Pricing Initiative Optimizes Network Structure and Services for Efficiency, Value
SAN FRANCISCO – LookSmart, Ltd. (NASDAQ:LOOK), the search advertising network and management company, announced the launch of Optimal Pricing: a new initiative to deliver better performance to search advertisers by segmenting and pricing traffic according to that traffic’s value. Optimal Pricing offers advertisers a unique opportunity to reach and attract audiences outside of the major search engines, while managing to meet and exceed return-on-investment (ROI) goals.
“LookSmart is focused on delivering search advertisers the most effective advertiser networks and services for reaching customers outside of the big three search engines; building Optimal Pricing into the AdCenter platform is a major advancement to that end,” said Ted West, CEO and President of LookSmart. “Optimal Pricing is consistent with our longstanding track-record of innovation and improved search advertiser performance.”
Optimal Pricing aggregates keyword search traffic on the LookSmart Advertiser Network, and classifies performance data so that the full spectrum of that traffic is priced appropriately according to traffic type, quality, and volume. The model relies on information about advertiser campaign objectives and network structure to provide each advertiser a chance to bid on the most valuable traffic at all price points. As the customer case diagram illustrates, this approach, when compared to a simple “blended pricing” approach more common in the search advertising industry, allows advertisers to generate more paid clicks and conversions, and to realize conversions at a lower cost-per-conversion.
Built on over a decade of experience optimizing search traffic, LookSmart is able to leverage the scope and scale of its network and partnerships to the best advantage for its advertisers, offering access to incremental traffic at optimal value. The Optimal Pricing initiative was introduced to a small group of search advertisers, in beta release during the second quarter, and based on success in these cases, is now being rolled out to a broader cross-section of advertisers in the third quarter.
Eventually, LookSmart expects most advertisers with larger campaigns to adopt Optimal Pricing in their campaigns on the LookSmart Advertiser Network.
LookSmart continues to drive performance innovation in search advertising networks. The release of Optimal Pricing follows the full release during the second quarter of SmartRotation, an industry-first CPA-optimized ad rotation feature that serves the best-converting ad creative based on tracking pixel data. These two innovations helped the company gain recognition as a finalist for the 2009 Search Engine Watch “Best Search Ad Platform” award, which LookSmart took home last year.
