Sellers Report – August 2024

Ads.txt Lines:

In August 2024, the addition of 73,640 new ads.txt lines and the removal of 74,340 existing lines resulted in a net change of over -700 lines.This is the second time in a row that the overall net change is negative. However, it’s improving, with the net change reduced from -1,300 to -700. The negative net change is indicating that publishers are refining their ads.txt files by removing underperforming partners and focusing on connecting with the most effective SSPs.

The provided snapshot illustrates the distribution of line changes among different tiers of publishers. While looking in-depth, it appears that Tier-3 SSP’s shows a noticeable net change in ads.txt lines, with a decrease of approximately 2,000 lines.

Market Shakers:

Despite the overall decrease in ads.txt entries, some SSPs have managed to gain more domains/entries, going against the trend.

• It’s interesting to note that SSPs like Blox Digital have experienced a significant increase in new ads.txt lines over the past month. This indicates that publishers are increasingly interested in partnering with SSPs that can support them in content and audience development.
• As seen in previous months, we are seeing a continuous improvement in the number of new connections for Yieldmo(listing in top list for past couple of months). 

Tier – 1,2,3 Publishers:

We have noticed a decent number of net change increases in the past few weeks, below are the top SSPs who contributed to that spike.

• In July, Google demonstrated significant growth within the top SSP landscape, recording the highest number of new connections (approximately 800) 

Big Winners:

Analyzing the changes in direct connections among the connected publishers in the past month, the following SSPs appear as top direct domain gainers across each tier that we segregated SSPs based on their rank/coverage.

• MoM, Trustx is experiencing a continuous  good number of new direct connections, last month they connected with approximately 450 new direct publishers(which is huge when compared with others).
  • Symitri acquired Trustx had brought up many new direct connections to them.
• 33Across has gained a decent number of new connections. Few sources have commented that they are exploring a potential sale in the industry to optimize their future growth and market position.

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.

• DxKulture surged 189 spots on the Tier 3 leaderboard in July 2024, fueled by a massive increase of 165 in direct connections.

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.