UK content monetisation platform Skimlinks is joining the ranks of Facebook and Google as a data provider for programmatic ad targeting.
Launched today, Audiences by Skimlinks opens up the company’s pools of anonymous data collected among its 55,000-strong publisher network.
The data is made available for targeting through programmatic ad platforms such as MediaMath and AppNexus, after which revenue will be shared out among the participating publishers.
Speaking to Digiday, Skimlinks co-founder and CEO Alice Navarro, described Audiences as a game changer to services like ‘Facebook, Apple and Google’, that currently hold the monopoly.
“What Audiences by Skimlinks is giving publisher is a level playing field. We anticipate that in a year’s time, this is going to be a significant revenue source for publishers.”
Level playing field
Navarro adds that most of Skimlinks’ commerce-focused publisher clients have already opted into the data pool, which will give programmatic advertisers all the more to work with.
Skimlinks’ ‘data-cooperative’ is likely to appeal to advertisers due to the inherent quality of first-party data, allowing them to identify between casual browsers and those ready to buy.
Even without purchasing, the cookie left by Skimlinks will allow for advertisers to gain insights into user behaviour patterns, which can be targeted on other publishers’ sites.
Skimlinks’ data have been derived from clicking and conversion data for over 1.3 billion unique users worldwide, and the company claims to have influenced $625 million worth of online sales last year.