What's a Supply Side Platform?

A supply-side platform (SSP) is a piece of advertising technology that assists publishers and other advertisers in automating the administration, selling, and optimization of ad inventory (audio, video, display, and mobile) on their online and mobile domains. SSP is often referred to as a sell-side platform.

Publishers used to sell ad space manually, which they still do in certain circumstances for premium ad space. Publishers need a method to expand their selling operations and ensure that ad space was not left unfilled while boosting ad impression pricing. When supply-side platforms originally became popular, they were utilized to replenish unsold inventories at reduced prices. Today, the SSP is in charge of programmatically selling all ad inventory.

Demand Side Platform vs. Supply Side Platform

Supply-side platforms (SSP) are similar to demand-side platforms (DSP), except they are for advertisers rather than marketers. Advertisers utilize SSPs to list their inventory, making it available to ad exchanges, ad networks, and demand side platforms programmatically. Marketers, on the other hand, employ demand-side platforms to buy advertising programmatically from different ad exchanges and ad networks.

Ad Exchange vs. Supply Side Platform

Ad exchanges and supply-side platforms are not the same things. Advertisement exchanges do not handle ad inventory. An exchange, on the other hand, is a gathering of publishers and marketers to purchase and sell advertisements. It works similarly to an ecommerce marketplace (such as Amazon) in that numerous vendors can offer their items to various customers. Some SSPs, on the other hand, include an ad exchange as part of their platform.

What Role Does a Supply Side Platform Play in the Ad Selling Process?

Supply-side platforms are also known as "yield-optimization platforms" since they work with several ad exchanges, ad networks, and DSPs to guarantee publishers supply their ad inventory with the best advertising targeted at the correct people.

Bidding in Real Time

When an SSP has available ad space, it allows ad exchanges, ad networks, and DSPs to participate in real-time bidding (RTB) or a real-time auction for that ad space. A visitor, for example, accesses a web page on the publisher's site where ad space is available. The SSP begins bidding with chosen advertisers. The successful bidder (usually the highest bidder, though not always) has their ad put in the open ad space.

Optimization of Ad Networks

Every ad network has its own set of requirements, including the amount of money it is willing to pay for ad space (CPM). A publisher can use an SSP to choose which ad networks to engage with and how. These selections are frequently made based on the amount of ad space available or on general principles.

Price Caps

Publishers are not required to take any payment for ad impressions. They can establish a minimum price for goods and fill the area with their own advertisements if that price is not fulfilled. Specific buyers or channels might have price floors imposed.

Having Control Over Who Advertises

Publishers want to know that the companies who advertise on their platforms adhere to strict guidelines. SSPs let publishers to specify which advertisers or advertisement categories (IAB categories) will be permitted on their domains. Publishers may get a variety of statistics from supply-side platforms to better understand who is advertising with them. Reports such as how much ad inventory is acquired for, who is bidding, and how many advertisements an advertiser is buying are common.

Examples of Supply Side Platforms

Do you want a list of supply-side platforms? Here are a few of the most well-liked.

Google Ad Manager is a supply-side platform as well as an ad exchange (AdX). It is free for publishers with over 5 million page visits and provides comprehensive ad inventory management tools for video, native, and custom ad formats. To assist promote transparency and fairness, it offers a unified first-price auction (the successful bidder pays the highest price bid). Google Ad Manager supports open auctions, direct-booked campaigns, and Programmatic Guaranteed. It also assures brand protection through Trustworthy Accountability Group certification against piracy, fraud, and malware, as well as support for other industry efforts.

OpenX provides services to both publishers and advertising. OpenX Bidder for real-time bidding, OpenX Mobile and OpenX Video for direct access to quality mobile and video advertisers, and OpenX Private Marketplaces for direct access to premium advertisers comprise the supply side platform. OpenX also provides AdExchange, an ad marketplace that allows publishers total control over their ad platform, as well as OpenAudience, a technology that helps them better understand their audience so that advertisers may be matched with highly targeted audiences.

Xandr provides a wide range of solutions, including an SSP, a DSP, and an ad exchange. It contains Xandr Invest, a DSP and linked TV product; Xandr Monetize, an SSP solution; and MonetizeTV, a media company-focused connected TV solution. AT&T owns Xandr, which gives it direct access to AT&T audience data and a significant focus on both digital and connected TV advertising.

After combining with another SSP with experience in linked TV advertising, Telaria, the Rubicon Project changed its name to Magnite in mid-2020. The combination of supply-side platforms has resulted in Magnite being one of the industry's major SSPs. It also recently acquired SpringServe, which introduced enhanced ad management for OTT and CTV to its capabilities. Magnite offers an SSP for publishers as well as a DSP for ads. It also provides a private marketplace (PMP), as well as Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) and Auction Package features, giving publishers total control over their inventory and viewers.

Pubmatic is a service provider for publishers and agencies. It has private marketplaces, a premium header bidder solution, and real-time bidding capabilities. Another important element of Pubmatic is its suite of ad quality tools, which assist publishers in ensuring that the finest advertisements are displayed on their domains (it has strategic partnerships with ad quality enterprises, The Media Trust, and Confiant). Pubmatic also offers buyer solutions such as the Media Buying Console (real-time analytics and proactive deal health information), Inventory Quality (vetting publishers, blocking invalid traffic, and assuring brand safety), and access to private markets.

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