Microsoft adCenter Contextual Advertising Heating Up
JenSense has the scoop on the Microsoft answer to Google AdSense and Yahoo Publisher Network, Microsoft ContentAds beta. Jen says that Microsoft is looking for a few good advertisers who are interested in testing out the contextual ads on Microsoft’s BIG MONEY channels; “Selected advertisers just received invitations to participate in the new ContentAds pilot, which begins running this fall. The email invited advertisers received mentioned the various MSN properties than contextually targeted ContentAds would appear on, such as MSN Real Estate and MSN Money, as well as others linked from the main MSN portal.”
Publishers out there hoping that Microsoft ContentAds will be the next contextual cash cow will have to be a bit more patient however, as MSN is taking the YPN approach of slowly but surely building a trusted network of advertisers and appeasing them via MSN and Live Windows Channel ads before even thinking about bringing in non-MSN properties into the mix.
Content Ads is Microsoft’s next product that allows advertisers to place content-targeted, text-based advertisements primarily on Microsoft-owned properties including MSN Money, Real Estate, and many others within the www.msn.com portal.
Don’t fret publishers as Jen says there is still hope:
This could conceivably mean that ads for this pilot could also appear on non-MSN sites, meaning publishers might be able to get into this program before it eventually (and officially) launches as a full-service publisher program similar to Google AdSense or Yahoo Publisher Network. This is pretty good news for publishers waiting for a new major player to come onto the contextual advertising scene, especially those who are looking for a small-scale publisher solution for those who don’t have millions of impressions a month.
Question is, will there be room for another player in the market once the new Yahoo Search Marketing interface brings new options such as geotargeting and demographics into their contextual advertising options; which should expand Yahoo Publisher Network into its full potential as a major contextual player?
