Publishers faced significant headwinds in the first half of 2023, as last year’s difficult economic conditions continued unabated. At the same time, new challenges emerged — from the proliferation of AI in the digital ecosystem to widespread budget cuts that led to record-setting layoffs in the publishing sector.

Yet there are signs that a post-pandemic, slow return to normal is beginning to take shape with the economy proving resilient. All of this bodes well for consumer spending in the latter half of 2023 – and adjusting your strategy now to optimize for future benefit is key.

In our new H1 2023 Data Insights Report, we examine the trends that shaped the first half of 2023 to understand how they influenced commerce and programmatic results. We also explore three key areas where publishers should focus their attention in the coming months, to increase their chances of success:

1. Protecting your valuable investment in quality content. Today’s reality demands improved efficiency to decrease costs and maximize profit margins. Doing both effectively requires you to identify and broadcast the value of your most engaged audiences, and understand how you can effectively leverage the right tools to help you avoid the high costs of doing so. Our report provides actionable tips for making smarter decisions that drive more results from every dollar.
   
2. Future-proof against uncertainty. Preparing for the future is more important than ever, now that we know the end of third-party cookies is (really) coming in 2024. Read our report for advice on diversifying your revenue streams and how to ensure you have the data to understand all of your audiences, at scale.
   
3. Control your own destiny. The digital publishing industry has been on a wild ride these past few years, from the highs of pandemic-driven online shopping to the lows of inflation and consumer belt-tightening. The best way to insulate yourself from future volatility is to make the most of the assets you have — and embrace the opportunities at hand. Our report tells you how.

Today’s smart digital media leaders are focused on operating a lean, efficient business; locking down their first-party data strategy, and putting operational rigor behind their revenue diversification efforts. This report provides the insights and guidance to help you do the same.

Ready to learn more? 

The post H1 2023: Data Insights to Set Yourself Up for Success  appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

In order to maximize affiliate revenue, you need to know what’s working — and what’s not — in your affiliate marketing program. That’s why Sovrn Commerce includes real-time analytics and robust reporting functionality, so you can analyze your performance and make smarter strategic decisions. 

But if you’re an experienced publisher with a complex program, you need deep insights that go beyond the typical reporting metrics. You may have your own sophisticated software, custom built to analyze your affiliate data and deliver the insights you need to optimize your strategy. You might also work with many different affiliate networks, which means evaluating and comparing unique performance data from each one.

Sovrn now offers an easy way to access your affiliate performance data through a simple API and ingest it into any system you choose. 

Introducing the Sovrn API Developer Center

The Sovrn API Developer Center offers a set of handy APIs to automatically deliver the merchant, link, and reporting data you need — as well as user-friendly guides and in-depth documentation to get you up and running quickly.

The Commerce Real-Time Reports API has two useful features for analyzing affiliate performance. The Transactions feature gives you a full breakout of performance data on every affiliate transaction and a comprehensive view of every monetized link. Data points include:

• Revenue
• Product purchased
• Order value
• Click date
• Click source 
• Country
• Device
• Link URL
• UTM details
• Program type
• Merchant
• Campaign
• And so much more!

Now with the addition of Aggregate Reports, you can set up an automatic download of predefined reports showing how your affiliate income was earned. Each report contains aggregate data on a specific facet of affiliate performance: Merchants, Pages, Links, and Merchandise. The information in these reports is similar to what you’ll find in the Commerce Analytics Dashboard, with some additional data points — and they’re fed into your system automatically via API. 

The Commerce Real-Time Reports API is just one of the useful tools available in the Sovrn API Developer Center — and we’re actively working to enhance and expand our API toolset in the months to come.

Sovrn Commerce APIs make affiliate optimization easy

Our new and improved Commerce APIs run on a single data set — the same data that powers our real-time reporting — to provide consistent, reliable results every time.

