What is an Ad Publisher?
Quick Definition: An Ad Publisher is any website owner, app developer, or content creator who makes advertising space (ad inventory) available for sale. Publishers integrate ads into their app or site to generate revenue, a process known as monetization.
An Introduction to the Ad Publisher
The ad publisher is the supply side of the advertising equation. They have built an audience by providing valuable content, entertainment, or utility, and they monetize that audience by allowing Advertisers to reach them. A publisher’s main asset is its audience and the ad inventory they have available to show them.
In the mobile world, an ad publisher is typically an app developer. This could be the developer of a hyper-casual game, a news aggregator, a social media platform, or a utility app. Their goal is to maximize the revenue generated from their ad inventory without harming the user experience.
A publisher’s role involves:
- Building an Audience: Creating a compelling app or website that attracts and retains users.
- Integrating Ad Placements: Deciding where and how ads will appear within their app (e.g., banner ads, Rewarded Ads, Offer Walls).
- Managing Ad Inventory: Selling ad space either through direct deals negotiated with advertisers or by using intermediary platforms like an Ad Network or a Supply-Side Platform (SSP)
- Optimizing for Yield: Analyzing performance data to ensure they are getting the highest possible price (eCPM) for their ad space.
An Introduction to the Ad Publisher
To effectively monetize their traffic, publishers rely on specific technologies. While some tools connect them to outside networks, an Offer Server gives them the power to build their own advertising business.
- Offer Server: Technology, like GoKart, that empowers publishers to create and run their own Offer Programs. It allows them to manage direct partnerships with advertisers and serve rewarded offers, effectively acting as their own ad network.
- Software Development Kits (SDKs): Provided by ad networks, these are code libraries that publishers integrate into their apps to request and display ads from those specific networks.
- Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs): Technology that automates the sale of a publisher’s inventory to the highest bidder through real-time auctions.
- Ad Mediation Platforms: Tools that allow publishers to manage multiple ad networks to ensure they always have an ad to show (high fill rate) at the best possible price.
Why the “Ad Publisher” Role is Important
- Offer Server: Technology, like GoKart, that empowers publishers to create and run their own Offer Programs. It allows them to manage direct partnerships with advertisers and serve rewarded offers, effectively acting as their own ad network.
- Software Development Kits (SDKs): Provided by ad networks, these are code libraries that publishers integrate into their apps to request and display ads from those specific networks.
- Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs): Technology that automates the sale of a publisher’s inventory to the highest bidder through real-time auctions.
- Ad Mediation Platforms: Tools that allow publishers to manage multiple ad networks to ensure they always have an ad to show (high fill rate) at the best possible price.
Related Terms
- Advertiser: The buyer of the publisher’s ad inventory. The publisher sells, the advertiser buys.
- Ad Network: A key intermediary that connects multiple publishers with multiple advertisers.
- Supply-Side Platform (SSP): A publisher’s primary tool for automating and optimizing the sale of their ad space.
- In-App Ads: The product that a mobile ad publisher sells
