Ads.txt Lines:
In March 2025, the addition of 86,410 new ads.txt lines and the removal of 79,732 existing lines resulted in a net change of approximately +6.6K lines. This is the highest positive net change seen in Q1, which could be because of quarter changes.
The provided snapshot illustrates the distribution of line changes among different tiers of publishers. While looking in-depth, it appears that Tier-3 SSPs shows a good positive net change in ads.txt lines, with an increase of approximately 4,900+ lines, which looks great.
Market Shakers:
The changes in the ads.txt lines show notable improvements compared to previous months. Here are some top SSPs that have gained a good number of new connections.
- Nativo: they have partnered with over 500 new publishers in the last month. Their special feature like user delivering ads without using cookies, which helps maintain user privacy might have attracted the publishers to choose this native partner.
- As seen in recent months, there has been a continuous improvement in the number of new direct entries for SSPs like Taboola, Smaato & many more.
Tier – 1,2,3 Publishers:
We have noticed a good number of net change increases in the past few weeks. Below are the top SSPs that contributed to that spike.
- In March month, Insticator, SmartAdServer, Connatix, Sharethrough & Taboola demonstrated significant growth within the top SSP landscape, recording a good number of new connections.
Note: These tiers are divided based on Publisher’s rank that we assigned
Big Winners:
Analyzing the changes in direct connections among the connected publishers in the past months, the following SSPs appear as top direct domain gainers across each tier that we segregated SSPs based on their rank/coverage.
- In the last quarter, Rise and Insticator have consistently ranked as the top SSPs by partnering directly with new domains. On average, they connect with 30–50 domains per month.
- SSPs like Connectad, Openmarketplace, Undertone, Adipolo were in the top 5 list, for adding new direct connections across the Tiers.
Note: These tiers are divided based on SSPs rank that we assigned
Leaderboard Dynamics:
We’ve assigned ranks to each SSP based on their direct coverage among the top 10,000 publishers. Below, we highlight the significant jumps in ranks for top SSPs observed in the past couple of weeks.
- Luponmedia surged more than 190 spots in the Tier 3 leaderboard in March 2025, which is one of the highest positive changes for the month.
Note: These tiers are divided based on SSPs rank that we assigned
Auction Duplication: A Critical Issue in the AdTech Industry
- Tier 1 SSPs are expected to have a lower share of Direct Only Domains and a higher share of Direct + Reseller Domains in comparison to other tiers. This is attributed because Tier-2 and Tier-3 SSPs rely on Tier-1 to serve as a demand partner.
- However, during this process, Tier 1 SSPs may inadvertently be listed as a reseller on domains where they are already directly connected, leading to auction duplication and classification as Direct + Reseller Domains.
- For SSPs, especially Tier 1, managing intermediaries in choosing non-duplicate domains is challenging. Additionally, it becomes an added responsibility for SSPs to address both auction duplication and carbon emissions. Choosing the right intermediary is crucial for reaching unique domains where their ads.txt lines are not yet present.
At DataBeat, we offer assistance in identifying and managing ineffective intermediaries, reducing duplicate domains, and improving your green index score while not compromising on your net revenue. Leveraging our Competitive Intelligence (CI) Tool, we enable you to identify & address these challenges effectively.
Breakdown of domain connections to SSPs by relationship types (Direct Only, Reseller Only, Direct + Reseller)
- Direct Only: Domains exclusively connected through direct relationships.
- Reseller Only: Domains exclusively connected through reseller relationships.
- Direct + Reseller: Domains with both direct and reseller connection
Proportion of unique and duplicate domains, and average number of intermediaries influence on duplicates.
- Unique Domains: Domains exclusively connected to an SSP through a single connection.
- Duplicated Domains: Domains connected to an SSP through multiple intermediaries or integrations, resulting in duplications.
Need More Insights:
For additional insights into this report and the CI Dashboard, which serves as the foundation for the seller’s report, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Sellers Report DataBeat’s Methodology:
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- Analyzing ads.txt files from the top 10k US publishers
- Tracking changes in publishers and SSPs across various categories over the past two weeks
- Publishers are categorized into three tiers based on their ranks, determined by traffic volume:
- Tier 1: 1 to 500
- Tier 2: 501 to 2000
- Tier 3: 2001 to 10000
- Similarly, SSPs are ranked based on the number of direct connections and are classified into three tiers:
- Tier 1: 1 to 50
- Tier 2: 51 to 150
- Tier 3: 151 to 500
- Ads.txt lines, Domain gains, and Ranking dynamics as key metrics