Rather than logging into the Sovrn Commerce platform to view program performance through our user interface and run reports, you can simply use our Commerce APIs to ingest data automatically on your preferred schedule. Use our preconfigured reports for a reliable view of affiliate performance through Sovrn, or feed our data into your own system to slice-and-dice it however you choose.

Our Commerce APIs are simple enough for publishers of any size. If you have a need for advanced performance data — and you have a web developer on staff — just visit the Sovrn API Developer Center to get started.

Trust Sovrn for real-time analytics, delivered your way

To thrive in today’s competitive marketplace and deliver what readers want, publishers need to make split-second decisions about what’s working — and what’s not working. So having reliable, real-time performance data is more important than ever. 

Sovrn is committed to giving publishers the best analytics in the market. Our Commerce Dashboard offers real-time affiliate insights, and now — with our Commerce APIs — you can access all your affiliate data in real time, wherever and whenever you need it. No other affiliate partner can offer better, faster, more comprehensive analytics capabilities. 

If you’re already a Sovrn Commerce customer, visit the Sovrn API Developer Center to get started — or contact our support team for more information.

Not working with Sovrn Commerce yet? Sign up now! Once you complete the approval process, you can start earning right away.

The post Real-Time Performance Data Anytime, Anywhere with Sovrn Commerce APIs appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

The 2022 holiday shopping season was a wild one, with unpredictable twists and turns from start to finish. Although retail sales increased slightly compared to 2021, growth was slower than predicted — and rising inflation meant that shoppers were getting less bang for their buck. In response, brands offered deep discounts in an effort to attract more of consumers’ holiday budget.  

Those deals ended up being one of the biggest drivers of holiday success in 2022. Here’s what Sovrn Commerce data tells us about the top categories of the 2022 holiday season — and those that didn’t fare as well.

Top categories of the 2022 holiday season

Holiday promotions started earlier than ever in 2022 and discount rates topped pre-pandemic levels — reaching 30% or more in some retail sectors. In addition, affiliate earnings were significantly above 2021 levels. Our data showed elevated EPCs (earnings per click) during the holiday shopping season, with top merchants paying commission rates in excess of 10%. 

Many of the season’s best-performing categories used a combination of deep discounts and higher commission rates to drive more revenue. This included brands in Sports & Fitness (+90%), as well as Consumer Electronics (+140%). One category that excelled without either of these tactics was the Travel sector (+112%), which benefited from consumers’ pent-up wanderlust and the end of pandemic-related restrictions.

On the flip side, it may seem counterintuitive to call out the top retail category as a poor performer. However, our data shows a 37% dip in year-over-year revenue for Fashion & Accessories. In general, merchants in this sector didn’t increase affiliate commission rates — and many didn’t discount as aggressively as brands in other categories. Both of these factors may have played a role in the revenue decline.

Data insights are key to commerce success in 2023

While 2022 finished relatively strong, continued economic uncertainty and the looming threat of recession make it difficult to plan effectively for the coming year. Conditions are volatile, budgets everywhere are tightening, and merchants are under pressure to prove ROI on their affiliate spend. Publishers are facing significant challenges, but the right data and insights will set you up for future success — regardless of what lies ahead.

Sovrn has the tools and technology to help you make smarter decisions, optimize your commerce strategy, and maximize the value of your revenue opportunities. Here are just a few of the many Sovrn resources that can help make 2023 your best year yet:

Our updated Commerce Analytics dashboard puts performance data at your fingertips in near-real time — rather than the industry average of a full day or more. Insights include:

• Clicks and page views within moments of when they occur
• Revenue data within one hour of the earning event

Our Approved Merchants dashboard has been enhanced with new functionality, including a Preferred Merchants tab to show which merchants are offering the highest commission rates at any given time. 

