Transparent Reporting: What Publishers Can Offer that Google and Facebook Can’t

March 1, 2022

Google has scale and Facebook has reach, but both advertising platforms are missing a key ingredient that high-end advertisers need to fuel their digital campaigns — transparency. Transparent reporting tools are noticeably absent from Google Ad Manager and Facebook advertising, and more advertisers are looking elsewhere for solutions.

Recent demand for transparent reporting tools didn’t appear overnight. Advertisers have been asking for more detailed insights into their online campaigns for years. Facebook and Google have continued to focus on increasing transparency to consumers, while leaving advertisers in the dark. 

That unwillingness to modernize their reporting tools, despite growing pressure from advertisers for more transparency, has presented a new opportunity for independent online publishers.

An Opportunity for Online Publishers

Although Google Ad Manager and Facebook advertising cover the basic needs of most advertisers, both platforms lack the high-end features (like detailed and transparent reporting) that advanced advertisers are searching for. That’s leading more advertisers to turn to independent online publishers with direct digital sales programs.

Using an ad manager like Broadstreet Ads, independent online publishers have a unique opportunity to help their advertisers meet — and exceed — their advertising goals.

Unlike restrictive ad platforms, Broadstreet’s ad manager gives publishers the flexibility to customize their advertising programs and meet the needs of high-end clients. That means creating, customizing, sharing, exporting, and scheduling reports for specific ads, ad sets, or campaign results. It also means giving high-end advertisers detailed insights into the number of clicks, hovers, and views their ads receive, as well as geographical data about the visitors who have viewed and interacted with their ads.

Most Requested Performance Metrics

What kind of information are those high-end advertisers looking for? Greater transparency means more detailed insights into the following online advertising metrics:

• Click performance: The number of times people clicked on an ad. 
• Hover rate: When a user hovers over an ad, it’s counted as a hover. Only one hover is registered per ad per page load. 
• Views: Active views shows how often an ad appeared in a position on a page or app that people could view. 
• Geographical data: Geographical performance data can help identify where the most engaged visitors are physically located.

Sponsored Content Reporting

Display advertising no longer exists in a silo. High-end advertisers are increasingly asking to connect their display advertising with sponsored content campaigns. Sponsored content provides a critical stream of revenue for publishers, however it does require an additional layer of reporting tools and metrics.

As advertisers and publishers prepare to decrease their reliance on third-party cookies, sponsored content is growing in popularity. The definition of sponsored content, or native content, continues to expand, and more advertisers are looking to experiment with embeddable quizzes and sponsored listicles to generate engagement.

Independent publishers that use Broadstreet’s ad manager on a WordPress website can provide clients with access to sponsored content reports that automatically refresh based on the performance of a specific ad or campaign. Automatic advertising reports can be configured to be sent to advertisers at weekly, monthly or quarterly timeframes. (To learn more about how to set up automatic advertisement reports by email on the Broadstreet platform, click here.)

While there are numerous reporting platforms that claim to track sponsored content performance, Broadstreet stands apart with its client reporting tools. Rather than making client reporting an afterthought, Broadstreet gives its independent publisher clients a streamlined way to create presentation-ready campaign reports with transparent reporting.

Personalized Support — The Ultimate Selling Feature

No algorithm from Facebook or chatbot on Google can replace the personal support that independent online publishers provide to their advertising clients. Self-serve ad manager platforms from Google and Facebook also don’t provide the level of post-campaign analysis that high-end advertisers are asking for.  

With Broadstreet, publishers are able to hop on a quick phone call or join a virtual meeting to help explain reporting results. That level of personal, one-on-one attention is what top advertisers are looking for, and it’s how independent publishers can stand apart in today’s competitive advertising market. 

One-on-one calls and virtual meetings are a useful tool for developing future campaigns based on specific performance goals and strategizing ways to improve campaign performance using newer, emerging channels. Publishers benefit through increased advertising revenue, while advertisers benefit from having more successful digital campaigns with transparent reporting and other detailed metrics. This makes for a true win/win situation that’s nearly impossible to replicate on mass-scale ad platforms like Google and Facebook.

If you’re unsure how to analyze your Broadstreet reports, or you’re looking for helpful tips to share with your advertiser clients, we are here to help. Don’t hesitate to set up a call with our Broadstreet Success team to discuss your results and best practices to assure you’re always reaching — and surpassing — your advertising goals.

For more information on how you can provide transparent reporting to your advertisers through Broadstreet, visit https://information.broadstreetads.com/understanding-reports/.