What’s MFA - Made for Advertising?

Today, we are going to talk about a silent revenue drain plaguing the programmatic world – the Made-for-Advertising (MFA) sites.

Visualize flashy banner ads and autoplay videos dominating a webpage, creating a horror show in the name of user experience rather than offering valuable content.

Sounds awful for users, right? 

However, for programmatic systems, these sites appear as golden opportunities — cheap ad placements with seemingly high visibility. 

Hold on, but programmatic promises efficiency and reach? Well, yes and no. Here's the rub: Advertisers crave high-quality impressions at rock-bottom prices, an impossible combo in reality. But sadly, some prioritize superficial metrics like cost-per-view over genuine results, and that, my friends, is where MFAs thrive.

Here’s a little back story:

From 5% in 2020 to 20% in 2022, MFA sites started sharing a bigger chunk of advertiser’s ad budget, cutting into the pockets of non-MFA publishers. Another ANA study found that a whopping 21% of audited impressions (translating to 15% of total ad spending) originated from MFAs. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. MFAs reach beyond the programmatic open marketplace, slithering into supposedly premium private marketplaces (PMPs) as well. 

Studies reveal that a large number of PMPs allocate their budget to MFA inventory – a programmatic bait-and-switch scheme targeting unsuspecting advertisers.

So, what's the solution? 

The industry needs a paradigm shift. Instead of chasing superficial metrics that inflate MFA value, you, as publishers, need to champion KPIs that reflect real business outcomes. 

This means acknowledging the limitations of current metrics and embracing a quality-over-quantity approach. But are you limiting your chance to earn more ad revenue by doing so? Let's find out!

Advertisers falling for Made for Advertising sites

Unfortunately for advertisers, MFA sites appear to be brand-safe and cheap. These sites are not flagged as fraudulent presently as they operate within the set rules of media quality.

With their low-quality, spammy content and bad user experiences, MFAs are taking a significant percentage of ad revenue away from legitimate sites. Advertisers see these cheap impressions and high traffic volume, and their automated systems gobble it up. 

MFAs in action:

This diverts resources away from premium publishers like you, who actually deliver valuable content and engaged audiences. It's like watching a budget bidding war, where flash trumps substance, leaving quality publishers on the sidelines.

MFA fraud hurts advertisers and publishers

The report says that major advertisers are still unknowingly wasting money on MFAs. The Adalytics report also blames the complex ad tech supply chain and overreliance on exclusion lists for allowing made for advertising to persist. 

It calls for a multi-pronged approach to fixing the problem, including education for advertisers, working directly with publishers, and demanding data verification.

Eventually, it says that avoiding MFA is crucial for advertisers because it wastes money, hurts brand image, and is less sustainable. This translates to lost revenue for you, the publisher, who invests in creating content that resonates with real readers.

Best Practices for Publishers to Combat Made for Advertising Threat

These clickbait havens siphon ad revenue and degrade the user experience. But fear not; there are ways to fight back! 

Here are a few approaches publishers can take:

1. Flag MFA sites when you see them

As an information consumer, you must take action against these made for advertising sites whenever you come across them. You can directly flag these websites to Google for proving spam content, and also encourage your peers to do the same. Your actions can save legitimate publishers from losing their revenue share to MFAs which was nearly $10 billion in annual ad revenue, as per ANA.

2. Educate advertisers

Don't fight the battle alone. Partner with advertisers to raise awareness about the pitfalls of MFA placements and discuss the effects of investing in quality ad placements that reach highly engaged audiences on your platform.

3. Open marketplace vs. private marketplace vs. programmatic direct: Battling MFA with monetization strategy

You can further refine the fight against MFA sites by strategically choosing the right marketplace for your ad inventory. Here's how each marketplace impacts:

Open Marketplace (OMP):

• Pro: Offers the widest reach and potentially the fastest way to sell ad inventory.
• Con: MFAs also carry open auctions eating at least 20% of the advertisers’ budget and potentially your revenue. 
• MFA Impact: High. Due to the open nature of the marketplace, MFA sites can sneak into the auction and dilute the value of your placements.

Private Marketplace (PMP):

• Pro: Offers more control over who sees your inventory. Participation from pre-approved, reputable advertisers. Additionally, PMP deals often command higher CPMs compared to Open Marketplace.
• Con: Limited reach compared to Open Marketplace. PMPs may require more time and effort to set up deals with individual advertisers.
• MFA Impact: No Impact. The invite-only nature significantly minimizes the risk of losing revenue to MFA sites.

Programmatic Direct:

• Pro: Maximum control over ad placements and pricing. Ideal for securing higher CPMs for your ad inventory from high-value advertisers.
• Con: Limited scalability compared to Open Marketplace. Requires more time and negotiation for each deal.
• MFA Impact: Low. Programmatic direct deals with reputable brands virtually eliminate the chance of MFA involvement.

What we suggest?

Trying a split between Open Marketplace vs. Private Marketplace, after making Programmatic Direct deals, would be ideal for you to deal with MFA sites. A balanced approach using both OMP and PMP can be highly effective:

• Open Marketplace (50%) provides the necessary reach to maximize overall revenue and fill unsold ad inventory. This approach is crucial because, as per ANA's study, traffic served on non-MFA sites like you showed a +278% better conversion rate than traffic on MFA sites, and quality media delivered lower cost-per-conversion by 63%. It clearly means that your ad inventory is of higher quality and value than any MFA site to premium advertisers, and avoiding this strategy would be losing on potential revenue.
• Private Marketplace (50%) allows you to cultivate relationships with high-value advertisers seeking premium placements on your platform. This reduces the risk of losing ad revenue to MFA and potentially leads to higher CPMs.

4. Content is everything

Create high-value content that resonates with readers and advertisers alike. Engaging articles, insightful analyses, and informative videos attract loyal audiences and command a premium for ad placements. Remember, your content is what differentiates you and makes you better from MFA websites.

Made for Advertising: The Publisher’s Dilemma 

• MFA sites hurt the environment: Excessive ads and needless ad requests on MFA sites lead to higher carbon emissions. This is a growing concern for eco-conscious publishers.
• And they hurt your bottom line: Despite appearing attractive with good metrics, MFA sites deliver poor results. Studies show ads on MFA sites are half as likely to drive sales compared to an average non-MFA website, however their cheap CPMs drive advertisers to them. This means lost ad revenue for publishers and wasted budget for advertisers.

Unfortunately, a section of ad tech vendors are starting to embrace that MFA inventory is there, and is unavoidable.

Here’s the proof:

Will MFA sites be the Next Big Thing?

No, not at all. Maybe it works for some advertisers who chase cheap clicks, but for premium publishers like you there will always be demand from high-value advertisers.

Prioritizing ad revenue over content quality can lead to a poor user experience and potentially harm your reputation as well as the brand identity of the advertisers; and thus, you must steer clear of arbitrage sites and their practices. 

The good news? You are not powerless. 

By staying informed about MFA threats and adopting data-driven strategies that prioritize quality traffic, you can stay ahead of the problem. The programmatic world thrives on transparency. So, if you offer strong content engagement data and a good brand value, then you’ll emerge out of the MFA menace unharmed.

So, don’t get caught in a race to the bottom. Your premium content deserves better, and by working with the best ad management platform, you can ensure that programmatic advertising becomes a force for good. Remember, programmatic success hinges on reaching the right people, not just a lot of people.

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