An Atlas VP outlines five key ad-serving components publishers should be offering advertisers and agencies.

According to an April 11, 2007, iMedia piece titled: "When Ads Compete, Everyone Wins," many publishers are looking to double revenue with ad spending expected to exceed $16 billion this year. So, for those of you who buy media on the web, now is probably a very good time to review what your publisher is, or isn't, doing for you. 

If you are frustrated with the excuses of publishers you trust with your brand when campaigns fail due to your publisher's scheduling failures, it's time to reevaluate. With advances in ad-serving technology there is no excuse for campaigns to under-perform on some sites and out-perform on others. 

In short: Do you know how your publishers manage their inventory? 

Just as Yahoo! made strides toward Google with the launch of Panama, some web publishers have upgraded significantly through improving their ability to sell strategically. Panama's ultimate launch may be related to Yahoo's realization that in order to move ahead, it needed to create unique advantages for each of the three core media constituencies: marketing/agencies, publishers and consumers; especially marketing/agencies.

Likewise, your publisher needs to make sure it is serving both your needs and your consumers' needs. Here are five key ad-serving components you should be looking for in a publisher.

1. Does your publisher's ad serving system make your job easier or harder? Does it provide campaign analytics that are seamless and easy for you to leverage in real time? Can your publisher provide you with assurances that its ad-serving software can handle the type of ads you want to run?

The first question is obviously a litmus test for many in this industry. Seamless, integrated analytics reporting is just the tip of the iceberg here. How much confidence does your publisher's ad serving solution engender? That's the steak. So what about the sizzle? 

Of course, consumers want ads that enhance their user experience. Therefore, it is crucial that your ad server support the latest technology. The latest ad serving solutions can accommodate all types and sizes of files, within most advertising budgets. Campaign management tools now can support all types of ad traffic activities for most creatives including DHTML, Flash, pop-ups, audio, video, streaming-audio/video, wireless and third-party rich media ads.

Make sure each of your publishers' ad-serving software solutions supports these technologies. Also be sure to find out from your publisher what any additional cost associated with rich media ads will be, and what bandwidth threshold will increase your ad price. Your publisher's ad server should make your job easier, not harder. This includes how easily accessible it makes the analytics associated with your campaigns.

2. Contextual and geo-targeting ads are hot. Does your publisher's software do both?
Consumers want their ads to be relevant; which means targeted to them not just by content, but sometimes by city, state, zip code, country, area code, bandwidth, and/or latitude and longitude. As discussed by panel participants Michael Bebel, CEO of Ruckus Networks and Shawn Gold, CMO of MySpace, on April 12 at the Wharton Economic Summit, the future of our industry resides in ads that are geo-targeted, positive, integrative, and which enhance the user experience. Can your publisher do that? 

A contextual ad-user experience requires that your publisher's ad-serving software allow customized delivery based on ad format and visitor demographics. A good geo-targeting ad-serving platform should enhance your targeting capabilities. Your publisher should be able to identify the specific geographic location of your visitors faster than in real time, allowing your ads to provide users high-value, targeted, geo-specific information which enhances their experience. Your publisher's ad serving capabilities should be able to pinpoint your specific market place within a global inventory.

3. Do you know how your publisher tracks metrics and what its reporting features can do for you and your clients?
Your advertising clients want to know if their ads are resonating with their target consumers. Your publisher should be using ad serving tools that improve the accuracy for predicting an ads success. Your publisher should be able to provide you with customized performance reports that assist your clients by tracking website traffic with details of accounts broken down by campaign, ad group, ad copy and keyword performance. The newest ad serving technology provides automated optimization solutions which should maximize ad revenue stream through accurate real-time campaign reports, and optimization of your clients' creative units.

4. How do your publishers' other customers feel about them?
Customer service counts. If consumers can't see your ads, your clients aren't happy, and your publisher isn't doing its job. Some solutions retain more clients than others. Does your publisher's solution retain more than 95 percent of its online advertising solutions customers across the globe the way that top-tier solutions do every year? Is your publisher responsive in a crisis? Does it fail to reliably deliver on-time critical campaigns? Do you think it can provide timely answers to your questions?

5. Is your publisher's ad server ready to manage your emerging media campaigns?
Today's advertisers and agencies need to communicate to their target market segments through more than just a publisher's web media. They need to know what a publisher can deliver in VOD, gaming and mobile media channels. Ask your publisher how its ad serving management solution stacks up to what you'll require from these platforms in the coming years.  

By evaluating these four core measures, advertisers and agencies can make informed evaluations of their publishers. It is not enough that your publisher only occasionally fails to meet your expectations. Good publishers now have the tools to be on-target, on-task, and in-line with consumers' preferences. Demand the best in class technology that will allow you to close the agency-publisher-consumer media loop and make the most of your ad dollars. With $18 to $20B in spending on the table publishers have plenty of motivation to get your ads published right; if they don't, vote with your feet. 

Scott Ferris is senior vice president & general manager, publisher & emerging media, Atlas. Read full bio.