London, 1st August 2012 —(AOP)— If there’s one constant in today’s publishing world, it’s change. Digital spending has migrated from social to local to mobile and back again. Exchanges and agency trading desks have shifted pricing dynamics for good. And a new device, channel or platform seems to upend the industry every other month. For publishers ready to stomach the ride, new opportunities are plentiful – so far, we’re on track to reach the £5bn predicted for digital spending this year. So what’s a publisher to do?

• You need to compete with the top players and maximise revenue.
• Advertisers demand results.
• Users deserve readability.
• Adding more banners is simply not an option.
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You need to compete with the top players and maximise revenue. Advertisers demand results. Users deserve readability. Adding more banners is simply not an option. Here’s what is: monetising your images, the single most-overlooked source of inventory (and, ahem, revenue) in the publisher’s arsenal. The web is home to literally billions of images, and each one offers the potential to generate new income.

After all, approximately 30 per cent of publisher content, on average, consists of images, in the form of slideshows, photos and infographics. The number of images on a page may vary by vertical – entertainment pages often have as many as five images – but they’re often the first thing a user sees on the page. And as we’ve learned from the stunning success of Pinterest, images are a major driver. of search traffic and user engagement on all platforms. Hardly surprising - like Warhol, lots of readers “just look at pictures.”There’s no time like the present for monetising your images. Here’s why:

• The technology is tried and true: For years we’ve seen keyword targeting used to match page content with relevant ads. Now that same technology can be used to pair ads and images. Ads remain contextually relevant to the page – always essential if they’re to resonate with users – and appear in the area where users are most likely to be looking.

• New ad formats put users first: We also have new ad formats that can deliver in-image advertising in ways that are completely unobtrusive to users. Small ads are simply layered onto images in slideshows or alongside articles, without adding to the already ample clutter on so many pages.

• Advertisers benefit too: In-image ads are cost-efficient – and integrate easily with ongoing campaigns. In-image advertising also helps brands beat banner blindness, by delivering more dynamic, more viewable ads.

Will in-image advertising solve every publisher’s problems? Possibly not. But it does offer a new revenue opportunity that publishers can’t afford to miss. And in today’s environment, incremental revenue enhancements like this one can and will make a difference. Find out more about Vibrant Image. Vibrant is the UK’s leading contextual advertising company, and is an Associate AOP member.