If you were to look up the definition of native advertising, you would see that it is content in an online publication that resembles the publication’s editorials, but is paid for by an advertiser and intended to promote the advertiser’s product. In other words, the advertisement is somewhat camouflaged to appear relevant to its surrounding content. There are those who adhere to the notion that native advertising erodes consumer trust, or compromises the wall that exists between editorial and advertising.

With the proliferation of devices, screens and platforms, it is much easier in this day and age to reach the right audience with video ads. But how effective is the reach if the attention is lacking? And if the attention is lacking, how likely is the inattentive consumer to consider making a purchase? According to Nielson research, the attention that consumers pay to a video directly corresponds with the ad recall.

Forbes.com has published an article by Genius Monkey CRO, Jeremy Hudgens, in which he expounds on the importance of combatting the effects of ad fraud in the arena of online advertising. It’s titled Three Ways Marketers Can Beat Today’s Ad Fraud. Ad fraud is a $7 billion-per-year problem in today’s digital online advertising. Through nine years of tireless efforts by the “Intelligent Primates” on our Genius Monkey team, we have developed the three best methods to combat this malicious activity.

With the millions of websites that exist in the cyber world, the information highway can guide visitors to a practically infinite number of destinations. So how can you get potential consumers to your website? There are actually two ways that Internet surfers can get to your page. They might see your ad, which may make an impression on them, and they may navigate to it later. Or they might just click on your ad and get there right away.

Genius Monkey is excited to announce the newest utensil in our technological toolbox; it’s called Genius Monitor, and it’s designed to help our clients better understand how their website is performing when it comes to their page speed. Genius Monkey checks to make sure that not only its code is loading properly, but that the load time of the site is below a given threshold. In short, this service generates information that will help clients determine how they stack up to the current industry benchmarks for page speed, and protect them from spending money on ads on a site that may be down.

Attribution, validation and bot detection are more important than ever; especially when there are so many discrepancies between analytics and the network reporting. As an example, let’s say that a programmatic-based ad server like Genius Monkey (or someone like DoubleClick, for that matter) reports that they delivered 5000 clicks, yet Google Analytics only shows 3000 clicks. That can leave a marketer wondering about the integrity of the reports. It’s not uncommon for marketers to use multiple tools to get an understanding of how users interact with the product they’re advertising.

There are many experts in the marketing industry who feel that it won’t be long before mobile commerce dominates over PC-based sales. In fact, recent polling data indicates that there are many people who believe that this “domination” has already begun. Recently, 2,773 American adults were surveyed* regarding their online habits. The majority of them revealed that they spend more time with their mobile devices than on their desktop computers.

Recent studies have shown that being present and available for consumers as they conduct their initial online searches is a crucial factor in order to drive customers to your website, or through your doors. A prime example of this is the automotive industry. To win the sale of a car, these early “micro-moments” must be won by the dealer, first. This is a lesson from which all businesses can learn.

Most internet users of today experience media on a number of screens, such as their smartphone, computer, tablet and television. This means that a user may start a function on one device, yet finish it on another. Here’s an example: Have you ever searched for product information on your mobile device, then continued your quest once you’re in front of your computer? According to recent Google research, 90% of users do just that: Start on one device and finish on the other.

According to a recent forecast by eMarketer, it is estimated that close to 80% of every dollar spent on advertising will be allocated to programmatic in 2017. This number equates to a whopping $32.56 billion for the year! There is no room for doubt that programmatic is here to stay; especially in light of the fact that by the end of the year, that number is expected to grow to 84%.