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Topics in this article

  • Adam Singolda
  • Advertising
  • Native Advertising
  • Outbrain
  • Taboola

Two major companies behind those ‘recommended content’ ads are merging

Rivals Taboola and Outbrain, who both insert “recommended content” and native advertising on digital properties, including news sites, are merging.

  • Combined, the two companies will have 20,000 online properties in their portfolio, reaching an estimated 2.6 billion people.
  • While the companies are billing the move as a merger, the company will take on the Taboola name.
  • In addition, Taboola founder Adam Singolda is becoming CEO of the combined company.
  • Outbrain investors will get $250 million in cash plus 30% share of the new venture.
  • Both companies are profitable, according to Singolda and have passed $1 billion in revenue.
  • There are smaller players in the space, but Taboola and Outbrain are the largest.

The companies both provide similar core solutions — inserting ads and native advertising into digital platforms, including many leading news sites.

  • Taboola’s publishers include Business Insider, Bloomberg, USA Today, NBC News, The Weather Channel, MSN, CBS News and Fox — among others.
  • Outbrain, meanwhile, provides recommended and native advertising to CNN, Conde Nast, The Washington Post, BBC and others.
  • On most of these properties, the companies insert images and text units linking to advertiser content under headings such as “sponsored content” or “paid content.”
  • Many of these modules are located near the bottom of stories, but publishers also include them on homepages and section fronts.
  • Often the ads are also mixed in with links to editorial content — though they are labeled as advertising.
  • These ads are often designed to match the look of how links to editorial content are shown on the site — including using the same fonts and styling.
  • Some of these also mix in “recommended” content from the site or sister sites.
  • News sites get a cut of the revenue generated from impressions or clicks on these ads.

This type of advertising has become increasingly popular among both publishers and advertisers.

  • Advertisers like the approach because it allows them to show links to their products and services outside of the traditional banner ad format — and often mixed in with editorial content.
  • For publishers, the ads are a way to generate additional revenue.
  • Most of the ads in these feeds aren’t sold by the publications’ internal ad staff.
  • Both Google and Facebook have taken notice, each rolling out similar products that allow publishers to embed paid recommendations or native ads into content.

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