Introduction to SSP
What is SSP?
A supply-side platform (SSP) is an advertising technology platform used to coordinate and manage the supply and distribution of ad inventories. SSPs help digital media owners and publishers sell digital ads in automated auctions.
The purpose of SSPs is to efficiently improve the yield optimization of advertising space inventory on websites and mobile apps to minimize wasted space and maximize views. In short, SSPs allow publishers to sell their inventory to the best ad network.
What advantages do SSPs provide publishers?
- Higher growth. Chance to reach as many advertisers as possible across the programmatic ecosystem - DSPs, exchanges, networks.
- Automation. As soon as publishers configure in the dashboard how they want their ad campaign to run, the system automates the ad serving. This means that placements are filled in real-time automatically, without manual actions.
- Control over inventory. Publisher controls enable to set up how you want the ads to be displayed on the website/in the app.
- Reporting. Statistics that SSPs generate for publishers can be eye-opening: who bids on inventory, what is a median bid and how each piece of inventory performs. The right metric can give publishers a real understanding of their inventory value.
How do SSPs use data?
In addition to helping publishers reach a wider net of potential buyers, SSPs enable publishers to share the valuable data they have about their users at the ad impression level. When publishers make unsold ad impressions available through an SSP, the buyers — DSPs, ad exchanges and ad networks — will take into account the content of the page where the available ad impression appears, as well as the user data the publisher has for that impression (data might include demographics, location, browsing and purchase history) and match it against the audience targeting criteria set by the buyers. If the publisher data and advertiser targets overlap, the buying platforms will bid on the ad impression in an auction on behalf of the advertiser.