Ads.txt Lines:
In September 2024, the addition of 75,411 new ads.txt lines and the removal of 77,049 existing lines resulted in a net change of over -1,600+ lines. MOM, the consistent negative net change in ads.txt entries signals a warning for SSPs, as publishers are actively removing entries of underperforming partners. To stay competitive, SSPs should focus on optimizing their publisher’s inventory better.
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 3,000 lines.
Market Shakers:
Despite the overall decline in ads.txt entries, some leading SSPs are still managing to acquire new domains/entries:
- Adswizz is the only SSP which has been leading the SSP market for the past few months. It’s interesting to see that publishers are showing interest in connecting with Adswizz because they specialize in programmatic audio inventory, including iHeartRadio, podcasts, and other audio sources.
- As seen in previous months, we are seeing a continuous improvement in the number of new direct connections/entries for She Media(listing in top list for this month).
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, Magnite and adswizz demonstrated significant growth within the top SSP landscape, recording the highest number of new connections (approximately 1,000).
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.
- EMX has gained a decent number of new direct connections, last month they connected with approximately 244 new publishers. Their partnership with Jounce Media Group has been very beneficial for their business.
- SSPs like Yieldmo, Smaato, Vidazoo, and She Media still remain in the top 5 list, for adding new direct connections each month.
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.
- Alkimi surged 243 spots in the Tier 3 leaderboard in September 2024, which is the highest change that we observed in Q3.
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)
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- 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.
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- 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