We’ve also expanded our Commerce reporting capabilities to include:

• Revenue Update report: Granular data like revenue breakdowns, transaction details, and more.
• CUID/UTM report: Link-level performance metrics with UTM tracking parameters and custom tracking identifiers.
• Non-Monetized Click report: Insights into the clicks that did not generate any affiliate revenue.
• Approved Merchants report: A comprehensive list of merchants you’re approved for, including estimated commissions and conversion rates.
• Merchants at Risk report: A list of merchant programs that have recently been paused or canceled, plus your earnings with these merchants over the last 30 days.
• Recommended Merchants report: A list of the top 100 approved merchant programs you haven’t worked with recently. (Check out this video to learn how to pull your personalized report.)

Get started today!

Already a Sovrn Commerce customer? Log in and take advantage of all the tools at your disposal — or reach out to support@sovrn.com to help get you started.

Not working with Sovrn Commerce yet? Sign up now! Once you complete the approval process, you can start earning right away.

The post 2022 Holiday Shopping Recap: Winners, Losers, and What Comes Next appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

This article originally ran on Digiday.com

It seems like only yesterday that publishers were scrambling to understand the ramifications of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU and U.K. and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). A new set of state-specific privacy regulations is scheduled to take effect in 2023. 

Starting in 2023, five U.S. states (California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut and Utah) will require companies to offer an opt-out on the collection and sale of personal data, as well as targeted advertising. California’s new regulation amends and expands on the requirements of CCPA, while the other four represent an entirely new set of obligations.

The post Publishers: Are you ready for 2023’s new privacy laws? appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

We’ve made it through another “Cyber 5,” and this year’s official kickoff to the shopping season exceeded all expectations. Adobe Analytics reports that US shoppers spent a record $35 billion online during Cyber Week, with more than $11 billion of that total coming on Cyber Monday alone. 

Rising inflation means that while consumers are spending more, they’re probably getting less for their dollar — so deals and promotions are more important than ever. From now through year-end, publishers will need to optimize constantly if they want to capitalize on purchase intent — so it’s critical to monitor what consumers are buying and when. 

To help you understand the season’s biggest stories, we’ve been crunching the numbers and analyzing holiday trends. Here are three key takeaways from Cyber Week to help you plan and prepare for success through the remainder of the holiday season:

• Deep discounts: As expected, brands pulled out all the stops to offload excess inventory — and entice consumers to buy. Salesforce found that average discount rates during Cyber Week topped pre-pandemic levels, reaching 27% globally and 30% in the US. Discounts were even higher in key categories like apparel, accessories, and health & beauty.
• A spike in deals — and spending: Holiday promotions started earlier than ever this year, but consumers were holding out for more (as evidenced by the lukewarm reception to early events like Amazon’s October Prime sale). Adobe’s holiday shopping report shows that discount rates increased slowly through October and November before peaking during Cyber Week. Consumer spending followed suit, remaining largely flat until late November with significant spikes on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  
• Increased earnings: Perhaps the best news for publishers is that affiliate earnings were also up during the Cyber 5 shopping period. Our data shows that EPCs (earnings per click) were significantly higher than the same period in 2021, due to a combination of strong commission rates, good conversion rates, and a high average order value. When consumers are buying, everyone wins! 

If you’re looking for insights from your own affiliate program, look no further than our real-time analytics dashboard. This new resource within the Sovrn platform will help guide your commerce strategy through the holiday season and beyond.

The right affiliate partners can help maximize holiday earnings

Whether you’re ahead of your holiday goals or trying to play catch-up, there are still plenty of opportunities for smart publishers to drive revenue this holiday season. With data and insights from Sovrn Commerce, you can make informed decisions to boost your affiliate earnings through the holidays and beyond.

Categories to watch:

Certain retail categories are reliable winners for the holiday season, because they offer great gift ideas for a variety of recipients. During the Cyber 5 weekend, our data shows that the top performing categories remained unchanged from the first half of Q4 — although the order shifted slightly:

One other interesting note: revenue in Consumer Electronics and Sports & Fitness has grown dramatically over 2021 levels (212% and 161% respectively). Consider increasing your promotions in any of these top retail categories over the next few weeks, if they align with your brand and appeal to your audience. 

