on
the
page
so
a
reader
may
have
read
the
entire
page
but
will
still
be
counted
as
a
bounce
• Define
what
a
bounced
visit
means
to
you
• Define
engagement
on
the
page
• Set
up
Google
Analytics
engagement
events
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Day
1 Day
2 Day
3 Day
4 Day
5 Day
6 Day
7
Bounce
Rate
No
Engagement
Events Engagement
Events
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
1.
Tracking:
16. Measure
time
on
page
better
#OBwebinar
• Google
defines
Time
on
Page
as
the
time
spent
going
from
one
page
to
another
• We
redefined
our
Time
on
Page
google
event
as
time
spent
on
the
page
the
user
entered
• Minimal
time
for
engagement
on
content
0:00:00
0:14:24
0:28:48
0:43:12
0:57:36
Day
1 Day
2 Day
3 Day
4 Day
5 Day
6 Day
7
Time
on
Site
No
Timing
Events Timing
Events
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
1.
Tracking:
19. Person
signs
up
for
the
Allstate
newsletter
PROMOTED
STORIES
Top
10
Things
to
Look
for
in
a
Used
Car
Inspection
Allstate
Blog
Person
doesn’t
sign
up
for
the
Allstate
newsletter
Lookalike
audiences
will
see
this
story
MORE
Lookalike
audiences
will
see
this
story
LESS
How does itwork?
Person
clicks
to
marketer’s
site
Person
sees
marketer’s
recommendation
24. #OBwebinar
Click
here
to
access
this
E-‐book.
3.
Headlines:
Be
strategic
by
using
data
to
drive
your
headline
creation
– there’s
an
e-‐book
for
that
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
25. 3.
Headlines:
The
more
content
and
headlines
you
test,
the
better
your
campaign
will
perform
#OBwebinar
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
160%
180%
>5
Headlines >10
Headlines >20
Headlines
CTR
Improvement
(over
1
headline)
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
30. • Competition
is
fierce
• Monitor
frequently
• Ensure
your
CPC
is
optimized
when
geo-‐targeting
4.
CPC
Start
with
a
higher
CPC
to
build
your
reach,
then
optimize
down
over
time.
#OBwebinar
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
33. 4.
CPC
Start
with
a
higher
CPC
to
build
your
reach,
then
optimize
down
over
time
#OBwebinar
$0.00
$0.01
$0.02
$0.03
$0.04
$0.05
$0.06
$0.07
$0.08
$0.09
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
Clicks
eCPC
OPTIMIZINGFORSUCCESS
41. LET’S
RECAP
WHAT
WE
KNOW
• Outbrain’s
algorithms
automatically
serve
all
title
in
a
campaign
across
the
network
of
publishers
to
try
and
appeal
to
as
wide
an
audience
as
possible
• After
the
initial
‘exploration’
phase,
which
can
last
a
day
or
two,
the
algorithms
will
automatically
optimise
towards
the
most
interesting
(in
our
case,
clickable)
titles
in
the
campaign
FOR
THIS
REASON…
• There
will
never
be
an
even
distribution
of
traffic
between
all
titles
• Outbrain
will
serve
the
titles
that
have
the
most
traction
with
readers
across
the
network
Interpreting the TopArticles
42. • CTR
acts
as
a
‘quality
score,’
or
in
our
case
an
‘interest
score’
to
put
the
most
interesting
pieces
of
content
in
front
of
readers
• CTR
and
CPC
are
the
two
metrics
by
which
the
algorithms
recommend
your
content.
Interpreting CTR & CPC
43. • When
a
campaign
starts,
the
system
automatically
serves
a
certain
number
of
impressions
to
each
article
in
the
campaign
• During
this
phase,
the
system
‘explores’
the
content
to
find
interested
readers
across
the
network
• For
this
reason,
a
campaign
can
take
a
day
or
two
to
really
pick
up
traction
Why is mycampaign slowinthe beginning?
44. There
are
a
number
of
reasons
a
campaign
can
slow
down.
Here
are
a
few
common
ones:
• Did
you
drastically
lower
the
CPC?
• Did
you
take
out
any
top
performing
articles?
• Was
it
the
weekend
(or
other
slow
period,
like
a
holiday)?
• Did
you
extend
the
campaign’s
end
date
(stretching
the
budget
and
making
it
smaller
each
day)?
Why is there abig dip inmytraffic?
45. CAMPAIGN PERFORMANCE
is onlyas goodas its driver
Leverage OURTools
• Optimize
your
campaign
regularly
• Test
headlines
and
images
• Review
your
CPC
and
budgets
• Manage
and
add
content
• Utilize
our
resources
48. Discrepancy: YouTubestats
A:
It
is
NOT
a
web
analytics
issue,
but
unique
issue
with
YouTube’s
own
YouTube
Analytics
report
(free)
• YouTube
Analytics
does
NOT
count
auto-‐start.
It
counts
proactive
click
on
play.
• YouTube
Analytics
has
an
anti-‐fraud
process,
which
pauses
tracking
after
a
burst
of
visits
from
the
same
source
URL.
Do:
If
quantifying
the
number
of
video
views
on
YouTube
video
is
important
to
the
client,
• Do
not
use
auto-‐start
(not
the
best
usability
idea
but
it
works
for
YouTube
Analytics)
• Embed
the
video
on
a
web
page,
use
Google
Analytics
(or
other)
to
account
for
landing
from
campaign.
Q:
Client
amplified
videos
on
their
page
on
YouTube.com.
50,000
visits
delivered
in
campaign.
Client
says
they
only
see
15,000
video
play
although
video
plays
automatically
each
time
the
page
is
accessed.
Why
the
big
gap?
YouTube
Analytics
‘Views
report’:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1714329?hl=en&ref_topic=3029003
Amplify
49. Conversiontracking
A:
• Analytics’
conversion
tracking
generally
work
only
if
the
campaign
click
leads
the
user
directly
to
the
client’s
website
in
which
analytics
reports
on
(need
to
arrive
with
campaign
tracking
code
or
referrer
identification
in
order
to
associate
conversion
with
the
campaign).
• Outbrain can
account
for
conversion
events
as
a
result
of
campaign
click,
regardless
of
paths
taken
to
get
to
the
conversion
event.
• e.g.
Campaign
drive
traffic
to
earned
content.
Conversion
is
defined
as
visit
to
product
page
on
the
brand
website.
Q:
Outbrain
has
conversion
pixel
(aka
‘optimisation
code’).
How
different
is
it
from
what
the
client
can
get
from
GA
Amplify