Facebook Ads vs. Other Ad Networks for Advertisers: Which Performs Best?

Promoting offers on ad networks can help you make faster conversions – often overnight. Running advertisements on the best ad networks will empower you to get your offer in front of your target audience.
However, if you’re in affiliate marketing, running ads on advertising platforms can help you make money, but you need to be very cautious about your return on investment (ROI).
The Role of Advertising Platforms
Running ads on the top advertising networks allows you to spend money to make money. If you have an offer that pays $10 and you spend $2 on ads for each conversion, your ROI is huge. You can run these offers and make amazing money.
You do need to spend time evaluating each offer to:
- Ensure ad network traffic is allowed
- You’re allowed to promote the offer in the way you are
Direct affiliate links are possible in most social media posts, but when you dig into the program’s terms, linking directly to the offer from a PPC ad is not allowed. You may be able to create your own landing page where you promote the offer.
You can also create blog posts that you promote through ad networks, and at the end of the article, you have a CTA to the offer in question.
While promotion on the best ad networks can be profitable, you also can lose money. You’ll need to:
- Run A/B tests
- Put limits on ad spending
- Test, test and test
With this information in mind, let’s review the top ad networks for advertisers and what you can expect when using them.
Top Ad Networks for Advertisers
What are the top advertising networks? We’re going to share the top networks and what you need to know about them before creating ads for them:
Facebook Ads
One network that cannot be overlooked is Facebook. Meta owns Instagram and Facebook, and they can help you reach over 2 billion people. With this reach in mind, it’s crucial to know that Meta’s ad platform is so powerful because:
- Extreme filtering allows you to target very specific demographics
- Multiple story types are available: image, carousel, video, collection, stories, Messenger and more
- Strict budgeting and scheduling options
If you want to reach over 25% of the world’s population, you cannot ignore the reach of Meta and its social media platforms.
Google Ads
Google Ads offers one of the top mobile ad networks in the world. You can have ads placed in:
- Google search results
- Websites
- Any portion of the Alphabet network
Similar to Facebook ads, Google Ads allows you to narrow down who you show advertisements to in a granular fashion so that the ideal customer is the one who always sees the ad you’re paying for.
Native Advertising
Some of the top ad networks for advertisers are native ad networks. You’ll find a lot of options to choose from and will need to compare each network on your own. A few of the top networks for native ads are:
- Outbrain
- Taboola
- Paved Ad Network
- TripleLift
You’ll want to compare each network to ensure that it offers the best reach for your ad spend.
Display Networks
Whether you want to find the best mobile ad platform network or just one that accepts CPA offers, the following display ad networks are a good start:
- mMedia
- Apple Advertising
- Adknowledge
- Epom
- Leadbolt
- Adavice DSP
We advise you to check out our friends at Adavice DSP. These guys are experienced marketers providing high-quality worldwide traffic for push, pops, calendars, and display. Exceptional support team who share marketing secrets for your offer (creatives / prelanders / concepts and more). Bonuses are always available!
Of course, Google and Facebook both fall into the display network classification.
Comparative Analysis
When trying to choose the top mobile advertising network, it comes down to:
- Reach
- Customization
- Cost
- Reliability
- Reputation
You can pay for ads on each network and test them out for yourself if you’re unsure of which one to choose. Compare pricing, reach and conversion rates across platforms to learn which are most profitable for the ads you’re displaying.
Factors Influencing Platform Selection
There are several factors to consider when choosing the best ad networks for advertisers. These factors include:
The Network’s Reach
One of the most important factors to consider is the network’s reach, or size. If you want to succeed with your campaign, then the ad network needs to have a decent volume of inventory in the area that you want to target.
Networks with a global reach will give you a higher CTR, more volume and often, at a lower cost.
By leveraging an ad network with a broad reach, you’ll have the ability to scale your campaigns and extend your marketing efforts.
To determine the reach of a network, you can assess its daily ad impressions, geographical restrictions, and number of publishers.
Traffic Quality
When selecting an ad network, reach is just one factor to consider. The quality of the traffic is also a crucial consideration.
Is the network capable of efficiently delivering a significant amount of traffic that results in high engagement or conversions?
It’s important to choose a network that is open and transparent about their traffic sources. This will ensure that you have a clear understanding of where your website traffic is coming from. Some networks have reliable traffic sources that consistently deliver positive outcomes for businesses.
Ad networks often offer self-service options that empower advertisers to select from various inventory groups. Some networks even allow advertisers to target specific audience segments based on user quality.
Do your due diligence to find a network that will deliver the traffic quality you expect.
Ad Formats
One of the top reasons advertisers choose certain networks is because of the ad formats they offer.
Depending on your goals and needs, you may want a network that offers a variety of ad formats. On the other hand, you may only want to focus on one type of ad. Either way, you’ll need to ensure that the network offers the format(s) you want.
Conversion rates for different verticals will largely depend on the ad format.
Some of the most popular ad formats include:
- Push notification ads
- Native ads
- In-page push ads
- Popunder or popup ads
If you’re just getting started, you may want to experiment with different formats, so make sure the network you choose offers these options.
Targeting
As an advertiser, you want to ensure that you have some control over your ads once they’re running. Poor targeting features can be problematic and lead to a loss of traffic quality.
The goal is to choose a network with great targeting options. Why? The more targeted your ads, the higher the click-through rate and conversion rate.
Most networks can do most of the targeting for you, but you may want to refine things to ensure your ads are being shown to the right people.
Go through the network’s filter options to ensure that you have the degree of control you want.
Reporting and Analytics
When running an advertising campaign, it’s crucial to have access to reports and analytics. Reports will help you gauge your performance and determine whether your campaign is getting the results you want.
Ideally, your ad network should provide you with a breakdown of:
- CPM
- CPC
- CPM
- CTR
- CPA
- CR
- Impressions
Make sure that the network allows you to see the metrics that are most important to you when tracking your campaign.
Summary
When choosing an advertising network, it’s important to weigh your options carefully. Facebook ads will continue to dominate the ad network space, but Google and other platforms are also options that must be considered.
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