MGID is one of the major native advertising platforms that performance marketers use. Every month it targets more than 850 million unique visitors from multiple countries. Like other tools, MGID has its own tips and tricks that performance marketers can master to make the most out of it; in this article, we’ll explore 5 of them.
Targeting Tips in MGID
•Based on the nature of your campaigns, target accordingly. What does that mean in MGID? Say you are promoting a product or service, then select Product Promotion in your campaigns’ settings, or if your goal is to bring in views to a page, select Content Promotion instead.
Note: You can further target specific categories (each having its own sub-categories).
•MGID offers a large list of targeting options you can choose from (e.g. GEOs, Language, Type of Device, OS, etc). When choosing any of them, make sure you are targeting a large enough audience that has at least some unifying elements, such as speaking the same language or using the same device type.
•Dynamic Retargeting is a feature inside MGID that lets you personalize every ad impression. The idea behind it is pretty simple. Campaign nr.1 is shown to a large audience, then MGID’s sensors detect users’ interests, and when you launch campaign nr.2, it will target only relevant users.
•MGID is well known for its reach across the globe. From an interview we did with one of their chief representatives, he shed some light on some of the most successful Geo & Vertical combos.
GEO | Verticals |
U.S. | Investments & Bitcoin trading, Consumer products, Health & Beauty, Dating |
Thailand | Weight loss, Binary, ED |
Germany | Online games, Gambling |
Italy | Dating |
Romania | Weight loss, Health & Beauty offers |
Indonesia | Forex, Anti-age creams |
Vietnam | Weight loss, Money making, ED |
India | Hair loss, Casino, Moneymaking |
Note: Experimenting with new GEO & Vertical combos can set you apart from the rest of the competition.
•Lastly, MGID recommends that when you test a campaign, you let it run for around 14 days before taking further action and having 10-15 ads in it.
Image by MGID
Top Three Widgets to Use in MGID
From MGID’s list of widgets, there are three that clearly stand out.
•Under-article Widget
It’s the most powerful and popular widget in MGID’s inventory, as it is the one that traditionally generates the highest CTR. As the name suggests, it’s positioned right at the end of an article, so it is quite natural for visitors to engage with the ads in this space. According to MGID it has a 40-60% visibility rate and performs really well in pretty much all settings.
•In-article Widget
Combined with the under-article widget they make for a highly successful and killer combo. On its own, the in-article widget is a perfect fit for long-form articles and is preferred by marketers also for its adaptability in multiple device formats.
•Smart-Widget
For those that receive a higher percentage of their traffic from desktop devices, the smart widget has proven to perform exceptionally well. It presents users with a feed of multiple ad types (native ads, IAB display units, native video) that combines internal content with sponsored content. Additionally, it has a high CTR as a result of high user engagement provided by internal recirculation and video solutions.
Image by MGID (example of Under-article Widget)
Know the Space Where Your Ads Appear
To guarantee that your ads will perform well, take a look at the space where they appear and how they look there. What does that exactly mean? Say you’re opening a site called www.headphones.music in which one of your ads appears. Firstly check if the ad looks well on different types of devices, so mobile and desktop (below you can read what to avoid and what to include in your ads to make them stand out). If the ad looks alright, then check for other elements such as: whether is it positioned correctly or how well it blends with the site’s overall visual appearance; all these little details can really make a difference and increase the impact of your ad.
Furthermore, say you are promoting an ad in our example www.headphones.music, that contains something related to headphones or music, it is likely to convert pretty well, but if you are promoting a dishwasher instead, the typical audience that visits www.headphones.music won’t be that interested in clicking on your ad. This is what the core of knowing where your ads appear is all about. The process can help shape your ads to better target custom audiences or to know which publishers to block.
Getting Your Ads Approved in MGID
Like any other native ads platform, MGID has its own guidelines users have to follow. Promoting any of the following will result in your ads being banned:
•Promotion of alcoholic beverages, illicit drugs, illegal gambling and tobacco products
•Promotion of any adult-related content (e.g. pornography)
•Ads that promote the sale of weaponry of any kind
•Promotion of misleading, inaccurate or deceitful content (e.g. fake news)
•Any type of content that promotes hate, violence or conflict
•Promotion of disturbing or gruesome content
•Poor quality photos or grammatically incorrect texts in your ads will have them banned as well
Image by MGID
Best Practices in Mgid
Thumbnail Best Practices
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (preferred), 3:2, 1:1
File Type: png, jpg, or static gif
Max File Size: 5 MB
Animated Thumbnail Best Practices
Minimum Dimensions: 600×400 px
Best Ratios: 16:9 between 1:1
Video Length: up to 15 sec
Gif Size: up to 5 mb
Pixel Resolution: 1020×680 px or higher
Format: gif
Text and Advertising Text Best Practices
•Apply the correct spacing between your words
•Headline should contain no period at the end
•Make sure you are using the proper verb tenses
•Avoid using ellipsis (…) and excessive punctuation or any other unnecessary symbol (@, <>, **)
•The language used in your headline should match that in your campaign
•Use elements such as {City}, {Country} or {Region}
•Headlines should not contain addresses, emails or phone numbers
•Emojis shouldn’t be used
CTA Best Practices
•A CTA is required for tier brand campaigns, but it’s not mandatory for other types
•The CTA shoudn’t duplicate the title or the description text, neither should it sound complicated
•If in the form of a question, there shouldn’t be more than one
•Don’t uses macros or emojis in your CTA
•Make sure the CTA has the same language as the teaser above
•Present a strong reason for a viewer to click the CTA
Image by MGID
Image Best Practices
•A landscape-oriented image works best in MGID as the system will automatically crop it to tailor it for each placement size
•Use an image with a clear point of focus and a relatively plain background
•Avoid images that have multiple subjects and a busy background
•Be aware that things will get cropped for different placement, hence the main image shouldn’t be damaged
•Avoid using images that include small texts in the image or below it
•Avoid using images that include logos or layers of text in their body
•If you have to use logo or text in your images, then add a background image to your image
Thumbnail Image Best Practices
•Use an image where the subject of the photo is looking into the camera
•Think how your would interact with the product in the image (e.g. if it is a mug, most people would expect the handle to be on the right)
•The above mentioned mental trick is applied to things such as instruments or utensils as well
•When promoting a product, remove it from its packaging and display it in a normal setting
•Always choose high-resolution images for your ads
•Choose an image that has no free space around it
•Make sure to choose a quality image and not a stretched one
•If there’s an additional element to your image (e.g. a promo code), place it in a way that it blends with the main image and doesn’t seem out of place
•Choose images that don’t have watermarks on them and that don’t violate any rights
For details on other native traffic sources, you can check our excellent articles on Taboola, Outbrain and RevContent.
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