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For years, marketers have relied on Google Search as a key aspect of their digital marketing strategy – reaching consumers at the exact moment of purchase intent. But new advancements in AI and changes in user behavior are rewriting the rules faster than many realize.

Today, AI-generated summaries increasingly answer queries without a single click, and brand landing pages are seeing a steady decline in both organic and paid referral traffic. Even high-ranking pages are losing visibility – and marketers are feeling the impact. In fact, a recent Paw Research Center study found that when Google’s AI summaries appear, click through rate drops by nearly 50%. 

The tried-and-true model of intent-driven traffic is becoming less reliable by the day. So where do marketers go when search traffic drops off? 

There’s a Smarter Way to Drive Keyword-Relevant Traffic

There’s a better approach –  built for today’s privacy-first, attention-scarce world. Contextual advertising delivers your message directly within trusted, relevant editorial content, matched to your keywords and audience intent. 

Just like search, these placements can be bought on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. That means you’re only paying when someone actively chooses to engage with your content, minimizing wasted spend and keeping your budget tied directly to real reader acquisition.

But unlike search, your content appears across a distributed network of premium content, not just a single results page.

Reach Real Audiences, Not Just Searchers

Instead of competing for fleeting attention from an unpredictable mix of users on a crowded search results page, Dianomi puts your message in front of high-value, affluent audiences who are actively engaging with trusted business, financial, and lifestyle editorial content. 

These readers are seeking insight, rather than quick answers. Your content appears at the exact moment they’re deeply engaged, leading to higher-quality traffic, stronger brand association, and greater conversion potential.

Trust, Relevance, and Performance – All in One

With Dianomi’s contextual network, your brand appears alongside the world’s most trusted publishers — including CNN Business, Forbes, Reuters, and more. That guarantees your message earns attention in environments where trust, relevance, and intent converge. 

And we go further. Dianomi Audiences combines curated publisher placements, contextual keyword targeting, and first-party audience data to reach valuable audience segments with precision – all without relying on third-party cookies. With over 30 pre-built audience segments, it’s no surprise that 8 out of 10 of the world’s largest asset management firms trust Dianomi to deliver high-quality CPC traffic.

Ready to Evolve Beyond Search?

Search is evolving – your strategy should too. Marketers who embrace privacy-first, contextual advertising will be better positioned to reach real audiences and drive real results . 

Ready to reduce your reliance on crowded search results pages and shift your spend to performance advertising that’s designed for the future? Let’s talk.

Dianomi hosted “Financial Services Marketing 2025” at UTS Business School in Sydney on Thursday 5 June 2025.

We heard some very entertaining and informative sessions:

Thanks to all of the presenters and speaker for sharing your knowledge and to all those who attended – your time and attention was really appreciated.

Pictures from the event can be found on LinkedIn.

We’re expanding!

Dianomi is to host “Financial Services Marketing 2025” in Singapore on Thursday, 18 September 2025 with our friends at Dollars And Sense.

This year’s event in Sydney was not only informative, but also very entertaining: we kept the sessions short, the coffee flowing and Chatham House rule in effect.

The one day event is for marketers of financial services and business, particularly those of investments, wealth management, private banking, stockbroking and associated services.

Once again we will have some very interesting and entertaining speakers on stage and a room full of experts in the audience so the presentations, questions and networking should be superb.

Current Dianomi APAC clients are invited to attend, please contact your Account Manager if you have not yet heard from us.

Please note that the event is invitation only and the guest list is now full.

If you would like to present or be involved in a panel discussion then please let us know.

Agenda:

9.30 – 9.50am

Welcome by Julian Peterson – Managing Director APAC, Dianomi

9.50 – 10.20am

Moderator: Timothy Ho – Managing Editor & Co-Founder, DollarsAndSense

10.20 – 10.50am

Moderator: Dinesh Dayani – Co-Founder, DollarsAndSense

11.10 – 11.25am

Sophia Holmans – Founder and Director, People Story

11.25 – 11.55am

Moderator: Deanna Lim – Head of Commercial, DollarsAndSense

Turning off the tap?

12.25 – 12.55pm

Moderator: Patrick Brownlow – Commercial Director – Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, Bloomberg

12.55 – 1pm

Closing by Julian Peterson

1 – 2pm

Lunch and Networking

Recap video from 2024 event:

In today’s complex media landscape, where your brand’s ads show up, matters more than ever. Brands are constantly trying to balance two big goals: staying in brand-safe environments and connecting with the right audience. It’s not always an easy line to walk, and advertisers have recently become hesitant to place their ads on news content. However, by avoiding news content altogether, they could be missing out on great opportunities.

The key to brand-safe advertising is to focus on placing ads in trustworthy, high-quality news environments that attract relevant and engaged audiences.

