From the Digital C-Suite

Once upon a time, B2B publishers had it good. By providing valuable online content, they were able to attract equally valuable eyeballs, which online advertisers found impossible to resist. Placing an online ad with a publication such as The New York Times, Forbes or The Wall Street Journal was a no-brainer—in order to reach these discriminating business audiences, B2B advertisers would pay the price. Furthermore, there was value in even being associated with a brand like The New York Times.

But times have changed, and over the past 15 years the tables have turned on B2B publishers. Thanks to the Internet, and the power of online data, ad networks and ad exchanges have had the advantage of asymmetric information into the value of an ad impression. Publishers have leaned on these providers to help fill unsold impressions, and in turn have seen the systematic decrease of the value of a publisher’s ad impressions. Publishers are getting squeezed by advertisers who think they can buy the same or similar impressions on a network, and are often forced to sell impressions for much less than their real value.

This story does have a happy ending for publishers, however. B2B publishers now have the power to use technology to determine the true value of their impressions by identifying the precise business demographics of the people that are coming to their sites. Armed with this data and the "first look" at any impression on their own site, publishers can now tell advertisers exactly who is coming to their site, giving them the most compelling reason to spend money —the ability to target the right content to the right audience in the right context. And because relevancy drives conversions, B2B publishers can now give their advertisers an offer they can’t refuse.

So if you’re a B2B publisher, I encourage you to check out a useful resource Bizo recently published on this topic: A B2B Publisher’s Roadmap: 7 New Ways to Boost and Diversify Online Revenue Streams. Every tactic in this guide should put you well on your way to regaining your rightful position in the online ad ecosystem. The game may have changed, but your value as a brand and content provider has not!