Merchants to target:

Now that Cyber Weekend is over, discounts will likely start to drop off. Deals are still out there, but they may not be as deep or as plentiful — so it may be smart to focus on commission rates rather than promotions when choosing your affiliate partners. Here are some of our top merchant picks for the rest of the holiday season:

1. Walmart
2. Wayfair
3. SSENSE
4. Nordstrom Rack
5. Coach/Coach Outlet
6. QVC
7. SKIMS
8. Burberry
9. Nike
10. Marc Jacobs

These merchants are currently paying commission rates of up to 10% and more.* Keep in mind, you can only earn affiliate revenue with Sovrn if your site has been approved for Commerce, and commission rates change frequently. You can also check the Preferred Merchants tab in the Commerce dashboard to see which merchants are offering the highest commission rates at any given time.

*Rates were current at the time of posting. Check the Sovrn Commerce platform for current rates from your approved merchants.

Optimize your holiday strategy with insights from Sovrn

This holiday season has been exceptionally challenging for publishers — and it’s not over yet! But you’re never alone when you partner with Sovrn. We have all the tools and resources you need to make 2022 your best year yet.

• Our Approved Merchants dashboard has been enhanced with new Preferred Merchants functionality, new filtering capabilities, and new reporting options — all designed to maximize your affiliate earnings. 
• Our Merchant Promotions spreadsheet highlights deals from Top 100 merchants, and it’s updated in real time to ensure you always have access to the most current promotions. 
• Our Q4 Commerce newsletters include a Christmas Guide and a Last-Minute Shopping Guide to help you keep up with shipping cutoffs, featured merchants, top deals, and more. 

The post It’s Not Too Late! Tips & Insights to Finish the Holiday Season Strong appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

Things move fast during the holiday shopping season. As a publisher, you need to stay nimble and optimize on the fly to make the most of your readers’ buying intent and capture affiliate revenue.  

To do that, you need up-to-date data on what consumers are buying — and when. While you might be tempted to look back on the patterns of previous years for guidance, this holiday season is unlike any we’ve seen before. 

But why guess when you can get the latest performance data? Our new real-time analytics dashboard in the Sovrn platform will help guide your commerce strategy during the holiday season and beyond so you can make smart decisions that move your business forward.

Here are just a few of the stories our data is telling this holiday season.

1. Revenue is growing in unexpected retail categories

It’s no surprise that Fashion & Accessories and Health & Beauty are the top categories for revenue so far this holiday season. After all, these types of merchants offer great gift ideas for a variety of recipients, year after year. 

But further down the list, our data shows impressive growth in areas like Consumer Electronics, Camera & Photo, and Gaming, where revenue is up to four times higher than this time last year. Consider increasing your promotions in these product categories over the next few weeks, if they align with your brand and your readers’ interests.

2. Browsing and buying behavior have shifted

Timing your affiliate promotions is easier — and more effective — when you understand your readers’ shopping habits. When are they visiting your site? When are they clicking on affiliate links? And when are they actually buying?

So far this holiday season, our data shows that consumers are most likely to be browsing on Monday and Friday — as these are the days with the highest number of clicks. Surprisingly, the lowest volume of affiliate clicks comes on Saturday. It’s also interesting to note that patterns have shifted significantly compared to the same period in 2021.

When it comes to making a purchase, shoppers are most active on Monday and Sunday — and least active on Saturday. This is a significant shift from 2021, when purchase volume was heaviest on Friday, Monday, and Saturday.

It’s important to remember that these big-picture trends may not reflect the shopping habits of your unique audience. Pay attention to your own readers’ habits. Figure out when they’re browsing and when they’re buying, then try to find a correlation between their activities. By identifying your users’ shopping patterns, you can adjust the timing of your promotions and capture their attention when they’re most receptive. 

