The digital ad space is dominated by Google, Facebook, and Amazon as the top trusted online advertising platforms. All three companies account for almost two-thirds of ad dollars spent on U.S digital advertising. Marketers rank all three companies as the most trusted platforms based on their ad ROI and the ability to balance both privacy and personalization. Google and Facebook, for example, let users have a considerable say about the ways they can be targeted.
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1. Google
- According to a study by Singular, 84.47% of marketers believe Google is the most trusted ad company. In fact, digital ad revenue for Google rose nearly 10% to $37.1 billion in the most recent quarter.
- Google ranks highest because it’s has a proven track record of maximum ad performance and ROI.
- Additionally, Google’s Display network provides reach to over 90% of the total online audience compared to other ad platforms.
- Furthermore, as it relates to consent-based personalized advertising, Google has recently become one of the major platforms to start an ambitious conversation about balancing privacy and user control over data and personalized advertising.
- A recent update reflects this initiative that would prohibit advertisers from targeting by age, gender, parental status, marital status, or zip code for campaigns relating to credit, housing, and employment.
2. Facebook
- 71.93% of marketers rank Facebook as the second most trusted ad company. Digital ad spend on Facebook jumped 22% this year from a year earlier in the third quarter proving the company’s dominant position as social media’s best-performing ad platform.
- Facebook’s second-ranking is being propelled heavily by Instagram’s growth.
- Despite some of the challenges around privacy, Facebook’s precise targeting and abundant reach are a few of the important reasons advertisers continue to choose the ad platform. However, marketers are continuing to pay more attention in the coming months to see how the company is navigating these challenges.
3. Amazon
- 54.08% of marketers rank Amazon third as the most trusted ad company. Amazon’s ad business grew sharply this year, with sales up 51% to $5.4 billion.
- The company ranks third as the least trusted because it’s newest to the ad space. However, according to John Koetsier, Vice president of insights at Singular, It probably won’t take long to earn the trust, he said. “ROI proves everything.”
- Some challenges faced by marketers on the platform revolve around optimization tactics, inadequate reporting, and lack of support from Amazon client services. However, many marketers are beginning to adopt Amazon Advertising because data suggests the ad platform generates a 20% higher return on investment relative to a brand’s average marketing ROI.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
To find details for the most advertiser trusted platforms for consent-based, personalized advertising we searched marketing industry publications such as MediaPost, Forbes, HBR, Emarketer, Marketing Land, and WSJ to find general information on the ranking of advertiser platforms. Using this research strategy we were able to find some information on the rankings based on marketing surveys and digital ad spending projections. However, there was little information from the advertiser’s point of view on why they trust/distrust different platforms. As a result, we focused our search on the strengths and weaknesses of all three platforms as possible reasons for their high/low rankings.
