Most people have grown accustomed to the ads on the right side within your Facebook newsfeed. You may have also noticed that instead of the same ad shown after a period of time the static ad will rotate while you are on that single page.
A short time ago, a Facebook spokesperson told ClickZ, “We recently made a change to some pages that show ads on Facebook that allows ads to be replaced with others after an extended period of time”. They stated, “This change was implemented a few weeks ago and we think this will help people see more relevant ads.”
This move was most likely saved for a rainy day to provide higher CTR’s for advertisers. If the user isn’t clicking on the ads initially, then Facebook may replace those ads with an ad that is more relevant. It also gives Facebook a quicker read on the relevancy of ads because ads are shown more frequently. Traditionally, web ads and Facebook ads alike are loaded and remain constant until the user leaves the page or refreshes the page.
This change will not require advertisers to alter their campaigns or messages. It simply allows a switch if the user does not click on the ad within a time frame. If you think about it, sometimes people leave their newsfeed page open constantly without refreshing. Also many people use the Facebook Chat or Video Calling features, which would occupy their time within the same page. Not to mention, users might be browsing their Facebook Ticker to see what their friends are doing outside their newsfeed.
Facebook was pressured since its’ botched IPO, along with criticism about it’s ability to bring in the amount of ad revenue investors originally expected. Following a quiet stint, the company has become vocal about a plan to create more ad revenue. The firm recently announced plans to launch a real-time ad exchange. This would allow a huge pool of data for display ad targeting. Advertisers will be able to target users based on data from select DSPs. However, they can’t combine native Facebook data with that outside data, which would be sure to ruffle feathers among privacy advocates. Facebook would act as any other publisher providing real-time bidding inventory to advertisers buying through exchanges. Advertisers will target people through the DSP partners, and if Facebook finds a cookie match, an ad will be shown to them.
“We do not share any user data with advertisers and people still have the same control over the ads they see on Facebook that they do today,” said a Facebook spokesperson. Users will have the option of not being targeted through the third-party partner sites. Or through the Facebook “About Ads” page. “We are not building profiles based on the Facebook Exchange,” continued the spokesperson.
This ad rotation change appears to compliment Facebook’s intentions of staying beneath the radar while improving and allowing optimization to ad sales and services.
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