> And as more and more ads are viewed and not clicked, (there's probably some adtech term for this) the price per view is going to go down, which will encourage more clickbait, which will drive the value of an impression down, etc.
If that is true, the problem will solve itself eventually.
As someone with more experience than most advertisers when it comes to native ads (i.e. outbrain, taboola, revcontent, etc...) I can assure you that clicks and impression costs are going up, not down. As people learn what works and the competition gets fiercer, the costs go up.
The race to the bottom you fear is actually, a race to the bottom of what advertisers can afford to continue advertising. Right now, Native ads are dominated by supplements, which is essentially snake oil salesmen, and also some casino, and other either mass appeal or shady enterprises. Most legit businesses are priced out of the game...Paid Search and Paid Social have done a good job keeping out these low quality advertisers...
Essentially, the race to the bottom of creating clickbait that you are pointing out, is actually a race to the top. A race to the highest margin, most mass appeal advertisers.
If you really think about publisher incentives, they are more likely to create clickbait when the value of clicks goes up, not goes down. At some point of time when prices drop, it becomes easier to make money in other areas...so why bother.
If that is true, the problem will solve itself eventually.
As someone with more experience than most advertisers when it comes to native ads (i.e. outbrain, taboola, revcontent, etc...) I can assure you that clicks and impression costs are going up, not down. As people learn what works and the competition gets fiercer, the costs go up.
The race to the bottom you fear is actually, a race to the bottom of what advertisers can afford to continue advertising. Right now, Native ads are dominated by supplements, which is essentially snake oil salesmen, and also some casino, and other either mass appeal or shady enterprises. Most legit businesses are priced out of the game...Paid Search and Paid Social have done a good job keeping out these low quality advertisers...
Essentially, the race to the bottom of creating clickbait that you are pointing out, is actually a race to the top. A race to the highest margin, most mass appeal advertisers.
If you really think about publisher incentives, they are more likely to create clickbait when the value of clicks goes up, not goes down. At some point of time when prices drop, it becomes easier to make money in other areas...so why bother.
Edit: corrected spelling on a word