Supply-side platform

A supply-side platform (SSP) or sell-side platform is a technology platform to enable web publishers and digital out-of-home (DOOH) media owners to manage their advertising inventory, fill it with ads, and receive revenue.^[1] Many of the larger web publishers of the world use a supply-side platform to automate and optimize the selling of their online media space.^[2]

A supply-side platform interfaces on the publisher side to advertising networks and exchanges, which in turn interface to demand-side platforms (DSP) on the advertiser side.^[3][4]

This system allows advertisers to put online advertising and DOOH advertising before a selected target audience.^[5] SSPs send potential impressions into ad exchanges, where DSPs purchase them on marketers' behalf, depending on specific targeting attributes and audience data.^[6] By offering impressions to as many potential buyers as possible publishers can maximize the revenue. Therefore, SSPs are sometimes referred to as yield-optimization platforms.^[7]

Often, real-time bidding (RTB) is used to complete DSP transactions.^[8]

Unlike advertising networks that target buyers (advertisers), supply-side platforms provide services for publishers (website, app, and DOOH owners).^[9] Supply-side platforms are often integrated into the structure of advertising and ad serving companies, as well as ad exchanges that work with both publishers (supply side) and advertisers (demand side).^[10]

Flowchart

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  Online advertising serving process

Examples

• Equativ
• OpenX
• Sovrn
• Pubmatic
• Magnite
• Smaato
• SpotX
• Verizon Media
• Xandr (formerly AppNexus)
• Google Ad Manager
• Media.net

See also

• Ad exchange
• Demand-side platform