'Made for Advertising' Websites Are the Marketing Industry's Latest Messy Situation.

The ad industry is criticizing "made for advertising" (MFA) websites that attract visitors through clickbait headlines and then bombard them with ads. These sites provide a poor user experience, deliver questionable results for advertisers, and contribute to higher carbon emissions. However, MFA sites still receive significant advertising spending, accounting for about 15% of automated online advertising spending, or $10 billion annually. While warnings against MFA sites exist, there are inconsistent definitions and cases of sites being mistakenly included on block lists. Some publishers argue that if marketers want to advertise on their sites, it is their choice. The online advertising ecosystem may even incentivize brands to use MFA sites for cheap reach and increased brand awareness. Major advertising trade groups and ad-tech companies advise against this strategy, as MFA sites offer a "user-hostile experience" and exhibit undesirable traits such as high ad loads and autoplay video ads. MFA sites have become a concern for the ad industry, following previous battles against bot networks and ads served out of view. The share of ad auctions from MFA sites has grown but appears to be declining after a report by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) highlighted their wastefulness. The ANA recommends that brands work with trusted programmatic media sellers and question unusually cheap inventory to avoid MFA sites. Block lists are also compiled by companies like Jounce to identify MFA sites, but these lists vary, and some major brands still run ads on MFA sites. [Extracted from the article]