The Rubicon Project sounds like it could be the answer to a problem I face every month or so, when I am approached by a new ad network wanting me to try their ads. The problem is there’s no way of working out which network will perform the best.
For instance in the past Adsense has been my best performer, but now intellitxt is challenging it for the number one place, and now Tribal Fusion have asked me to try their new inline ad system instead of intellitxt!
The Rubicon Project attempts to help bloggers sift through the numerous ad networks, by automatically deciding for each impression which ad network will perform the best. So instead of having to decide upfront which ad network is the best, the Rubicon system does this automatically in real-time, providing access to 300 ad network choices.
Probably the best way to get to grips with the system, is to watch this 3 min demo. The theory behind the system makes sense e.g if Post A is about the Nokia N95 then a product related ad from Chitika would probably do better than a Tribal Fusion ad, but then a tribal fusion ad might do better on Post B about my holiday, etc etc.
Other potential benefits of the Rubicon system is getting access to other ad networks e.g. latin or chinese specialist networks, and also getting one console allowing ad network performance to be compared side by side.
I’ve put my name down for the beta as I really want to give the Rubicon Project a go. If it works and say increases my eCPMS by 10% I’d be more than happy to pay a percentage of this as a fee. If you’re already part of the project I’d love to hear about your experiences.
