MySpace is expected to launch their self serve ad platform dubbed MyAds, which will be different from Facebook’s similar product. If Facebook only allows text ads, MyAds on MySpace will allow everyone to quickly create display ads (728×90 or 300×250 units) and quickly target and serve it.
Apparently getting your ad set up is not hard at all even if you don’t have graphic design, Photoshop or other related skills, because there are pre-built templates and a Flash tool that will help you with your every step.
The new self serve ad platform will charge its advertisers on a cost-per-click basis and will prioritize those that pay the most. However the system is also going to use relative click information, so that if your ad gets clicked a lot (like on Google’s AdWords) you will pay less.
One of the most interesting feature of MyAds is the hyper-targeting technology that their system uses. Each user is being profiled (1,200 categories!!!) based on what they did on the site over time. For example Michael Arrington of TechCrunch wanted to target “women who live in California between the ages of 25-30 who like motorcycles”. There are 2,842 of them on MySpace.
At the moment MySpace is ranked #7 in Alexa’s Top 10 most trafficked websites, had $850 million or so in revenue last year and is expecting “MyAds to be a significant revenue source”. “It has already exceeded our launch expectations in the pre-launch phase,” said MySpace CEO, Chris DeWolfe.
