Advertisers are increasingly integrating new methods to buy their online advertising, but people hardly look at what goes into advertising from the publisher’s side.
A supply-side platform is a software publishers use to automatically sell advertising without the hassle of interacting with buyers. Supply-side platforms come in handy when publishers wish to advertise and sell a video or mobile ad space. SSPs might sound like the publisher’s version of a demand-side platform, and that’s because that is exactly what it is.
While marketers use demand-side platforms to make purchasing ads as quick and efficient as possible, supply-side platforms are designed to maximize the prices publishers’ impressions sell at. The two might serve opposite sides of the market, but they’re both powered by similar technology.
How do Supply-Side Platforms Work?
The intricacies behind how SSPs work might not be so easily understood by the non-tech person, but we can try. The short of it is that supply-side platforms allow publishers to reach multiple networks, ad exchanges, and demand-side platforms at the same time. This means that there is a wider reach for publishers, and more chances of attracting higher, more competitive bids.
This method of opening up impressions to reach as many potential buyers as possible is what makes people refer to supply-side platforms as yield-optimization platforms.
How Do SSPs Work in Ad Selling?
SSPs are a vital part of real-time bidding (RTB), and there are processes that supply-side platforms make significantly easier.
Ad-network optimization
SSPs provide publishers with better control of their inventory since they sell ad impressions individually. Publishers can optimize their ad requests based on impression levels and according to how people react to their inventory.
Real-time bidding
The supply-side platform uses an automated platform to sell a publisher’s ad space to demand-side platforms; making the process easier.
Relevancy
Supply-side platforms ensure that publishers only reach ad networks that are relevant to their available space. SSPs minimize the number of hours spent filtering through prospective ad networks before finding the right buyer.
Frequency capping
Supply-side platforms and demand-side platforms complement each other to record how often a particular visitor views a specific ad and then place a limitation on how often the visitor is shown that ad again.
Advantages of Supply-Side Platforms
SSP offers publishers several benefits.
Automated selling
Publishers can automatically sell their inventory—display, video, or traditional ad space—to advertisers. SSPs help make the selling and buying of inventory faster and easier by eliminating the hassle of manual work. Machines are in charge of handling the transactions, so selling can be on a large scale or a small scale. While some SSPs require publishers to have a specified range of traffic before using their platform, other SSPs sell on any scale.
Multiple networks
Just like DSPs help marketers connect to multiple publishers at the same time, supply-side platforms also help reduce the problems that arise when there are not enough bidders from one ad exchange or ad network. By connecting to multiple DSPs and ad networks, supply-side platforms allow more buyers to participate in real-time bidding and eventually yield higher and more competitive bids.
Safety
SSPs acts as an intermediary between marketers and ad networks and double as a safety shield protecting publishers from unwanted or harmful ads on their websites. SSPs can be set to block certain ad domains or offer inventory to a particular set of buyers through a particular channel. Some publishers are heavily against showing inappropriate or harmful ads on their sites, and SSPs are the perfect software to ensure everything is safe.
Main Features of a Supply-Side Platform
Analytics and reporting
SSP allows publishers can get full reports on ad performance inventory, including impressions, ad clicks, and conversion rates.
User interface
Publishers can use supply-side platforms to sell impressions to their advantage.
Yield optimization
Yield optimization works to boost revenue for publishers by improving fill rates and managing the dynamics of auctioning.
Header bidding
The header bidding feature allows publishers to collect as many bids as they want from different demand-side platforms and then manage their header bidding and demand partners.
Examples of Supply-side Platforms
Some of the most popular supply-side platforms are;
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager is free for publishers that have over 5 million page views, and is the perfect tool for managing video ad inventory, and also provides first-price auction. First price auction helps publishers maintain fairness and transparency in auctions.
Google Ad Manager also guarantees safety for brands through certification against malware, fraud, piracy, and other fraudulent acts.
OpenX
OpenX is an initiative suited for both advertisers and publishers. OpenX supply-side platform offers OpenX Bidder for real-time bidding and other features for access to video and mobile advertising. OpenX also offers users an ad marketplace named AdExchange, which allows publishers to have complete control of their ad platform. OpenAudience is also available to offer tips and tricks on how advertisers can optimize their ads and meet their target audience.
Pubmatic
Pubmatic is a supply-side platform that is suited for both agencies and publishers. The platform offers support for real-time bidding, private marketplaces, and a header bidding solution. One of Pubmatic’s most pleasant features is its array of ad quality tools to help publishers put forward only the best ads. Pubmatic also offers solutions for buyers, filters bad traffic, ensures brand safety, and provides access to private marketplaces.
Magnite
Magnite was formerly known as Rubicon Project, but the name was changed in 2020 after a merge with connected TV advertising experts, Telaria. Magnate has since become one of the leading supply-side platforms in the industry, and it continues to evolve with new additions and updated features.
Magnite offers both supply-side platforms for publishers and demand-side platforms for advertisers, along with a private marketplace and Auction Package capabilities that allow publishers have total control of their audience and inventory.
Supply-side platforms have had huge impacts on advertising in the modern age, and the software doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon. SSPs continue to evolve and expand with new capabilities, and they are a must-have for publishers looking to make a breakthrough with programmatic ads.
