IAB Australia has issued a strong warning about made for advertising (MFA) sites which maximise the number of ads using cheap or hijacked content.
The industry body wans the Australian advertising industry to take the issue more seriously and work collaboratively to minimise ad spend on these sites.
A study by NewsGuard, a rating system for news and information websites, last year found 141 brands feeding programmatic ad dollars to low-quality AI-generated news and information sites operating with little to no human oversight.
The IAB Executive Tech Council has issued a made for advertising guidance paper with clear definitions and recommendations.
The paper describes MFAs as a "blatant waste" of investment for brands that expose ad campaigns to such sites.
MFAs are also harmful for publishers that invest resources into quality content and result in poor consumer experiences which erodes trust in the industry.
“Our goal with this document is to support each part of the ecosystem with guidance that will not only reduce exposure to MFA sites - but as a direct consequence, reduce wastage, benefit genuine publishers, ameliorate consumer experiences online and ultimately improve both campaign performance & advertising ROI," said Jonas Jaanimagi, IAB Australia tech lead.
“Our guidance is not exhaustive, but we highly recommend that buyers, sellers and vendors review and consider these recommendations. We welcome feedback from all on our guidance."
Media quality concerns regarding MFA websites are increasingly significant for advertisers.
In June 2023, the ANA in the US released a report indicating that 21% of impressions and 15% of spending via programmatic buying were wasted on MFA sites.
These websites typically rely on attention-grabbing headlines, clickbait, and controversial content to boost page views and ad revenue.
MFA sites often provide substandard content and employ tactics such as pop-up ads, auto-play videos, and other intrusive advertising methods to maximise revenue.
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