Outbrain is a native ad platform that places sponsored content across a network of premium editorial publishers. Advertisers place ads that appear as content recommendations, within article feeds, below articles, and in the Smartfeed. It’s particularly strong for brand lift and content-based performance campaigns when supported by decent budgets and creative strategy.
The Outbrain platform offers powerful reach, AI optimization, and ease of use; it has premium publisher inventory and has an intuitive UX & funnel setup. Currently in process of rebranding as Teads, Outbrain reaches over 2 billion monthly unique users across 7,000+ publisher sites globally.
Publisher network
Outbrain’s publisher partners include CNN, The Washington Post, Mashable, and thousands of premium editorial sites across the US, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM. Publishers use Outbrain to monetise their content feeds. Ads appear where audiences actively read and engage, which supports both attention and performance.
Ad formats
Outbrain supports native image ads, carousel ads, pre-roll video, outstream video, app install ads, and high-impact display. The Smartfeed is a personalised scroll-based feed built into publisher pages. It auto-rotates between image, carousel, and video formats based on what each user engages with most. Outbrain reports a 60% uplift in CTR from Smartfeed placements.
Targeting and audiences
Targeting covers demographics, geography, device type, interest categories, and contextual placement. Lookalike audiences extend reach to users who share characteristics with existing customers. The Data Marketplace connects campaigns to third-party audience segments for more precise targeting.
Conversion optimisation
Outbrain’s Conversions Bid Strategy (SmartBid) optimises toward sales, leads, traffic, or app installs. Advertisers install a pixel on confirmation or thank-you pages. That pixel fires conversion signals back to Outbrain, which the bidding engine uses to improve targeting over time. The platform generates over 9 billion conversions for advertisers annually.
Access and pricing
Outbrain Advertising runs as a self-serve platform. Advertisers manage campaigns directly through the interface. CPCs typically range from $0.20 to $0.50. Inventory also integrates with major DSPs for programmatic buying alongside the self-serve channel.