Quigo Grows Ad Network

Search firm Quigo Technologies added several large publishers to its AdSonar Exchange content-targeted text ad network.

Web sites for newspapers USA Today and the New York Post; National Geographic-backed travel site iExplore; lifestyle and recreational publisher World Publications join about 150 other publishers in Quigo’s health and travel sections. With the addition of USA Today’s sports section, the company has now added a sports category.

AdSonar Exchange first categorizes a Web site by content. AdSonar’s relevancy algorithms then refines the match so that the right ad will be shown in front of the right consumer on the right Web page, according to Michael Yavonditte, Quigo’s CEO.

“Other systems group content and ads by categories, but that’s where their ‘technology’ ends,” Yavonditte. “We believe Quigo’s technology truly separates AdSonar Exchange from the other advertising platforms.”

The company says its vertical focus allows it to target ads with greater relevance. This greater relevance in turn earns a higher cost per click, typically $0.50 to $0.75, much higher than the average paid listing on other networks, Yavonditte said.

The network competes most closely with Google’s AdSense for content, and Overture’s Content Match, which is powered by Quigo’s technology. Startups Kanoodle and Industry Brains both offer similar targeted ads, but Yavonditte says Quigo’s relevance algorithm sets it apart.

“They’re really just selling keywords that people bid on. It’s not really contextual,” he said.

While Google has more than 200,000 advertisers in its network, Yavonditte said Quigo needs only between 50 and 100 advertisers in each vertical to be successful.

USA Today is using AdSonar in its health section, and will incorporate AdSonar ads into its sports section next month. New York Post is using AdSonar for ads in its health, travel and sports sections. iExplore and World Publications will use AdSonar for ads throughout their travel-related sites.