Woah! Forbes accused of selling dodgy ad space! The Daily Dose of Digital - 09/04/24

This is kinda a big deal! Forbes has to be one of the most trusted sites on the internet, with a DA of 94 and estimated 112.3m organic sessions per month! It's one of "those" sites. Most digital marketers would love a nice, juicy, reputable backlink from them; not to mention the fact that it's one of the most widely read news sources in business. All of which makes the fact they've potentially been selling dodgy ad spots a real headline!

A pretty damning report from ad quality firm Adalytics has alleged that hundreds of brands, including household names like Disney, Ford, Johnson & Johnson and even Microsoft, were duped into believing they were buying premium ad inventory on Forbes’ website when, in reality, they were buying ad units on a pretty spammy 'secret' subdomain. Sketchy? I'd say so.

The report alleges that "Forbes systematically misled advertisers into believing they were buying media on Forbes.com when they were actually buying media on a secret, spammy ‘made for advertising’ (MFA) subdomain, www3.forbes.com."

Not cool Forbes, not cool.

According to Adalytics, the www3.forbes.com subdomain was a bit of a 'shadow operation', hosting content repurposed from Forbes but in formats like listicles and slideshows that were heavy on ads and light on substance.

The volume of ads on this subdomain was staggering, with reports of over 200 ads appearing in a single page view, a far cry from the more modest 3 to 10 ads on Forbes' primary domain. And this has been going on since May 2017!

What makes this situation particularly intriguing is the subdomain's elusive nature. It wasn't indexed by search engines, and direct visits were re-routed to Forbes' main site, making it a sort-of hidden chamber within the Forbes digital estate BUT, it was also not behind a paywall like much of Forbes' content, meaning guaranteed ad impressions and at a significant volume.

This setup led to a significant portion of traffic coming through indirect routes, such as display ads from other sites, many of which (around 70%) were of the clickbait variety placed by services like Outbrain and Taboola.

According to an article on The Drum, "Hundreds of major brands bought media on www3.forbes.com – likely under the impression that they were buying legitimate ad space on forbes.com. These include Microsoft, Disney, JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, Mercedes Benz, Oracle, Fidelity, Marriott, Ford, United Airlines and many more.

A leader at one major consumer health brand says that 28% of the impressions that the brand thought were serving on forbes.com, via Google Display & Video 360, were actually served on the www3 subdomain. The exec estimates that the numbers are similar across other demand-side providers that the brand uses, including Amazon and The Trade Desk."

The implications for the brands involved are significant. Many believed they were associating their advertisements with the reputable Forbes.com, not a subdomain with a fundamentally different user experience characterised by an overwhelming ad density. The revelation has prompted a re-evaluation of advertising strategies, especially for those brands that have been striving to enhance the quality of their media placements.

Furthermore, the report has shone a light on the broader industry issue of media transparency. Despite the adoption of best practices and recommendations from bodies like the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in the US, the Forbes case illustrates the challenges brands face in ensuring their media investments are sound. The report also highlights the involvement of leading ad agencies in transactions on the www3 subdomain, indicating that the issue may be more widespread within the industry than previously thought.

In response to the unfolding story, Forbes defended its ad practices, emphasising the subdomain as a minor part of its operation (only accounting for around 1% of their estate) and reaffirming its commitment to high standards and transparency in its media platforms. Nonetheless, the incident has sparked a debate about the effectiveness of current ad verification and fraud detection measures, with calls for a more robust system to safeguard advertisers from such pitfalls. It's genuinely a challenge that could negatively impact a brand's value in the future if not checked.

This situation underscores a critical need within the digital advertising ecosystem for greater clarity and accountability - if Forbes can do it, who else is getting away with it? Incidents like these remind us of the importance of diligence and the ongoing challenge of maintaining trust in digital engagements. In fact, Adalytics has continued to bang this drum for quite some time.

The conversation around this incident (and ad quality & transparency) is far from over, and it will likely continue to influence how advertisers and publishers alike approach the dynamics of digital advertising.

What do you think about this situation? Have there been other examples? Have you ever experienced low quality ad impressions on hidden subdomains? Let me know in the comments.