Google can’t give you answers to all your questions. Sometimes you need the opinions of other experts and community members.
The same is very true for the online publishing and advertising industry. It reinvents itself every six months. Everything you knew two years ago might not be relevant anymore.
So where do you turn for suggestions?
Many have turned to Reddit.
Reddit, known as the "front page of the internet," hosts diverse user-generated content and discussions. Its subreddits, such as /r/adops, /r/adtech, and /r/publishing, provide invaluable insights from industry insiders.
What sets Reddit apart is its candid community, fostering authentic discussions and practical advice. Unlike conventional sources, Reddit thrives on user-generated content, making it invaluable for real-world solutions.
In this blog post, we collated relevant Reddit threads for publishers, covering topics from adops, adblocking, and everything important to publishers. And a few that just made us smile.
1. Back in the day when publishers made money!
Ah, remember the golden age when online publishing began to bloom? Advertisers were spending heavily on digital ads, and publishers were raking in profits.
But those days are now whispers in the wind. Adtech giants and walled-garden platforms have claimed larger shares and an entire industry has grown to help consumers avoid ads and paywalls.
This thread explores perspectives, the impact of programmatic, and the challenges facing publishers.
“Here's the deal: relying solely on ad revenue puts all your eggs in one basket. To survive, publishers gotta diversify, subscriptions, memberships, even getting into the e-commerce game.”
- tahadharamsi
2. 25 years ago when Google struggles to differentiate itself from the Tech conglomerates...
3. Why aren't many people freaking out about 3rd party cookie depreciation?
Third-party cookie apocalypse? Yawn. Everyone in the digital marketing sphere was pulling their hair out a few years back, but now it's just another Tuesday.
Publishers have been testing new strategies — from offering subscriptions to switching to contextual ads. They're adapting.
This thread offers an interesting take on how the delay of the third-party cookie demise has also provided us with some time to prepare, set up strategies, and adopt mantras to avoid freaking out.
"It's 100% not going to kill advertising." - ThrownWOPR
4. The CEO just tried to shut down all Google Advertising because of a WSJ article
Talking about people freaking out…
A WSJ article about Google's cookie crackdown had a CEO ready to shut down Google Ads altogether.
Google's browser threw a wrench in the ad world, leaving some leaders clueless. This exposed a knowledge gap that could cost businesses big time.
Redditors share insights and advice for this OP to calm his CEO.
"It's 100% not going to kill advertising. It's going to make brands more reliant on walled gardens and contextual placements, and will definitely impact advanced analytics..."
- ThrownWOPR
5. How to monetize adblock traffic?
A publisher posted their dilemma: 30% of their traffic vanished behind ad blockers!
They'd tried the big guns – AdSense, Pubmatic, OpenX – but those pesky blockers were draining their revenue.
A desperate plea went out online: "How do I win back this lost revenue?" The commenters came to the rescue, suggesting various solutions, including Admiral's full stack allowlist recovery.
6. Rant about adtech events and conferences!
Ad tech conferences were back in the buzz!
This thread sparks a fiery debate where the OP questions the effectiveness of adtech conferences.
Some commenters agree that these events are super expensive compared to the value they deliver, while others support these events, citing their importance for networking in such a niche industry.
Also check out the Digital Media, AdTech & Advertising Industry Conferences Calendar
7. Working in Adtech be like
8. Which AdTech companies to stay away from?
A job seeker asked the community: Which ad tech companies are good, and which ones should be avoided?
Veterans of the industry chimed in, sharing their experiences with various SSPs, DSPs, DMPs, and data measurement firms.
This is a great thread for those hunting for jobs in the adtech industry.
A list of all AdTech & Ad Operations Training, Resources, and Certifications to upskill yourself.
9. Why optimizing solely for CTR might be a bad choice. What other reasons would you mention?
Plenty of comments in the thread, such as this one from CostPerMeal:
10. What are the worst Advertising/Copy Cliches?
This Reddit thread is like a cringe comedy show for advertising.
We're talking "cost of a cup of coffee a day" and "it's that time of year again" levels of cliché.
Dive in, laugh, and tell us which cliche takes the cake (or, should we say, the cup of coffee)?
Some of our favorite entries:
"Any reference to taking things to the next level always irritates me. Bonus cringe if you use a rocket emoji."
"Three times, early in my career, at three different agencies, I had a CD or CCO almost demand that I use This Changes Everything as a header."
"It’s never been a better time to [ insert whatever you can literally do at any time here ]"
11. I introduced my team to ChatGPT 4 months ago, everyone here said it was a terrible idea. Here's what happened.
Forget about robots stealing your job; this marketer used ChatGPT to secure a promotion.
They utilized ChatGPT to:
- Proofread/edit drafts
- Generate social media blurbs
- Create a chatbot for employee FAQs
As a result, they were promoted to Marketing Technology Lead and now oversee the entire RevOps tech stack.
The comments in this thread are quite intriguing; some pose challenging questions regarding their strategies, while others agree with them.
Read how Admiral is using Generative AI that Generates Revenue
12. Goodbye proprietary audiences. Goodbye vendors
With third-party cookies on their way out, advertisers are scrambling for solutions.
The comments section is brimming with ideas and opinions on identity solutions, shopping data, cross-device targeting, and more.
"Any DSP that doesn’t have some sort of cookie-free solution at this point honestly shouldn’t exist.”
-HandleBig412
“We'll finally see how many of those companies who claim to have "cookie-less" identity actually do.”
- OrdinaryInside8
Jump in and see what strategies others are cooking up.
13. Stop Skipping on Core Web Vitals, HCU Update
Core Web Vitals, a ranking factor, aimed to help website owners fix technical issues with their pages: slow loading, clunky layouts, and media overload.
The OP audited a bunch of sites and discovered many lost traffic due to low Core Web Vitals scores.
But hold on!
Many of the commenters don’t agree with OP - pointing out CWV was never important for ranking. Samples:
“Most Reddit answers are specifically tailored towards helping others, while most SEO content is designed to acquire traffic. That is exactly what the Helpful Content update is about.”
- Bazsul
"CWV have (sic) never been a significant ranking factor. They are a ranking factor, but not a significant one."
- SEOPub
Did we miss a good thread?
From tackling ad blockers to adapting to browser changes and battling budget cuts, the collective wisdom and occasional comic relief on these threads can be a lifeline for industry professionals.
So, whether you're seeking solutions to specific challenges or simply looking to stay ahead of the curve, dive into these threads and join the conversation.
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