3. Top merchants are paying premium rates

Identifying a popular category is one thing, but you also need to choose merchants who will appeal to your audience — and help you generate as much affiliate revenue as possible. To make the selection process a little easier, here are some of our top merchant picks for the holiday season: 

1. Walmart
2. Wayfair
3. SSENSE
4. Nordstrom Rack
5. Coach & Coach Outlet
6. QVC
7. SKIMS
8. Burberry
9. Nike
10. Marc Jacobs

These merchants are currently paying commission rates of up to 10% and more.* And most of these brands have increased their affiliate rates compared to the same time last year, so now is a great time to expand your network of commerce partners. Just keep in mind, you can only earn affiliate revenue with Sovrn if your site has been approved for Commerce, and commission rates change frequently. 

*Rate information was current at the time of posting. Check the Sovrn Commerce platform for current rates from your approved merchants.

Need to optimize your affiliate strategy? Sovrn can help.

This holiday season is shaping up to be exceptionally challenging for publishers. Inflation is driving consumers to tighten their budgets and spend less, while retailers are offering record discounts — all of which can cut into affiliate earnings. In fact, our data shows that average earnings per click (EPC) in Q4 2022 are nearly 15% lower than the same time last year.

That makes it even more critical to optimize your affiliate strategy and ensure you’re promoting the right categories and merchants at the right time. To make your job a little easier, Sovrn’s Approved Merchants dashboard now includes several pieces of new functionality:

• The new Preferred merchants tab can help you maximize your earnings by showing which merchants are offering the highest commission rates at any given time.
• We’ve added new filtering capabilities for merchants, so you can select one or more categories and explore the merchants within that sector. 
• We’ve expanded our reporting capabilities to include a Recommended Merchants report, which displays a list of top 100 approved merchant programs you haven’t worked with recently. (Check out this video to learn how to pull your personalized report.)

To help you keep up with the season’s best promotions, we’ve also created a handy resource. Sovrn’s Merchant Promotions spreadsheet highlights deals from Top 100 merchants — including brands like Overstock, Wayfair, and more. Our Merchant Team will continue adding new promotions as soon as they’re received, from now through the end of the year. So bookmark this page and check back often!

The post 3 Data-Powered Insights to Optimize Your Holiday Commerce Strategy appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

As a commerce-focused publisher, having accurate, timely performance data is critical to optimizing your strategy — and maximizing affiliate revenue. In order to quickly pivot and make split-second decisions about what is and isn’t working, deliver what readers want, and see all your revenue opportunities in one stream, you need a way to easily access data and analytics in real time. 

With the right data, you can answer questions like:

• Which products are selling best?
• Which brands are resonating with my audience?
• Which page placements are most effective?
• How many sales has my affiliate program delivered in the past week/month?
• How much affiliate revenue have I earned in this week/month?
• Which affiliate links are driving the most revenue? 
• Have my audience’s preferences changed over time?

But mining mountains of data across multiple platforms to nimbly optimize is easier said than done for most affiliate commerce publishers. And lengthy delays to adapt often mean missing out on the best deals, because affiliate rates and marketing budgets can change quickly.

Get performance insights in an instant

When you log in to Sovrn Commerce, you’ll now have access to performance data in near-real time through our updated analytics dashboard, including:

• Clicks and page views within moments of when they occur
• Revenue data within one hour of the earning event
• Consolidated merchant earnings

Only Sovrn can provide this level of immediate commerce data reporting, compared to the industry average of a full day or more for most commerce reporting tools. 

Take action with timely performance data

With real-time performance insights at your fingertips, you’ll be better equipped to optimize your commerce strategy and make smart decisions for the future. Here are just a few ways you can leverage this new data:

• Compare performance in real time. See which retailers or products resonate better with your audience to help improve merchant and product selection. Analyze which links drive the most clicks to optimize content layout and link placement.
• Conduct side-by-side experiments. Set up tests to get immediate insights into audience preferences, then adjust your content strategy based on the results.
• Estimate earnings more accurately. Revenue data is available within one hour, so you’ll always know how much you’re going to earn — and which merchants and products are the best source of revenue.