Why Keyword Blocking Isn’t the Whole Answer

In an effort to shield their brands from potentially harmful content, many advertisers rely on keyword blocking – filtering out ads from appearing near certain topics. While this approach might seem like a safe bet, it often goes too far. Ads end up being blocked from valuable and relevant content, reducing opportunities for both advertisers and publishers.

In reality, a study by Stagwell, called the “Future of News”, found that there is no negative impact on brand safety when ads appear next to hard-hitting news topics like the US election or even war/conflict coverage. This finding challenges the common belief that serious news topics are automatically bad for brands. Overusing restrictions like keyword blocking could actually hurt brands more by shutting them out of places where their audience is already engaged.

Building Trust with Quality Journalism

Advertising on trusted new sites is about more than just visibility – it’s about credibility. Premium publishers are known for their strong fact-checking and high standards, offering readers content they can trust.

Compare that to platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where Meta recently announced they will no longer fact-check their content. When brands choose to appear on trustworthy news sites they align themselves with reliability and credibility, which can make a big difference in how they’re seen by consumers.

The data backs this up. A study by Newsworks found that people trust brands 1.5x more when those brands advertise on news websites compared to non-news sites. Ads in trusted environments not only protect your brand but also improve how people perceive and engage with it.

A Smarter Way Forward

Brand safety is, and will always be, a fundamental pillar of advertising, but avoiding quality news content isn’t the answer. Instead, brands should explore smarter strategies like contextual advertising. This approach places ads alongside relevant, premium content where audiences are already engaged.

With Dianomi, brands can tap into contextual advertising to position their messages within high-quality articles that matter to their target audience. It’s a win-win: brands enhance their credibility, and audiences see ads that feel relevant and trustworthy.

Conclusion

Brand safety isn’t about steering clear of the news – it’s about being thoughtful about where your ads appear. Trusted news environments offer a unique chance to boost credibility and connect with audiences in meaningful ways. By leveraging tools like contextual advertising, brads can create campaigns that build trust, improve engagement, and still reach the audiences that matter most.

Did you know that, according to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 21% of ad impressions come from websites designed solely to generate ad revenue? These Made for Advertising (MFA) sites not only waste marketing budgets but also jeopardize brand reputation and contribute significantly to environmental harm.

For advertisers striving to protect their reputation and ensure effective campaigns, controlling ad placements is more crucial-and challenging-than ever. The rise of MFA websites and the complexities of modern media buying processes are creating low-value environments that undermine campaign goals.

What Are MFA Websites?

MFA websites exist solely to drive ad revenue. They’re characterized by clickbait headlines, intrusive ads, and a poor user experience. Instead of engaging audiences with meaningful content, these sites prioritize sheer ad volume, creating two significant risks for advertisers:

• Ineffective Campaigns: Ads on MFA sites rarely achieve their intended goals. With low-quality, low-value inventory, advertisers waste budgets on impressions that don’t engage the right audience or deliver desired results.
• Environmental Impact: MFA sites generate excessive programmatic activity, leading to higher carbon emissions. According to Scope3, these sites produce 26% more carbon emissions compared to non-MFA inventory, due to the sheer volume of ads and ad calls they generate.

The consequences of supporting MFA sites go beyond wasted budgets-they harm both brand reputation and the planet.

The Complexity of Media Buying

Modern programmatic platforms have transformed advertising by automating the buying process. But this convenience can lead to unintended consequences: lack of visibility and control. Without full visibility, ads often end up on MFA sites, compromising campaign brand safety and campaign effectiveness.

This issue is further compounded by pressures within the advertising ecosystem. To meet performance targets-often narrowly defined as clicks, impressions, or other metrics that fail to account for audience quality, relevance, or genuine attention-agencies and ad tech vendors may opt for cheaper, low-quality options, even when they don’t align with the brand’s broader goals. This narrow pursuit of cost efficiency and surface-level performance can lead to ads appearing in unsuitable environments, ultimately damaging the brand’s reputation.

Imagine a high-end fashion brand’s ad appearing on a cluttered clickbait site. Not only does it fail to connect with the intended audience, but it also risks eroding the brand’s perceived value.

Many advertisers are unaware of where their ads are being placed, making it difficult to ensure that their campaigns are running in high-quality, brand-safe environments.

Prioritizing Quality and Context

In today’s landscape, advertisers must take a proactive approach to media buying. By prioritizing transparency, quality, and alignment with brand values, you can protect your reputation and drive meaningful engagement. Here are three key steps to consider:

1. Audit Media Buys: Regularly review where your ads are appearing to ensure alignment with your brand’s values and objectives.
2. Leverage Transparent Tools: Use platforms that offer full visibility into ad placements, empowering you to avoid low-quality inventory.
3. Invest in Premium Publishers: Choose high-quality publishers that offer controlled, brand-safe advertising environments. Through this may come at a higher upfront cost, it leads to stronger audience connections and better ROI.

