The single largest known referrer is, and has been for some time, Google. Search has gotten so good and people are so used to using it as a navigation tool that is remains a staple of traffic. It's interesting, however, that the largest referring search term for any given site is that site's own domain name, which brings me back to the point. Most traffic to a site is social, but not as defined by Twitter or Facebook. Rather, it's the "dark" or natural social behaviors like emailing links and bookmarking pages.

Written by Walter Knapp, Federated Media's EVP & GM Media Platform

Do fraudulent impressions in online advertising convert for advertisers? It’s a somewhat tongue-in-cheek question, but from the data we’ve seen, one could reasonably conclude that they must. Otherwise, why is everyone still letting it happen?

Written by Walter Knapp, Federated Media's EVP & GM Media Platform

Scroll through the pages of industry trade sites or attend any of the numerous conferences throughout the year, and you'll no doubt notice the increase in both brands and publishers calling for more authenticity in sponsored content.

Written by Steve Kondonijakos, Federated Media's Marketing Director

One thing we all can agree on is that the essence of a great content strategy is about producing quality content and distributing it to the right, most passionate audience.

Written by Mary Gail Pezzimenti, Federated Media's VP of Content Strategy

At its 10th annual breakfast awards ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt in New York on April 15, min honored the winners of the this year's Best of the Web Awards and this year's inductees into min's Best of the Web Hall of Fame.

For our industry to thrive, we must all share a longer-term vision than the next click, the last attribution, the successful exit or the highest CPM. We must imagine a world where brands, technology companies, and conveners of quality attention (what I call publishers) work together, rather than at cross-purposes.

Written by John Battelle, Federated Media's Founder, Chair, and CEO

Successful content marketing programs hinge on the 3 Cs - content, context, and communication. When these techniques are applied correctly, everyone wins: publishers engage their audiences through high-quality content, and marketers leverage this symbiotic relationship to deliver transparent brand messages that convert readers into real consumers.

Written by Laney Whitcanack, Federated Media's EVP & GM, Content Marketing

Feature interview with John - the first since taking the CEO role.

Large and attractive markets always attract bad actors and cheats. The bigger the market, the more the bad guys want in. The meteoric growth in the RTB-driven programmatic arena is no exception.

Federated Media’s Chairman and CEO, John Battelle, took the stage at the 2013 Adobe Digital Marketing Summit, in Salt Lake City, this week, telling the audience that “we are living in a world that is merging the digital and the physical.”

FMP founder John Battelle will assume the role of chief exec in addition to his duties as executive chairman of Federated Media’s board.

Federated Media’s CEO Deanna Brown announced today that she will be leaving her position within the company. In her place, founder and Executive Chairman John Batelle will step in to help keep the company competitive in a evolving industry landscape. Brown has not announced her plans, but she did hint that it will happen in a couple weeks.

Federated sits at an interesting intersection of publisher and ad network, which means they look at the picture through a different lens.

The innovation and opportunity with programmatic advances is far more powerful than simply targeting and buying audiences at scale.

Written by Walter Knapp,  Federated Media's EVP & GM Media Platform

You've heard that authors are becoming publishers and publishers are becoming brands. What does that really mean? Let's focus on trends that explore the gray matter between the two.

Written by Mary Gail Pezzimenti, Federated Media's VP Content Strategy