Maximize your affiliate earnings with Sovrn

Sovrn Commerce is the fastest, most flexible way to earn with affiliate marketing. Our industry-leading analytics capabilities are just one example of the many ways we can help you optimize your affiliate strategy. Check out these articles to discover how Sovrn Commerce can help you maximize your affiliate revenue:

• UTM parameters for better link tracking
• Non-monetized clicks reporting to maximize your earnings
• “Merchants at risk” reporting and other tools to improve merchant management
• Additional tips to maximize the value of Sovrn Commerce

Get started today

Already a Sovrn Commerce customer? Log in and start exploring your dashboard. Need some help to get started? Book a demo for a deep dive.

If you’re not already working with Sovrn Commerce, sign up now! Once you complete the approval process, you can start earning right away.

The post Supercharge Your Commerce Revenue with Real-Time Analytics appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

Email newsletters aren’t exactly a new idea, but they’re an effective way to connect with your audience and drive more traffic to your most valuable content. For publishers with an extensive subscriber list, it’s also possible to create an entirely new revenue stream by monetizing your email data.

Of course, privacy and security are critical with any data monetization strategy. That’s why we’ve developed a solution that relies on hashed emails to keep your readers’ information safe and secure.

What’s a hashed email?

A hashed email is basically an email address that has been transformed into an unidentifiable string of numbers and letters. Hashing creates a pseudonymized original email address, making it difficult to reconstruct. All data we collect is hashed before it gets to us or our data partners.

How can hashed emails help me earn more?

Our hashed email solution offers publishers an easy way to drive incremental revenue — without sacrificing data privacy or security. Here’s how:

• A Sovrn pixel is installed within the body of each email and on email sign-up forms. 
• When an email is opened or a registration is completed, the pixel fires a request to Sovrn servers and the associated hashed email is captured. 
• Sovrn pays publishers on a recurring monthly basis when our data partners use these hashed emails. 

Our hashed email data monetization solution is easy to implement and requires minimal upkeep. And best of all, it’s completely free, allowing you to tap into a brand-new revenue stream at no cost.

Who can benefit from this strategy?

Email monetization is a great way to generate recurring monthly revenue for any publisher with an outbound email program and a list of subscribers. There is no minimum or maximum list size required to participate. We have publishers that send a few thousand unique hashes per month and others that reach tens of millions. On average, Sovrn publishers see an eCPM of $1.50-$2.50 for unique hashed emails.  

For reference, here are some real list size and revenue figures from different sized publishers:

• Small: 309,872 linkages provided; $574 revenue
• Medium: 1,617,840 linkages provided; $3,347 revenue
• Large: 22,156,550 linkages provided; $31,700 revenue

Monetizing email data can be especially profitable during the holiday shopping season, when many publishers ramp up their email sends to drive more earnings. But it’s also an easy way to supplement revenue during the slower periods throughout the year.

Ready to get started?

Putting your data to work through email monetization is simple — and free! Just send us a message at data@sovrn.com and our team will provide all the info you need to get started.

The post Looking to Create a New Revenue Stream? appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

One solution to this impending challenge is data enrichment, which lets publishers enhance their first-party data by linking it to second- and third-party data from a variety of sources.

Our new ebook, “Three Ways Publishers Can Profit from Data Enrichment,” explores the data enrichment process and how publishers can use it to get ahead of the cookie conundrum.

3 Steps to Profiting from Your Data

Data enrichment offers a great opportunity for publishers to drive more profit from their data. Having an experienced partner to get all the pieces in place will help you make the most of your audience. 

1. Build your data lake.

Start with the audience data you already have from sources like email capture, visitor behavior, engagement metrics, demographic data, and content consumption. Working with Sovrn and our data collective, you can then enrich your unauthenticated first-party data with hashed emails, mobile ad identifiers (MAIDs), and other off-domain insights. We can also help you create segments to help advertisers with audience targeting.

2. Test in Safari.

Keep in mind that browsers like Safari and Firefox – which currently support 40% of all web traffic – are already free of third-party cookies. This creates a perfect test environment to ensure your monetization strategies will be effective in a cookie-free world. Sovrn can help you identify and run the right tests to build a future-proof model for monetization.

