Outbrain vs Taboola | Which One to Choose?

October 21, 2022

Are you looking to increase your website traffic? You may consider using a content discovery platform like Outbrain or Taboola. But which one is right for you?

In this article, we'll compare Outbrain vs Taboola and discuss the pros and cons of each so that you can make an informed decision about which content discovery platform is suitable for your needs.

Native Advertising:

When internet users visit their favorite sites, they may see recommended articles at the bottom of the page. These are provided by native advertising networks such as Taboola and Outbrain. When a user clicks on one of these links, they are taken to the publisher's website, where they can read or watch the promoted piece of content. Publishers are only charged when users click on one of their Promoted Links.

With so many choices, deciding which content discovery platform is right for your business can be challenging. Although both Outbrain and Taboola are effective in helping you get your content seen by more people, they each have their distinct advantages and disadvantages. Here's a look at how Outbrain and Taboola compare in terms of reach, cost, target audience, and more.

Differences between Outbrain and Taboola:

Outbrain and Taboola are ad networks that focus on content discovery. They allow publishers to place links to their articles and videos on other websites to drive traffic back to their sites.

Taboola was founded in 2007, while Outbrain was founded in 2006. Both companies are based in New York City. Taboola has raised $117 million from investors, while Outbrain has raised $209 million.

Both companies have offices worldwide, including in London, Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Sao Paulo.

Outbrain works with a network of over 50,000 publishers, including The Guardian, CNN, and Time magazine. Taboola works with a smaller network of about 14,000 publishers.

Outbrain specializes in content discovery, while Taboola focuses on native advertising.

Taboola offers more targeting options than Outbrain.

Outbrain charges on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, while Taboola charges on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis.

Outbrain has a slightly more significant reach than Taboola, with over 250 million unique monthly visitors compared to 150 million for Taboola.

Similarities between Outbrain and Taboola:

Both companies use similar technology to serve ads on publisher sites. They crawl the web looking for new content and then match it with related content from their network of publisher sites. Outbrain uses an algorithm with AI and machine learning that looks at the topic of an article and then serves up related articles from its network of sites. Taboola also has a proprietary algorithm that analyzes page layout and determines where to place ads on a publisher's site so that users are most likely to click on them.

However, both platforms allow you to target specific countries and regions to tailor your campaigns accordingly. In terms of cost, Outbrain generally charges more per click than Taboola, but they offer several different pricing options, including CPC, CPM, and CPA. You can also set a daily budget, so you never spend more than you're comfortable with.

Outbrain and Taboola tend to favor articles with solid headlines and thumbnails regarding the types of content that perform well on each platform. That said, Taboola performs exceptionally well with listicles (i.e., articles presented as a list). At the same time, Outbrain is especially effective for image-based content such as infographics or galleries. Regarding targeting, both platforms allow you to target readers by interest/topic and by demographics such as age, gender, location, etc.

Outbrain:

Outbrain is a content discovery platform that helps publishers promote their articles and videos across the web. It does this by placing promoted links on other websites, email newsletters, and even on social media platforms like Facebook.

It helps publishers and advertisers to increase their web traffic by promoting their content on other websites. Publishers can use Outbrain to promote blog posts, articles, videos, and other forms of content on high-traffic websites. When someone clicks on one of the Promoted Stories from Outbrain, they are redirected to the publisher's website.

The company ranks as one of the top 20 most prominent ad networks globally, with over 10 billion recommendations served per month on over 100,000 publisher sites, including CNN, The Guardian, Slate, and Mashable. Outbrain works with advertisers such as Mcdonald's, Samsung, and Coca-Cola to deliver sponsored content to targeted audiences across its network.

Some Of The Websites That Use Outbrain Include:

CNN
Rolling Stone
NBC News
Time Magazine
Mashable
Wired

Taboola:

Taboola is a content discovery platform that helps publishers promote their articles and videos across the web. However, unlike Outbrain, which specializes in promoting articles, Taboola enables both articles and videos. Publisher customers are only charged when users click on one of their promoted pieces of content.

According to Comscore, it ranks even higher than Outbrain as the 12th largest ad network globally, with over 500 million monthly unique visitors across its site portfolio, including Like Outbrain, Taboola features sponsored content from major brands like PepsiCo, Indeed, and Mercedes-Benz but also works with smaller businesses to get them exposure on popular sites.

Some Of The Websites That Use Taboola Include:

Slate
Huffington Post
Discovery Channel
USA Today
Business Insider

There are several factors to consider:

Audience size & targeting - As we saw above, both networks have extensive global reach with different strengths when it comes to targeting specific demographics.

Price - Publishers usually receive a 70% revenue share from each Native Ad view, while advertisers are charged on a CPC or CPE basis.

Traffic quality - This can be difficult to gauge, but some argue that Outbrain has better traffic since it only serves up related content (i.e., if you're reading an article about parenting tips, then recommendations for baby products will appear), whereas Taboola features all sorts of topics not necessarily related to what you're currently viewing.

Fill rate - This measures how often ads are shown vs 'ad unavailable' message; both networks claim high rates but some publishers report that Outbrain has a higher fill rate.

eCPM (Effective Cost Per Mille) - This metric represents earnings divided by impressions x 1000; both services boast high eCPMs, but some suggest that Taboola pays slightly more.

Support & account management - Both teams work hard to keep their customers happy, but some say that Outbrain provides more personal service.

Wrapping Up

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to which network is better, Outbrain or Taboola. So which platform is right for you? Ultimately it depends on your goals for your campaign as well as your budget. If reach is your primary concern, Outbrain may be the better choice since they have a slightly bigger audience than Taboola. On the other hand, if you're working with a limited budget, Taboola could be a better option since their prices are generally lower than those of Outbrain. Whichever platform you choose, test out different types of content to see what performs best before scaling up your campaigns.

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