Today, ad­ver­tis­ing inventory is traded in real time. Within just a few seconds, an algorithm can co­or­di­nate supply and demand to determine exactly when and where adverts are displayed. Website operators looking to make the most of their ad space should consider the benefits of using an SSP.

What is an SSP?

Website operators with ad­ver­tis­ing inventory (free space for banner ads or pro­mo­tions) can offer this space up to ad­ver­tis­ers for a fee. This process can be done via real-time ad­ver­tis­ing trading. A supply-side platform (also known as a sell-side platform) acts as a technical interface between the publisher, ad­ver­tis­er, and a trading platform (ad exchange). While the demand-side platform (DSP) controls the demand, the SSP handles the supply end.

How does an SSP work?

Pub­lish­ers that have released their platform for trading purposes can promote available ad space with the help of a sell-side platform. During this process, the SSP sends a request to the DSP and the connected ad networks. The DSP receives both a user profile and in­for­ma­tion about the available ad­ver­tis­ing inventory. The system analyzes the offer to ensure the target group criteria cor­re­spond with the demand, before pre­sent­ing the ad space on behalf of the ad­ver­tis­er. The SSP then bundles together all the offers before de­ter­min­ing the highest bid and selecting the cor­re­spond­ing advert.

SSP providers

The business of real-time bidding and real-time ad­ver­tis­ing has truly come into its own over the past decade, with ever more com­peti­tors stepping into the ring, es­tab­lish­ing them­selves both in the US and in­ter­na­tion­al­ly. Before signing up with an SSP, take time to note the dif­fer­ences between general providers and spe­cial­ists. General sites such as AppNexus and Adform offer supply-side platforms as part of their system. Then there are several spe­cial­ized providers, including Criteo.

Ad­van­tages and op­por­tu­ni­ties for pub­lish­ers

SSPs enable pub­lish­ers to sell their ad­ver­tis­ing inventory au­to­mat­i­cal­ly and in real time. The main goal is to sell inventory for the highest possible price, thereby max­i­miz­ing your profits and op­ti­miz­ing the process. There are several ways for pub­lish­ers to advertise their inventory:

  • Private deal: a private mar­ket­place only hosts business between pub­lish­ers and in­di­vid­ual ad­ver­tis­ing partners
  • Private auction: this allows selected partners to advertise the inventory to a closed market
  • Open auction: with an open auction, all ad­ver­tis­ing partners are permitted access and can purchase inventory

The biggest benefit is that pub­lish­ers can determine a minimum price in advance. This guar­an­tees that the inventory is never sold for less than its value.

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