Programmatic advertising is as jargon-ish as it sounds. Every time, an advertiser tries to scale and improve the ROI of the open internet advertising market, fraudsters will somehow corrupt the chain. We fix it again.
The cycle repeats and with each iteration, numerous vendors will join the ad tech ecosystem. And, here’s the answer to the obscurity and technicality of our industry.
However, it doesn’t mean we’re going the wrong way. The best comes right after the worst. With the adtech consolidation and Supply-Path Optimization, we’re cleaning the crowd already.
But, to get rid of spoofer, we needed a universal solution to be adopted by every seller on the Internet who would like to sell ads programmatically.
At the right time, IAB introduced Ads.txt for publishers. But still, there were some publishers who were not quick to update the text file with the new resellers and removing the outdated resellers from the list.
Besides, DSPs using crawlers to look for the ads.txt file on publishers’ sites tend to miss the updates as the crawling frequency is predetermined. There’s no way you’re gonna get crawled by a DSP twice with no time interval.
This means both publishers and advertisers will lose money in the long run. What’s the way out? Ads.txt Plus. With ads.txt plus your text file won’t be in your own server. It will be on a blockchain network.
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What is Ads.txt Plus?
To put it simply, ads.txt is a decentralized application that leverages Ethereum testnet to supplement ads.txt. It is important to note that it’s not an alternative.
MetaX has introduced Ads.txt Plus (at a beta stage), adding one more product to its portfolio. MetaX already has AdChain and AdChain auditing system to serve the industry.
Ads.txt plus has the simple UI to allow publishers to add sellers to the blockchain network and buyers, on the other hand, can search for respective sellers to see the updated ads.txt file. The files can be accessed programmatically through an API provided by the company.
The recent upgrade (Ads.txt v0.1.1) enabled bulk upload and Ads.txt v0.1.2 Update allows a publisher to register at AdChain (a different product where publishers can add their website to the registry maintained by the AdChain community. This, in turn, brings more advertisers as the publishers on the registry are considered authentic and the ideal to advertise).
Distinguished features of Ads.txt Plus:
a. Aut0-publishing DLS:
DSPs don’t need to build a crawler to scrap and see the ads.txt files on the sellers. Using the API, they’ll get automatic push notifications and up-to-date ads.txt files from the sellers they’ve subscribed to.
b. Mobile Web and Mobile App:
Unlike ads.txt, this helps publishers to manage both mobile web and native app properties.
c. List Of Resellers:
Ads.txt Plus serves publishers with highly secured and encrypted data, which enables publishers to secure a private listing of resellers while still allowing buyers to access & manage campaigns.
Update: Ads.cert, a new add-on for Ads.txt has been announced by the IAB Tech Lab. You can find it here.
Who’s in beta?
The CRO of MetaX, Alanna Gombert didn’t name the publishers who are utilizing the Ads.txt plus (from MarTech Today). However, she said the company will disclose the publishers and advertisers soon.
Conclusion
Blockchain technology hasn’t found its ground in adtech. When you see the QPS we process, it’s impossible to see the real-world application of blockchain in the bidding process. However, there is some potential for technology to assist industry initiatives like Ads.txt.
This doesn’t change the face of RTB. It simply solves the issue at hand and we can give it a go after the beta results.
What’s next for you?
Hold tight. We’ll update when there’s a significant change in the Ads.txt plus technology. The best way to get the latest alerts is to subscribe to our newsletter.
