Targeted Text Links, already established in the US, will initially only run across AOL portals including its motoring, games, entertainment and lifestyle sites. However, Richard Garrod, Platform-A's product manager for Targeted Text Links, said AOL expects big brand publishers to be signed up within a month.
The pay-per-click text ad platform, powered by Quigo, allows advertisers to target ads by vertical category, site, section and individual page on a selection of the UK's best web content.
The performance-based advertising offering operates an auction-style bidding model for ad placement across publishers' inventory. Advertisers' scores will increase based on click-through-rates and cost-per-click figures, which ranks ads in order of performance, allowing advertisers to evaluate brand spend and manage their budget across the network.
Publishers will be able to pick and choose the best brand fit of advertising to serve alongside their content at the same time as generating maximum revenue from the bidding process.
Unlike standard contextual text networks, the Quigo platform gives publishers direct control to review ad campaigns and inventory before they run on their site, ensuring inappropriate ads are not.
Michael Steckler, Platform-A's UK managing director, said the "links offers a new, transparent marketplace for text ad buying in the UK market".
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