Here's another fancy word to add to the list of terms hanging on your corkboard - "optimization." Chances are, you're hearing it from every online ad network as they explain their targeting
capabilities. So what exactly is optimization? Without getting too geeky, it's an automated process (generally based on sophisticated mathematical formulas) that allows ad servers to place the
most relevant ads in the optimal locations. More simply put, depending on your campaign goals - number of impressions, click-throughs, or conversions - ad servers can tell you which of your
ads are most effective on what sites and adjust your campaigns accordingly. It's hard to tell who pioneered the concept, but almost every ad network offers some sort of "proprietary"
optimization technology, especially firms offering buys on a cost-per- click model. And for those that don't, MarketSwitch today introduced a new tool they call Real Time Ad Network Optimizer,
which integrates with several ad servers, including DoubleClick's DART. Of course, MarketSwitch is claiming to offer the "only solution available today that allows advertisers to move beyond the
inefficient rules-based ad placement strategies," but that's debatable. So, it's no longer a question of "will you optimize my campaign." Rather, it's a question of how well a network can
automate the process of buying a run-of-network test campaign, seeing what ads work best where, going back to the drawing board and adjusting, adjusting, adjusting...