What is Supply Side Platform and why it is So Important to the Programmatic Ecosystem?

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Are you a publisher who wants to make the most out of your digital assets? You have heard about Supply Side Platforms, but not sure how they work? Then this blog is for you.

When programmatic advertisements came into the picture, many publishers thought that this would hurt their income even more. But, things changed for publishers because of supply-side platforms. Supply-side platforms are now preferred by publishers when they want to rent out their digital space for advertisements to get the best possible price.   

What is Supply Side Platform?

A Supply-side platform can be very simply defined as a platform where publishers list their digital assets like websites, Apps, and others to get the best possible price from advertisers. The whole process happens automatically and it works by collaboration with demand-side platforms. 

Supply-side platforms are more efficient because they simply minimize the wastage of ad space by utilizing them. They also help identify eligible buyers who are ready to pay more for the same ad space. Because of real-time bidding publishers now enjoy higher prices and advertisers also get more value for their money. 

How Does It Work?

The common method to make money for advertising for publishers is to place ads manually on their platforms. It is time-consuming and with time the CPM is also decreasing. A supply-side platform counters all these problems and gives the best price to publishers.

Now a publisher just has to sign up for a supply-side platform and list their property in the platform. The SSP would work with DSP to find the best match for the publisher. The whole process happens very quickly through micro-bidding with the help of AI. 

A well-known DSP that connects seamlessly with any SSP is Bidtimize. Using features like the behavioral audience, Geo audience, Device Targeting, and others they select the best digital media to run ads for advertisers.

The offers of the advertisers are evaluated based on the value they offer and also how much value the property of the publisher adds to the advertiser's business. Together programmatic advertising creates a win-win scenario for both the publisher and the advertiser. 

What Role Does it Play in The Programmatic Ecosystem?

The supply-side platform is often mistaken as the demand-side platform because they both work almost the same way except for one key difference. A supply-side platform protects the interest of the publisher while the demand-side platform protects that of the advertiser.

You can think of SSP as the negotiator for the publisher and during real-time bidding, the SSP and DSP agree on a price that is crucial for programmatic advertising. Without SSP, the publisher would have to manually deal with DSP making the process more complex. 

SSP also provides all the data to the publisher. They would be able to see whose advertisements run on their platforms and how much revenue they are generating. This enables them to keep track of the income they are generating from multiple digital media from one location.

SSP works with DSP to make sure that the digital space is a perfect match for the buyer. Without SSP, it would be impossible to determine manually which website is a perfect match for an advertiser. SSP stores this vital information making it possible to optimize the ad spending for the advertiser. 

It is also possible to do frequency capping because of SSP. Frequency capping is limiting the number of times an advertisement would be shown to a visitor on a particular website or other media. This helps advertisers save their money on ad campaigns. 

SSP is a vital part of the whole programmatic advertising ecosystem. Without SSP, it won't work smoothly as it does now and the whole system would collapse.  

What are the Elements of an SSP?

Many components are present in a supply-side platform. Knowing these elements helps you understand how a supply-side platform works and how it can benefit you.

Backend Interface

When you log in to any supply-side platform, you get a very easy-to-use interface with most companies. The backend is the place where you get to manage everything easily. You can see which digital property is making your maximum revenue, you can see the different advertisers publishing ads on your platforms, and many other useful data.

Multiple Network Integrations 

Inside an SSP, you see the different ad networks that are integrated with your SSP. This makes it very easy for you to keep an inventory and also make a comparison of which ad networks helps you generate more revenue.

Ad Exchange

An ad exchange is present in the best SSPs which enables you to directly rent out your digital space to the advertiser without having to deal with any third party. 

Huge Database

You get valuable data that are collected by trackers giving you more valuable insights. You would know how a particular campaign is performing and how you are benefitting the advertiser. 

Features of Supply-Side Platform

There are many amazing features that the supply side platform provides to publishers. The publishers can connect with a wide variety of advertisers using the platform in a very organized way.

Easy Reporting

We have already mentioned the amazing database that is available with the supply-side platform. This enables the publishers to get all the information they need to ensure that they are renting out their ad space to the right advertiser. 

Select a Price Range

Most supply-side platforms come with the ability to set a minimum and maximum price for their platforms and the SSP would try to get the max price possible for the publisher.

Transparency 

The problem that many publishers faced with other ad networks is that they were not given complete details. With SSP, publishers enjoy complete transparency and they know all the platforms that the SSP is integrated with and how well the ad campaigns are performing.

Safety

The SSP checks the advertiser's history and also what kind of ads they are running on a publisher's ad space. This provides an added layer of security for the publisher and ensures that their platform would be safe from any unwanted ads. 

What to Look For in an SSP?

Many important factors play a role in the making of a perfect SSP. Some features you should look out for are mentioned below. 

⦁ Make sure that the SSP is easy to use even though it is providing you complex data and features. Ideally, you should not need a developer to use an SSP.

⦁ It is important to get the data in real-time so you can make changes in your bidding strategy to maximize your profits.

⦁ Make sure that your SSP can be integrated with various ad networks easily.

⦁ The SSP should check the advertiser's history to provides a security Layer for the publisher to ensure that their platform would be safe from any unwanted ads. 

Conclusion

A supply-side platform is something that you should definitely try if you have a digital asset that you want to monetize. It provides you scope to give the platform for rent to the best bidder. You can also make sure your digital assets are secure as SSPs provide you all the data and they are very transparent about it. 

Searching for a perfect SSP? 

Then Bidtimize is the Platform you are Looking for. It is a well-known DSP that connects seamlessly with any SSP. The SSP, Bidtimize is easy to use & at the same time, it provides all the necessary complex data and features. In Bidtimize with our real-time bidding strategy, you can maximize your ROI & ensure your brand safety through the advertiser's history checking feathers. 

• SSP
• Supply-Side Platform
• Demand-Side Platform
• DSP

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WRITTEN BY

Bidtimize

Bidtimize is a full stack programmatic platform built for data-driven marketers. We are using the latest and greatest RTB technologies of artificial intelligence-powered tools to create futuristic, unique, and powerful displays advertising that are tailor-made to achieve your campaign goals.

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