Ask HN: ad server recommendation? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: ad server recommendation?

9 pointsmwsherman7 comments

Hi, my startup will (probably) be serving ads and we are looking for a platform.

To be clear, we are not looking for an ad network like DoubleClick, but simply the software to do the serving and management. We'll do the selling, in other words.

Of course we could build our own, but that would be so much reinventing of wheels. We prefer not to install software on our own servers, it should be SAAS, but it's not a dealbreaker.

We will look at configurability (things like CPM vs CPC, weighting, keywording, URL targeting) and reporting as the main drivers. Of course, reliability and performance matter too.

Do you have any recommendations based on experience? Thanks!

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In addition to OpenX, check out Google Ad Manager/DFP. I tested both a couple years ago: found OpenX to be more robust and customizable, but Google had a much better UI. Both products have evolved since then. Either could fit your needs.

http://openx.org/ad-server/hosted-packages http://www.google.com/admanager/

For the money (free, hosted) GAM is hard to beat. Google just kicked off a major update of GAM and are rebranding it as DFP and will be charging higher volume customers.

I haven't looked at OpenX in two years -- would love to hear recent experiences with OpenX.

Google Ad Manager is free up to 90M monthly impressions, I believe.

Back when I was in the need for an ad server, I remember using phpAdsNew, now called OpenX I believe.

It's not for everyone, so I recommend you give it a spin before deciding anything, but it does offer a lot of configurability and analytical tools.

AOL (I mean, Aol; actually the former AdTech) has a pretty good self-service solution. It has a pretty dashboard, good management interface, and getting campaigns up and down is fast. Not sure on price.

http://www.adtechus.com/Home

I have two clients using OpenX, and they are both quite pleased. One started out with the free, hosted version, and recently migrated to our own install of OpenX due to poor performance on the hosted version. Our local install performs quite well, though.

OpenX is pretty easy to install and keep running, it does the job, and its straightforward to configure. Don't let the poor performance of the hosted version scare you away.

Google Ad Manager is pretty dead simple to use. OpenX if you want a native solution.

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