Rubicon Project lets Web sites manage ad networks
A group of online ad industry veterans launched a private beta this week of their latest venture--a service that helps Web sites make more money off ads by managing multiple ad networks.
The Rubicon Project was founded by Frank Addante and other members of the team that created the L90/adMonitor advertising platform, which was bought by DoubleClick in 2001.
(Credit: Rubicon Project)The Rubicon Project is a "self-serve solution" that small blogs and big Web sites can use to optimize and manage the industry's more than 300 ad networks, through one dashboard.
Web sites typically sell inventory to the highest paying advertiser. This technology matches Web sites to the ad networks that most closely fit the content of the site as well as the geography and demography of its visitors. With better ad targeting, sites stand to make even more money.
For instance, Google AdWords may be the best ad network choice for a site about bicycles, while HispanoClick might be best for ad inventory on a Hispanic-related Web site.
"The concept is not new. Big Web sites have been doing this manually with Excel Spreadsheets," says Addante. "We're the first to productize that."
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor.