For example, an ad placed on a reputable financial news platform is more likely to resonate with its intended audience that one buried on an MFA site filled with intrusive pop-ups.

How Dianomi Helps

Platforms like Dianomi specialize in delivering ads within premium, brand-safe environments. By focusing on quality placements, Dianomi ensures your message reaches the right audience in the right context.

By partnering with a platform that prioritizes transparency and high-value inventory, advertisers can confidently avoid the pitfalls of MFA sites and instead prioritize what truly matters: delivering impactful campaigns.

Conclusion

The growing presence of MFA websites and the complexities of media buying make it more important than ever for advertisers to take control of their campaigns. By prioritizing quality, context, and transparency, you can safeguard your brand’s reputation and drive better results.

With the right strategies and tools, such as those offered by Dianomi, you can focus on what truly matters: delivering impactful advertising that connects with your audience in the right context.

The anticipated demise of third-party cookies has been one of the most talked-about topics in the advertising industry over the past several years. Google’s recent reversal of its plan to block third-party cookies on Chrome has prompted many marketers to rethink their strategies. Despite Google’s decision, here’s why it’s smart for marketers to embrace cookieless targeting anyway.

Why Now?

The threat of third-party cookies vanishing has not gone away entirely. Google may still present users with the option to decline cookie targeting, and the likelihood is that many will choose to opt-out. With the future of cookies remaining uncertain, it’s essential for marketers to be prepared. In fact, a significant portion of the market is already cookieless: Safari deprecated third-party tracking back in 2017 and Firefox followed in 2019 by blocking third-party cookies by default. Additionally, according to a May 2023 survey from the Pew Research Center, 67% of US adults turn off cookies or website tracking to protect their privacy. Fortunately, cookieless strategies already deliver performance on par with, or even better than, cookie-based approaches. Now is the time to explore and embrace these alternatives to future-proof your marketing efforts.

The Power of Cookieless Targeting

Cookieless targeting offers an effective alternative to traditional cookie-based strategies by focusing on the context of the content rather than tracking individual users. Contextual targeting delivers ads based on the relevance of the webpage’s content, making it highly aligned with user intent in real-time.

This approach often outperforms cookie-based targeting because it places ads in environments where audiences are already engaged with related topics, increasing the chances of meaningful interactions. A user reading an article about the upcoming tax season might see ads for tax or financial planning, which will likely resonate with them more than a randomly targeted ad. It will also drive better ad recall because the ad is related to the content being viewed.

Since contextual targeting serves ads relevant to the content a user is viewing, it avoids the issue of over-targeting users and creating ad fatigue. It creates a more organic user experience. Users are less likely to feel “chased” by ads, as they won’t see repetitive ads based on tracking.

Machine learning further enhances the effectiveness of contextual targeting, allowing marketers to scale these strategies, reaching new audiences across brand-safe, premium publishers.

Establishing Trust

One of the key benefits of cookieless targeting is that it fosters greater trust and transparency between advertisers and consumers, ultimately leading to more meaningful and effective marketing. When consumers are not constantly retargeted, they will naturally feel at greater ease on content sites that feel more relevant to the current environment and not to past browsing activities. By avoiding personal data collection and tracking, it also eliminates consumer’s concerns over privacy invasion, thus creating a more respectful and ethical advertising ecosystem.

How to Make the Shift

Although this shift can seem daunting, it opens the door to innovation and enhanced audience engagement. By embracing new targeting methods, like Dianomi’s Audience Cohorts, marketers can achieve greater success connecting their brand with their desired consumers without relying on cookies. Reach out to us to learn how we can assist you in transitioning to a cookieless future and unlocking the full potential of digital marketing.

Our CEO, Rupert Hodson, joined ECI Partners on the latest episode of their ‘Building Successful Businesses’ podcast series. Rupert gives insight into Dianomi’s journey from a start-up to a business operating across three continents, and what he’s learned along the way. Rupert also touches on how the advertising and financial services industry is evolving, and how Dianomi is supporting that change.

Listen to the full episode here:

On March 23rd, Dianomi Sr. Partnerships Director, Justin Proctor, participated in a panel during the Gramercy Financial Marketers Forum 2022: Strategic Excellence in Financial Marketing in New York. The event was sponsored by Dianomi and the panel was focused on Financial Media Strategies for Success.

The panel included Louis Cohen, Director, Digital Marketing & Demand Generation Leader, EY; Elizabeth Coleman-Chen, Exec. Director, Head, Strategic Content Mktg, Alt. & Sustainable Investing, Morgan Stanley Investment Management; Meg Sullivan, Managing Director, Imprint.

After discussing what media strategies the panelists thought would be prominent in the future, Proctor explained the idea that a brand’s overall media strategy is similar to a bell curve. A brand’s role is to find their place on the curve in relation to their customer’s intent and interaction with their brand to create a perfect medium of client interest, media focus and brand differentiation in that space.