After almost 2 years since its inception, the ads.txt changes are now viable and measurable.
So let’s dive in, and list the TRULY important aspects and effects of ads.txt (** Some are not-so-obvious).
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) tech lab released its Ads.txt initiative in May 2017 to create transparency in the digital advertising eco-system, where digital publishers can manage a list of authorized digital sellers for their inventory & that will be communicated to buyers on ad exchanges.
The initiative was adopted rapidly, leading to an era where managing an ads.txt file is vital for publishers to both police their ad quality and generate revenue from their content ad monetization.
It is especially significant since ad giants, such as Google and The Trade Desk, are shifting towards buying inventory only from authorized sellers (AKA direct and re-sellers).
Moving swiftly to the FACTS and EFFECTS of the ads.txt area, from a publisher’s standpoint:
Disadvantages:
Watch out! With the positive effects of the ads.txt initiative, there are few things you need to keep in mind while maintaining your ads.txt file:
1. IAB ads.txt compliancy issues – Correct compliancy is a must. Ads.txt is the window to the full list of sellers that are allowed to sell your inventory. So in case your ads.txt file is not in line with IAB compliancy guidelines, you are potentially blocking advertisers from buying your inventory.
2. Performance Issues – In a technologically advanced era of real-time bidding, header bidding, OpenRTB, and ad-exchanges competition, you want to make sure that every potential ad impression you have is fully optimized for a proper availability.
So in case your ads.txt file is not properly configured or includes typos, spaces, syntax errors and a list as long as the Yangtze River, you are losing the fast premium CPM bid-wars on your inventory, and eventually, you are sliding down the waterfall for the lesser bidders.
3. Decreased Competition - Less competition equals to lower CPMs. Reducing the number of active advertisers on your list might result in less authorized sellers à less competition à lower CPM à lower revenue compared to what you could have generated.
4. Ads.txt crawling latency - Add advertisers to your list wisely – long authorize sellers list might also result in ads.txt crawling latency. Everything is happening in milliseconds, latency can kill your revenue
Advantages:
1. Fighting ad fraud – Plain and simple.
2. Order & transparency - Creating rules in the wild west of digital advertising creates transparency. Highlighting the entire funnel and thus establishing direct commercial relationships.
3. Increased ad-quality & user experience – Flawless and clean ad space dramatically increases the quality and relevancy of your ad, and eventually leads to a much better user experience.
What is the best way to manage your ads.txt file?
1. Avoid all the disadvantages mentions above and properly maintain your ads.txt!
2. Make sure the ads.txt advertisers list are the ones that buy your inventory and gives you an added value.
3. Keep a clean short ads.txt file by removing old advertisers from your list that are not buying your inventory.
4. Ensure that all account networks IDs are correct for every authorize seller you have in your list.
5. Constantly update your authorize sellers record lines as they add new demand on the go and you don’t want to miss it.
6. Diversify the list of ad exchanges in your ads.txt file, this will open you up to additional buyers.
Failing to do any of these steps will lead to potential ad revenue loss.
With our free ads.txt editor you can now easily and wisely manage your ads.txt file for optimum results.
We are here to help so feel free to contact us regarding any inquiry you may have at notifications@adstxtmarket.com.
Ads.txt Market provides Ads.txt management tool and marketplace for direct publishers on both Desktop & Mobile app environments.
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