Yandex Blog

Yandex Teams Up With TikTok for New Advertising Opportunities

For over twenty years, we’ve been Russia’s leading digital advertiser, finding new and innovative ways to connect consumers with content. We introduced the first banner ad in Yandex Search in 1997, and four years later, we launched Russia’s first ad placement system with Yandex.Direct. Now Russia’s largest digital advertising platform, Yandex.Direct makes it easy for organizations to place ads within our search results, across the Yandex ecosystem, and on our partner sites in the Yandex Advertising Network (YAN). Our partner sites are central to the success of Yandex.Direct, and today, we’re excited to announce a new collaboration with one of the world’s fastest-growing video content networks, TikTok. Yandex.Direct advertisers will soon be able to place ads in TikTok within the standard YAN auction.

A social network built on curating and sharing 15-second video clips, TikTok’s global user base topped 800 million people in June according to eMarketer.  In the last month in Russia, TikTok was the third most downloaded free app on iOS and Android, according to AppAnnie statistics.  TikTok uses AI algorithms to create personalized feeds for users, ensuring that viewers see relevant content based on how they interact with videos.

As an AI leader ourselves, we use algorithms within Yandex.Direct to ensure we display the most contextually relevant ads to the right audiences.  Through our collaboration with TikTok, our advertising partners will be able to utilize our advanced ad platform to reach an engaged audience.  We will offer video ads within TikTok users’ curated feeds using a format we’ve adapted for the social platform.

An example of ads placed within TikTok using Yandex.Direct

After advertisers upload pictures and text, the platform automatically generates video ads with a fitting audio track and other interactive elements such as hearts for likes. The ad is then adapted to a mobile format for the app and shown to relevant TikTok users. Advertisers can target users by search interests, demographic characteristics, geography, and other parameters. 

To learn more about how to get started with digital advertising in Russia through Yandex.Direct, check out the website, where we have information on the platform, advertising tips, and success stories from our advertising partners.

Yandex Improves Browsing Experience With Native Ad Blocking in Yandex Browser

At Yandex our mission is to help consumers and businesses better navigate the online and offline world.  And when it comes to digital advertising this means working to make the Internet a place where users have enjoyable high-quality experiences and businesses can reach their audiences in effective ways.

As part of this work, today Yandex introduced native ad blocking in the Russian version of Yandex Browser to enhance users’ browsing experience by filtering intrusive advertising. The latest browser update includes a built-in ad blocker that prevents annoying or disruptive ads from loading when a page is displayed to the user. The built-in ad blocker is activated by default both in the desktop and mobile versions of Yandex Browser but can be deactivated in the settings.

Yandex Browser now blocks full-screen banner ads, pop-ups with a countdown timer, autoplay video ads and other formats of unwanted advertising, or those that do not comply with new advertising guidelines announced by the Russian branch of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) last month. Relevant ads in non-intrusive, organic formats will still be displayed to the user. 

Organizations like IAB Russia have worked to better understand which forms of advertising are hindering users’ online experience by conducting consumer driven research.  As an active member of IAB Russia, we value and support their work towards understanding what users want and developing higher quality advertising that leads to a beneficial experience for both users and publishers.

“At Yandex we believe in building an enjoyable online experience in which people are delivered helpful information. Aggressive advertising interferes with a high-quality user experience and has led to increased ad blocker downloads, which can block potentially useful offers and information to users,” says Dmitry Timko, head of Yandex Browser. “Native ad blocking eliminates the need for additional ad blockers and promotes better quality advertising.”

Yandex Browser has long been committed to delivering high-quality user experiences and protecting web audiences. In 2014, Yandex Browser integrated built-in Antishock technology that blocks malicious and fraudulent advertising. In 2016, Yandex Browser started offering users comprehensive fraud protection against the majority of online threats through Protect,  a built-in cyber security system. Protect automatically checks all downloaded files for viruses, warns users about dangerous websites, protects users’ passwords when using public networks, and ensures safe payments.

In order to help publishers and advertisers continue to create effective ads and follow the new guidelines, we introduced a ‘Diagnostics’ tool available on the Yandex.Webmaster service, where publishers and advertisers can check if their advertising is compliant with Yandex standards.

As the provider of the second most popular browser in Russia and a member of IAB Russia, today is an important day for advancements in digital advertising for Yandex and the entire RuNet.