What Is Ads.txt (a short recap)?
ADS.TXT, aka Authorized Digital Sellers, is a simple text file that publishers place on their websites, listing the authorized sellers (advertisers or ad networks) who are permitted to sell their ad inventory. This initiative was created by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in 2017 to combat counterfeit and unauthorized inventory in the digital advertising ecosystem.
Why Do We Care?
The digital advertising market swells unstoppably. According to Statista market volume of digital advertising grew 15-20% per year starting from 2017, and foreseen growth of 7% per year, which produces a volume of 910 billion dollars in 2027. These are undoubtedly good news for publishers and their RPM (revenues per mile), which they can increase by optimizing the monetization of their ad inventory.
In this vast market, programmatic takes up to 80% of all expenses, which provides not only extensive options for monetization but also for fraud.
According to some sources, the amount of losses due to fraudulent traffic in digital advertising is as big as 100 billion dollars.
The programmatic advertising market struggles with trust issues. On the one hand, we have publishers who frown upon the CPM, on the other hand, we have advertisers harassed by fraudulent traffic and false ad inventory. Ads.txt helps advertisers verify inventory ownership, and publishers receive higher CPM for certifying their human traffic.
Also, let’s not lose out of the focus the fact that the ads.txt file is a document that should be subjected to constant updates rather than a done-once document.
Refinery89’s standard is to update the ads.txt lines of our existing partners every month, we can remove and add partners following the changes in the network.
Another crucial point to keep in mind is the constant decluttering of the file, removing duplicates or vendors that do not deliver.
Another crucial point of ads.txt is that Google “highly recommends” the use of ads.txt and imposes that publishers specify who owns the domain and who manages it.
Keep Your Ads.txt Updated at all Times.
“Yes, Captain Obvious!” one might think, and although the ads.txt maintenance is a pretty straightforward strategy to keep, not all publishers have enough time to stay on top of their ads.txt lines.
Here at Refinery89, we always keep a watchful and protective eye over our publishers’ inventory, offering solutions that help publishers optimize their CPMs and grow revenues without spending a lifetime managing their ad properties.
There are some clear benefits of keeping your ads.txt fresh and perky.
Optimize your ad inventory payoff.
As ads.txt directly demonstrates your dear publishers, eligibility for platforms regularly updating your file ensures you know the entities authorized to sell your inventory, leaving no potential ad revenue untapped. Moreover, DSP and SSP partners may alter or retire their ads.txt listings, emphasizing the importance of consistently having the most recent information to prevent revenue loss. Also, ads.txt ensures that you remain in control of your revenue. Finally, an optimized ads.txt file (properly done!) provides advertisers with the most direct or beneficial methods of buying the inventory and ensures that they remain in control of the revenue. The more “middlemen” we cut out, the better the whole system works.
Boost Buyer Confidence.
Up-to-date ads.txt files fight trust issues advertisers might have and offer sound confirmation of your partnerships. By promptly eliminating any sellers or resellers with whom you no longer collaborate, you ensure that your inventory reliably showcases your collaborations.
Unlock Cookieless Revenue.
Unlike conventional cookie-dependent reseller lines, cookieless reseller lines foster competition for your previously underutilized inventory. This opens up opportunities to target your previously inaccessible inventory, potentially elevating your revenue streams.
Remain in control.
So why keep it updated? on the one hand to make sure that you are connected to all the demand sources, obvious.
On the other hand, you also make sure that you remain in control, which is the whole purpose of it
Finally, an optimized ads.txt file (if done properly) will also provide advertisers with the most direct or beneficial methods of buying the inventory. The more “middlemen” we cut out the better the ecosystem will work.
How to Maintain Your Ads.txt driving the integrity
Regular Monitoring of ads.txt
These seemingly minor issues can have a significant impact, potentially resulting in consistently low buyer bid rates. Lower bid rates lead to reduced ad impressions, decreased fill rates, and, ultimately, diminished revenue. But do you have time to squeeze in one more place to monitor into your busy schedule?
Partner up.
Establish continuous communication channels with your most valued SSP partners; this practice keeps you informed about what strategies are proving successful, what is delivering value, and what might require adjustments. Sounds nice, but again, time matters, isn’t it?
Use Cookieless Reseller Lines.
Cookieless reseller lines invigorate competition for your undervalued inventory, potentially unlocking additional revenue streams.
Automatic updates.
This option looks like the most viable one, and Refinery89 has things to offer.
Our ads.txt manager was created so each publisher has more personal time and less time-draining routine manually updating their files. We have an easy fix for you, a solution that ensures your ad inventory is always up-to-date:
✅ With our hosted ads.txt file, you can guarantee that your ads.txt is always in sync with the latest updates from our database and your revenue flowing seamlessly.
✅ Easily manage all your personalized ads.txt entries through our user-friendly dashboard.
✅ Every website has its own unique ads.txt file. If you manage multiple websites, ensure you’re using the correct hosted file URL for each one.
Choose Your Method of updating ads.txt:
Method 1: .htaccess Redirect (For all websites) Have your webmaster add a simple line of code to your .htaccess file in the root folder of your website. This creates a redirect for your ads.txt URL to the Refinery89 hosted file. Make sure to test the configuration before going live.
Method 2: Plugin Method (Exclusive for WordPress websites) Add our Ads.txt Manager plugin to your WordPress, and it will take care of all the rest, as it is designed to keep your ads.txt files up-to-date. Easily monitor the status of your website’s ads.txt files with our dashboard.
And there are more advantages still.
Download Your File: Get a copy of your website’s ads.txt file for use.
Custom Entries: Add ads.txt lines for other advertising partners and let our system check their lines for updates on your websites. If you’re using our hosted file, these lines will be included.
Scan and Update: Request a scan of your file for updates, and our system will take care of it. We also automatically scan your file every night for your peace of mind.
Ads.txt is a crucial part of your credibility and, as a result, revenue, but you can convert this onerous task into one that will take care of itself. Reach out and learn more about your new ads.txt manager.
