Effie Awards

A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, I got a Twitter message from someone at Outbrain. I don’t usually take “Twitter cold calls” from people, but I’m glad I did this time, because I got a chance to learn about Outbrain.

Outbrain b is the company that manages the list of links you often see at the end of articles on sites such as CNN and USAToday. No, not those annoying ads for cheap teeth whiteners, but rather the links that say, “If you like this article, you might also like these.” Outbrain’s team has spent three years perfecting an algorithm that ensures that these links are as relevant for the reader as possible. It has the ability to plug in these useful links to nearly any content provider’s content management system, and the company finds that one of these links are clicked for about 5% of the readers of any given article. It’s no wonder that sites as diverse as National Geographic, The Sporting News, and The Boston Globe are using Outbrain.

But the magic comes in Outbrain’s meaningful marketing business model. In addition to providing links to other articles within a given media property, Outbrain has permission from content owners to include sponsored links to outside articles. In its simplest use, if your brand is creating content consumers will enjoy, you can pay Outbrain on a cost-per-click basis to make your articles and videos appear on sites such as CNN and USAToday as content, not as advertising.

A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, I got a Twitter message from someone at Outbrain. I don’t usually take “Twitter cold calls” from people, but I’m glad I did this time, because I got a chance to learn about Outbrain.

Outbrain is the company that manages the list of links you often see at the end of articles on sites such as CNN and USAToday. No, not those annoying ads for cheap teeth whiteners, but rather the links that say, “If you like this article, you might also like these.” Outbrain’s team has spent three years perfecting an algorithm that ensures that these links are as relevant for the reader as possible. It has the ability to plug in these useful links to nearly any content provider’s content management system, and the company finds that one of these links are clicked for about 5% of the readers of any given article. It’s no wonder that sites as diverse as National Geographic, The Sporting News, and The Boston Globe are using Outbrain.

But the magic comes in Outbrain’s meaningful marketing business model. In addition to providing links to other articles within a given media property, Outbrain has permission from content owners to include sponsored links to outside articles. In its simplest use, if your brand is creating content consumers will enjoy, you can pay Outbrain on a cost-per-click basis to make your articles and videos videos appear on sites such as CNN and USAToday as content, not as advertising.

Outbrain helps solve one of the killer issues for brands that have a desire to publish meaningful content: How do I get people to discover it?

The company further nails the experience for the marketer with its website analytics tool. Just log in to your account and you can see how much traffic you are getting and which articles are generating the most engagement. You also can manage your budget quickly and easily in real time.

Outbrain has a few additional benefits that I love. First, brands with a lot of content can actually install the Outbrain plug-in on their own sites and improve readership within the site, as well as earn credits with the company by allowing sponsored links to other brands. Second, it can be used to drive traffic to content that is completely outside of the brand’s control. For example, a major automotive brand used Outbrain to send traffic to bloggers who had said positive things about one of its new models. The company further nails the experience for the marketer with its website analytics tool. Just log in to your account and you can see how much traffic you are getting and which articles are generating the most engagement. You also can manage your budget quickly and easily in real time.

Outbrain has a few additional benefits that I love. First, brands with a lot of content can actually install the Outbrain plug-in on their own sites and improve readership within the site, as well as earn credits with the company by allowing sponsored links to other brands. Second, it can be used to drive traffic to content that is completely outside of the brand’s control. For example, a major automotive brand used Outbrain to send traffic to bloggers who had said positive things about one of its new models.

If your brand or client is publishing content, Outbrain is a no-brainer to test and learn from.

It’s rare that I see an idea that is a complete win-win-win for the consumer, the marketer, and the start-up business. If you brand or client is publishing content, Outbrain is a no-brainer to test and learn from. Please reach out to Gilad and tell him Bob sent you.

If your brand or client is publishing content, Outbrain is a no-brainer to test and learn from.

It’s rare that I see an idea that is a complete win-win-win for the consumer, the marketer, and the start-up business. If you brand or client is publishing content, Outbrain is a no-brainer to test and learn from. Please reach out to Gilad and tell him Bob sent you.

Outbrain helps solve one of the killer issues for brands that have a desire to publish meaningful content: How do I get people to discover it? With Outbrain, brands can set aside a budget to drive traffic and pay on a cost-per-visit basis, just like Google AdWords, which many are using today. But I would argue that Outbrain might bring better traffic than Google. With Google, people are hunting for a specific answer e and leave once they find it. With content browsing through Outbrain, people are in a relaxed reading mode and are more likely to explore your site further. Outbrain helps solve one of the killer issues for brands that have a desire to publish meaningful content: How do I get people to discover it? With Outbrain, brands can set aside a budget to drive traffic and pay on a cost-per-visit basis, just like Google AdWords, which many are using today. But I would argue that Outbrain might bring better traffic than Google. With Google, people are hunting for a specific answer s and leave once they find it. With content browsing through Outbrain, people are in a relaxed reading mode and are more likely to explore your site further.

rr
Paid content is presented as "recommended"
alongside the publisher's own editorial.
Paid content is presented as "recommended"
alongside the publisher's own editorial.