How good is Taboola, really?

[Sutra]

I was accepted by Taboola last week but they want me to sign on to a 12 month agreement. I clarified what that meant, and it simply means that for 12 months I can't use other Native Ad networks while using Taboola. It does not lock me in, so if Taboola performs badly I can remove it from my site. However, the account manager stressed they want publishers that are committed to using Taboola for the full 12 months.

Using Taboola means I also can't use networks which show Sponsored content (I asked the manager about this). I currently use Connatix and it has been a very good revenue source. However, I see on Taboola's website they appear to offer similar "Sponsored" content units of their own. Thing is, I don't think I've seen other publishers use those units, always just see the Native content at the end. So I'm questioning how good their in-content sponsored units perform.

In some ways, Taboola SEEMS great. But I thought Adblade would be great too, but I just got done testing AdBlade and it performed poorly for me so removed it. So far Content.Ad has been doing well. I don't want to burn a bridge by using Taboola then removing it in a month.

The other thing is that I was also approved for Google Matched Content units. I tested them and didn't like it so removed. But that tells me that they are getting closer to releasing native ads.

Also, Facebook just released a Beta ad network along with native ads.

Don't know if either of those will be ready within the next 12 months but it's a possibility.

So anyway, I'm looking for some feedback on how well Taboola performs (I know that varies by niche/audience but looking for a general opinion), how good their ad units are, their support, etc.

What's your experience been like with Taboola?

 

[MrMedia]

I wouldnt get sucked into any 12 month deal - sounds like they are trying it on.
In my experience they are OK - just OK - its a small incremental revenue stream for me but to be honest you need traffic in the millions of PIs to make serious money with them.

I see about a $0.70-$1.00 RPM with them.

 

[Sutra]

What type of RPM do you get with Mobile traffic on Taboola?

I have the traffic, 1.5 - 2 million pageviews per month, but the vast majority is mobile. With Content.Ad I get about 0.80 RPM for mobile. Desktop RPM is shitty though, like 0.18 RPM. However, the exit popup for desktop gets between $4.00 - $5.00 RPM.

My Sponsored units get about $1.30 RPM so I'm concerned about giving that up unless Taboola's sponsored units perform similar.

 

[MrMedia]

Mostly mobile here too so that would be my rpm.

Nice page views btw man - Pagination much

 

[Sutra]

@MrMedia Wow, thought that would be desktop. That makes Taboola more enticing. Do you use their sponsored units? If so, do those perform well?

Talking about these:

As for pagination, I used to do it heavily. But from the beginning of January and on, all content has not been paginated. All content is 1 page. I do promote the old paginated posts still but the vast majority of pageviews come from the 1 page content that has goes viral.

 

[Potatoe]

@Trankuility When you used to use pagination are we talking like 5-10 pages per article? I've found that 2 pages is a really good balance between getting more views, and not pissing people off, just in case that wasn't something you've tried I figured I'd mention it.

 

[MrMedia]

Yep I use the in post units, sidebar and below post units

 

[Inhibition]

Whatever you do DON'T LOCK YOURSELF IN WITH THEM. I've had taboola do garbage on some sites and OK in others. If they don't let you test it for at least a week without making you sign a contract, walk.

 

[Sutra]

@MrMedia Awesome. Looks like I'll have to consider Taboola some more. May make the jump.

@j a m e s In October I used 2 pages per article, and I agree with you; good balance. In Nov and December I tried 10 pages per article. Extreme, hah, but it worked well. No complaints, articles did well, and got lots of positive feedback on the articles.

However, I surmised that 1 page articles would have an even bigger viral effect. So in January I started created single page content. So far my hunch about the viral factor seems to be correct. Within days of changing to 1 page articles the viral effect went bananas, far beyond any previous articles. And it continues to do so with new articles.

Whatever you do DON'T LOCK YOURSELF IN WITH THEM. I've had taboola do garbage on some sites and OK in others. If they don't let you test it for at least a week without making you sign a contract, walk.

I hear ya. I won't lock myself in with them. I can take them off anytime. But if I do that I know it will piss them off. I assume that will make it harder to use them again if I want to try them again down the line.

 

[Forzas5]

I just ran a campaign on Outbrain for $300 and was very disappointing with the traffic. It lead to zero conversions which was expected, but also it didn't generate any social shares and all the traffic came from websites I've never heard of. I am sticking with FB ads.