3. Monetize your authenticated traffic.

Once your data has been collected and enriched, Sovrn can help to activate your audience segments with advertisers and optimize your monetization strategy. This involves creating deals and passing segments and deal IDs in the bidstream, while maintaining compliance with all applicable data privacy and security requirements. A partner like Sovrn can help you transact on the segments, communicating data in a way that prevents data leakage while maximizing the value of your audience.

The Benefits of Publisher Data Enrichment

The demise of third-party cookies creates challenges across the advertising ecosystem. Publishers will lose a critical data source for demonstrating the value of their ad inventory, while ad buyers will struggle to evaluate audience segments for pricing and bidding.

By increasing the proportion of authenticated site traffic, data enrichment addresses these concerns and offers significant benefits for publishers and advertisers alike.

• For publishers, data enrichment enhances the value of ad inventory and drives higher bids. In addition, analytics tools like Sovrn Signal let publishers build more robust visitor models that help advertisers understand audience behaviors and preferences. 

• For advertisers, data enrichment provides more reliable audience segments based on verifiable data. It also allows for better audience targeting, leading to improved campaign performance and increased return on ad spend. 

Ready to Get Started? Let Sovrn Help!

Now is the time to start building a monetization strategy for the post-cookie world – leveraging the expertise of a data enrichment partner like Sovrn. 

Start by downloading our new ebook, “Three Ways Publishers Can Profit from Data Enrichment.” Then contact us at sales@sovrn.com to learn how our solutions can help you drive more value from your audience data.

The post 3 Steps to Increase the Value of Your Data appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

As the clock ticks down to the end of third-party cookies, publishers around the world are seeking practical, scalable solutions now to enhance their audience data and demonstrate value to advertisers. 

The question everyone seems to be asking is how?

One answer is data enrichment, which offers a way for publishers to supplement their first-party data with second- and third-party data to increase its value to advertisers.

Our new eBook, “Three Ways Publishers Can Profit from Data Enrichment,” explores how data enrichment can help solve the “identity crisis” publishers face starting in 2023 and how they can tap into the benefits it provides for both publishers and advertisers, today. 

At Sovrn, our approach to the identity challenge is three-fold:

1. Know your audience.

Monetizing audience data requires deep insights into visitor behavior and engagement benchmarks. An SSP like Sovrn can help supplement unauthenticated first-party data and enhance your visitor profiles – for example, by linking your site data to hashed emails, mobile ad identifiers (MAIDs), and other external insights. 

2. Segment your data.

The more attributes you can attach to each profile the more opportunities you have to create audience segments. Your data enrichment partner can help you create segments so advertisers can target specific portions of your audience to increase the relevance of each ad.

3. Package audience data for advertisers.

A data enrichment provider like Sovrn can integrate validated data from a variety of sources – from both inside and outside your site – making your site visitors a far more valuable audience for advertisers to target. Sovrn is the first SSP to test prebid seller-defined audiences – which means we’re using publishers’ first-party segmentation data to enrich bid requests.

Why is Data Enrichment so important?

Ad buyers are losing their primary means of assessing audience value for pricing and bidding. But bids based on publisher data alone can be risky, because it’s often not clear how audience segments are created and whether the data comes from reliable sources. Enriching your data with Sovrn addresses many of these concerns, by increasing the proportion of authenticated traffic by up to 10x (from 2-5% to 15-20%).

Being able to target specific audiences enables marketers to improve campaign performance and increase return on ad spend, boosting the value of a publisher’s ad inventory and driving higher bids. Additionally, data analytics tools like Sovrn Signal can enable publishers to create more sophisticated visitor models using the enriched data. These models help advertisers understand how visitors navigate the publisher’s web pages, how they interact with social media content, and their interests.

Ready to Get Started? Let Sovrn Help.

