Jared Siegal is the founder and CEO of Aditude, a programmatic advertising solution that empowers publishers to scale their revenue. Previously, he held roles in advertising and publisher operations at Playbuzz and worked in revenue and marketing at Answers.com. Siegal offers a deep dive into the complexities of online advertising, publisher monetization, and the realities of building a successful startup in a rapidly changing tech landscape. His insights are crucial for anyone looking to understand or participate in the digital programmatic advertising ecosystem.
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Quotes from the episode
Entering the ad business happened by accident, driven by an econometrics degree and an unexpected job offer.
Programmatic advertising evolved from hardcoded ads and waterfall auctions to real-time bidding and header bidding.
Publishers use Google Ad Manager as their ad server, which facilitates the final auction decision for ad placements.
Attitude acts as a neutral connection between advertisers and publishers, maximizing publisher revenue without taking a percentage cut.
AI in search results has significantly altered SEO and traffic for publishers, particularly impacting sites with easily answerable content.
Publishers are consolidating and pushing back against industry players, demanding more control and better terms.
What you’ll learn
Understand the fundamental shift from waterfall auctions to real-time bidding in programmatic advertising.
Discover how ad servers like Google Ad Manager facilitate ad auctions on publisher websites.
Learn how companies like Attitude connect advertisers and publishers to optimize ad revenue.
Grasp the impact of AI-generated content on search engine optimization and website traffic.
Explore the evolving publisher landscape, including consolidation and the rise of niche content.
Identify key growth areas in publishing, such as gaming and influencer-driven content.
Recognize the importance of first-party data and loyal audiences in the current digital climate.
Understand the challenges new publishers face in gaining visibility and traction.
Takeaways
Embrace the shift to real-time bidding by leveraging technology that aggregates multiple exchange bids simultaneously.
Recognize that while Google Ad Manager is dominant, third-party solutions are crucial for maximizing competition and publisher revenue.
Publishers need to diversify their content strategy, focusing on opinionated and long-form content to mitigate AI's impact on search traffic.
The creator economy, driven by authentic content and loyal audiences, offers a path for new publishers to build sustainable businesses.
Influencers building strong communities directly on platforms like YouTube and Discord are creating valuable, loyal audiences.
The publishing industry is consolidating, with companies merging to gain market share and collectively advocate for publisher interests.
Gaming and sports content are resilient to AI overviews, offering significant growth potential due to high user engagement.
Direct traffic is becoming more critical as users seek out trusted sources, underscoring the value of building a strong brand.
In this episode, we cover
(00:01) Introduction to Jared Siegal and Attitude
(00:59) Jared’s accidental entry into the ad business
(01:37) The role of econometrics in understanding business operations
(03:34) Evolution of ad operations and programmatic advertising
(04:21) Understanding ad servers, waterfall vs. real-time bidding
(05:37) The emergence of header bidding and its development
(07:30) Key players in the ad tech ecosystem: publishers, exchanges, advertisers
(09:30) Attitude’s role as a connector and revenue maximizer
(10:17) The function of ad exchanges and neutrality in auctions
(11:09) How bids are collected in real-time within the browser
(12:42) The technical process of pinging exchanges and advertisers
(13:33) Why publishers choose Attitude over direct integration with Google
(14:35) Creating fair competition among advertisers through auctions
(15:03) Attitude’s SaaS pricing model and its competitive advantage
(16:42) Charging models: fixed rate per thousand ads versus monthly SaaS fees
(18:08) Publisher scale and typical client profiles for Attitude
(19:47) Google's acquisition of DoubleClick and market dominance
(20:04) Addressing concerns about Google's potential monopoly in ad tech
(21:40) The long-term implications of antitrust discussions on the industry
(22:10) The argument for separating ad servers and ad exchanges
(23:46) Analogies to high-frequency trading and latency in ad tech
(25:10) The impact of direct server-side connections and optimization
(26:20) Transitioning from consulting to a product-based company
(27:15) The shift from second-price to first-price auctions and its impact
(28:37) Building Attitude's header bidding wrapper based on client needs
(30:28) An ad exchange's acquisition offer and the decision to grow
(32:04) Customer acquisition strategies: referrals, marketing, and sales teams
(33:27) The impact of AI and ChatGPT on search and publisher traffic
(34:09) How AI overviews affect different types of website content
(35:22) Challenges for new publishers in the AI-driven content landscape
(36:19) Assessing the overall impact of AI on the internet and publishing
(38:04) Sustaining ad revenue growth amidst shrinking internet distribution
(39:51) The increased value of top ad spots due to AI overviews
(40:35) The shift from search to direct answers and AI models
(41:01) Current traffic sources from AI models and chat interfaces
(41:40) Defining "direct traffic" and its implications for new publishers
(44:40) Identifying bright spots and growth areas in publishing niches
(47:01) The limitations and evolution of the creator economy
(49:00) AI's role in content generation and its potential impact on publishers
(49:39) Using AI for content creation and operational efficiency
(50:09) The trend of publishers and influencers starting their own Substack newsletters
(52:29) Common misconceptions about running a founder-led company
(54:10) The future focus on analytics and product diversification at Attitude
(54:46) Growth strategy: expanding product portfolio and potential acquisitions
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