Different PPV Networks Yield Diverse Results

You can not assume that a PPV campaign carried out via one network will produce similar results if you should decide to test it with another PPV Network. Different networks can deliver extremely different results.  Lets examine why we can’t generalize across different networks and the impact this fact should have on the way you conduct your business.

Foremost, various networks recruit their users in different ways. As a result, they generate drastically different audiences that may have extremely different buying and response habits. While one network may convince people to download their adware in exchange for a free game, another may generate users via screensavers or various toolbars. While much of these groups may overlap, their overall character would be extremely different. Thereby, an offer that may appeal to one network’s user base may fall on deaf ears when presented to another.

Secondly, Pay Per View is a numbers game. Results and their profitability can only be identified after a great deal of testing.  Thus, even small modifications in the value of key variables can have a significant overall impact after thousands upon thousands of impressions.  No two PPV Networks will yield identical bid prices across all URLs or keywords. Those variations in pricing will produce considerably different results.

Third, various networks have various guidelines regarding the display of advertisements. Some are served exclusively as popunders. Others may make use of popovers. The size of the ads may vary, as well. Those distinctions may seem minor, at first glance.  Nevertheless, when we multiply the differences out over several thousand impressions, variations in results will inevitably begin to arise.

Therefore, what works particularly well at TrafficVance may completely fail at Media Traffic. We can’t safely assume that a successful or unsuccessful campaign conducted through one network will yield comparable results with another.

What does this mean in terms of your business?

Initially, it justifies testing with multiple networks in an effort to discover the most profitable Pay Per View option.  In addition, it reminds us to be careful in assuming the scalability of any one campaign across multiple networks.

If you are only working with one network and you aren’t getting the preferred results, it may make sense to try your PPV strategy with one or two other networks before giving up on it.  Otherwise you could be passing on a profitable campaign.

If you have a profitable campaign, you should not pop the cork on your champagne the moment you decide to expand your reach via an additional network. Your winning PPV campaign could be a complete failure when transferred to another network.

The bottom line: PPV Networks are vastly different and they produce vastly different results.  Assuming that “they are all the same” is a mistake that could have a significantly negative effect on your business’s bottom line.

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