Sellers Report – December 2024

Ads.txt Lines:

In November 2024, the addition of 64,044 new ads.txt lines and the removal of 62,091 existing lines resulted in a net change of approximately +2K lines. This is the lowest positive net change seen in this year, which could be because of year end.  

The provided snapshot illustrates the distribution of line changes among different tiers of publishers. While looking in-depth, it appears that only Tier-1 SSPs shows a negative net change in ads.txt lines, with a decrease of approximately 1,000+ lines.

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 November month, Taboola, Mobfox, Rise, Media.net, STN Video and Sharethrough demonstrated significant growth within the top SSP landscape, recording a good number of new connections.

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.

• In the last month, Equativ has connected with more than 50 publishers as a direct partner. They have recently signed an exclusive partnership with First-id, the leading first-party identification solution – which might attract the publishers to onboard them. 
• It’s interesting to note that SSP like 33across and Onetag were bumped to top Tier-1 in the big winner list, which were in lower tiers in earlier months. 
• SSPs like Nativo, Primis, GetMedia and Limpid were in the top 5 list, for adding new direct connections across the Tiers.

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.

• Mobfox surged more than 400 spots in the Tier 3 leaderboard in November 2024, which is the highest positive change for the month.

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:

• • 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