nRelate Gives Publishers Control Of Native Ad Quality

nRelate, which was acquired by Ask.com in 2012, has developed an ad quality tool in an interactive dashboard that gives publishers editorial control over the type of native advertisements
that serve up on their Web sites and the revenue generated.

The feature -- nControl -- is built into the nRelate platform and assigns a "maturity" level from zero to 100, depending on the image and keywords that appear in the ad. Publishers move a sliding bar to control the type of ads that serve up on their sites. They can either use the bar to block individual ads or a group of ads by viewing the images and keywords.

Richard Blakeley, director of digital products and strategy for online news publication The Week, has been testing the dashboard, and said ad adjustments happen in real-time with a click. Digital Trends, Smithsonian, Ask.com, and Gamespot also use the platform.

nControl also provides publishers with a view of their current and projected revenue-per-impressions (RPM) based on the quantity and types of ads they decide to either block or allow to serve up on their site. This helps publishers determine the correct balance between their readers' best interests and their revenue objectives.

All ads rated above 50 are blocked from reaching readers, if the publisher sets the slider to only accept ads between 0 and 50, for example. Publishers can adjust the scale at any time. As they move the slider back and forth, it previews the types of ads that would serve up on the site, along with the predicted effect on their revenue.

If the publisher allows salacious or scantily dressed women in ads on a celebrity gossip site, they might have a higher click-through rate, but readers visiting news and technology sites might not want to see those types of ads because they might find them offensive. The feature gives publishers editorial control over the ads.

Readers will only tolerate a certain amount of garbage on the site. The feature complements a tool already built into the platform that allows readers to filter out content recommendations they would prefer not to see.

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