Data enrichment is one important way for publishers to demonstrate audience value to advertisers and get out in front of a post-cookie world. Now is the time to work with an experienced partner like Sovrn to help with the heavy lifting, including:

• Digging into your data to uncover key insights and start building your first-party data lake 
• Enriching your first-party data with off-domain insights and scaling your authenticated traffic 
• Packaging up your audience for advertisers using commercial intent data from our affiliate network for better segmentation. 

Start by downloading our new data enrichment ebook, “Three Ways Publishers Can Profit from Data Enrichment.” Then contact us at sales@sovrn.com to learn how our solutions can help ease your transition to a world without cookies.

The post Data Enrichment Makes the Most of Your Audience appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

In the most recent edition of Publisher’s Corner, Matt Rance of Immediate Media and Jade Power of JPI Media break down how they are leveraging their first-party data in preparation for the sunsetting of third-party cookies, and also provide insights into how other publishers can navigate the changing advertising landscape.

Journey to a First-Party World

Both Immediate Media and JPI Media started their transition to the world of first-party data by partnering with Demand Management Platforms (DMP) that could collate their first-party data. By bundling that data into segments, they were able to make it accessible to SSPs, DSPs and ad networks. By partnering with the right DMP, both publishers were able to offset their need for third-party tracking entirely. Before the move, however, both publishers used a period of time to overlap first- and third-party data, learn from their performance, and make adjustments to their strategies. 

With just over a year left until Google Chrome dumps the third-party cookie, publishers have a unique opportunity to test how campaign KPIs are affected when audience segments are formed only by first-party data, only third-party data, as well as a combination of both. From there, publishers can develop strategies to expand and enhance their ability to acquire first-party data.

First-Party Strategies

By taking control of and understanding their data, Immediate Media was able to make informed, data-driven decisions on the most effective methods of acquiring first-party data on each individual property they own. Just as Immediate formed different strategies for each of their properties, other publishers will also have to determine what works best for their websites’ audiences and advertisers KPIs. 

Considering all of the worrying “cookiepocolypse” webinars and articles, it may be difficult to see that there are some golden opportunities for publishers in cookieless browsers. As first-party data is acquired directly from consumers, a publisher’s strategy should be built around quality content that engages consumers and makes them want to come back for more. From there, publishers can work on products and services (i.e. event/webinar registrations, polls, newsletter sign-ups) that enhance the value to consumers as well as transparently collect unique first-party data from their audience.

As Matt states, publisher strategies will have to adjust over time: “The tech, the strategies, the tools we have now are very different from 2 or 3 years ago, and expect them to be different 2-3 years from now.” In this world of uncertainty, let’s examine how publishers can adequately prepare for the future.

Power to the Publisher

Whether you’re a large publisher with multiple domains and engineering teams, or a small independent blogegr, there are steps you can take to prepare for a cookieless world, today. Here are few suggestions from Matt & Jade:

• “Tidy up your ad stack”: ensure your technology providers are GDPR and/or CCPA-compliant and have a plan for upcoming browser changes 
• “Be a part of the conversation”: join the IAB’s Project Rearc, the W3C’s Web Advertising Community Group, or the Partnership for Responsible Media (PRAM) and voice your opinions
• Take on a “consultative” role: work directly with other publishers, SSPs and/or advertisers on strategies to maximize the effectiveness of everyone’s first-party data and shape what future solutions look like (e.g. standardized audience taxonomies)

By doing what they love most—creating high-quality, engaging content and interacting with their unique audiences—publishers are cultivating what is considered the new “currency” of digital advertising. With publishers in control of first-party data, they have the opportunity to lead the conversations of how the cookieless web will operate and drive toward a more transparent ecosystem that continues to serve the needs of content creators, advertisers, consumers and the open web itself. 

Get Involved!

• W3C Privacy Community Group (free)
• W3C Improving Web Advertising Business Group (participation fee)
• IAB Project Rearc (free)
• Partnership for Responsible Media (free)
• DMPs
  • Permutive (partners with Immediate Media)
  • Lotame (partners with JPI Media)

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