The open internet is facing a paradox. There has never been more inventory, more partners, more ways to plug into demand. And yet, monetization isn’t getting easier. In fact, for many publishers, it’s becoming less predictable, less efficient, and harder to scale. Today, our Director of Publishers & AdTech Partnerships Growth, Paula Mora, takes over this blog to share her perspective on modern-day SPO and DPO and how the “less is more” approach is not just a saying, it’s a strategy now more than ever.
What is Supply-Path Optimization (SPO)?
Supply-Path Optimization (SPO) is the process of optimizing how buyers access inventory, prioritizing the most efficient, transparent, and high-quality supply paths. It’s mainly used by advertisers to reduce costs, enhance transparency during the buying process, and generate optimized results. As the IAB Europe states in their Guide to Supply Path Optimization: ‘’SPO is one of the most effective ways to cut through the noise between media buyers and publishers.’’
What is Demand-Path Optimization (DPO)?
Demand-Path Optimization (DPO) refers to how publishers curate and structure their demand stack to reduce unnecessary middlemen and connect publishers more directly with advertisers, helping them achieve higher prices.
DPO helps reduce duplicated bid requests and overlapping auction paths, preventing the same creative from appearing multiple times on a page, which keeps advertisers from lowering bids and protects your ad revenue.
Does more supply mean more spending in today’s Programmatic Ecosystem?
Short answer: More supply doesn’t create more value. And more importantly, it doesn’t create more budget. Advertisers are not scaling their spend at the same pace as the explosion of inventory. They’re becoming more selective, more performance-driven, and far more focused on efficiency with the same budget. What’s the problem then? A saturated supply chain.
So, what happens when the market is flooded with inventory? You, as a publisher, don’t get more demand. You just risk getting more competition from the same demand. That inevitably leads to pressure on CPMs, stricter filtering from DSPs, and a growing preference for inventory that is clean, efficient, and trustworthy.
From excess to curation: Why quality matters more than ever in programmatic advertising?
The appetite for high-quality inventory is marking a clear shift in how the ecosystem behaves. Buyers are no longer trying to process everything. They’re trying to filter as much as possible to reduce costs, improve results, and gain more control. In other words, the market is moving away from excess and sailing toward curation. So, what do you do?
When more monetization partners become a problem
The common publisher strategies don’t work like they used to when it comes to selling ad inventory effectively. The idea was simple: more partners = more bids = more competition = higher revenue. A lesson from Yield Optimization 101, right? But that’s no longer the case.
Today, this approach can backfire. Instead of bringing new demand, multiple partners often send the same impression through different paths, creating duplication. From the buyer’s POV, this creates inefficiency and ultimately lowers the willingness to bid aggressively.
Duplication doesn’t create demand
Every additional wrapper, adapter, or demand partner introduces latency and complexity. Even small delays impact viewability, time-to-render, bid density, and ultimately auction dynamics and performance. Over time, those micro-inefficiencies compound.
At the same time, duplicated paths fragment signals and reduce clarity for buyers. Instead of strengthening your inventory, you risk making it harder to evaluate, and easier to ignore.
Less is more is not just a saying, it’s a strategy
“Less is better” is not just a pro tip for home décor. It’s a strategic key in your ad monetization. It’s common to see pages overloaded with ad units, under the assumption that they will automatically translate into more revenue. That’s rarely a good move.
When a page is too dense, viewability drops and users disengage faster. In turn, the overall perception of quality decreases, both from a user and an advertiser perspective. Take note: advertisers don’t reward volume, they reward performance.
As Ariane Paez Bravo, Director, Inventory Development at The Trade Desk, one of our most trusted demand partners, explains,
“Premium ad experiences drive better results than volume alone. With the flexibility to bid selectively, rather than monetise every impression, we prioritise quality, viewability, and performance. The result is not just access to premium inventory, but ad experiences that deliver stronger business outcomes and protect long‑term value.”
How do you embrace the new way of the ecosystem?
Advertisers are trying to find ways to cut through the supply to get to the good stuff (your inventory) faster. During this process, there are many factors that don’t depend on you. So, we recommend focusing on what you can control, which is optimizing your ad inventory.
Connection to the right demand partners
Each website is its own little world, and not all demand will just cut it. You need the right demand for your strategy. To simplify this process, you could rely on an AdTech partner like us at Refinery89, to curate the best demand for your site.
Ad setup optimization
A clean layout, a logical structure, and thoughtful positioning are green flags for buyers. It tells them which inventory is worth paying for and matters more than ever. Top publishers don’t win by using more ad units. The key is where they’re placed. A few well-positioned, high-impact ads will usually outperform lots of low-value ones. It’s not about filling every possible space. It’s about making each impression count.
Content Quality
Beyond the ad setup, there’s another layer that’s becoming increasingly important: content quality. More content doesn’t mean more revenue if quality drops. As buyers become more selective, brand-safety content, strong editorial standards, and real audience engagement are an essential part of the monetization equation.
Short-term tactics, long-term impact. From volume to value
Everything mentioned above points in the same direction: The future of programmatic is about reducing noise, improving signal quality, and building supply that buyers want to access. The reality is simple: there is more supply than demand, and only the supply that stands out in quality, in structure, and in trust will capture that demand.
Quality over quantity is the new black
Quality is no longer a trend. It’s the baseline. At Refinery89, we don’t believe in overloading pages or multiplying partners just to increase volume.
We focus on building efficient setups, curating the right demand, and helping publishers unlock the full value of their inventory. Because today, less isn’t a limitation, it’s a competitive advantage. Get in touch with our experts for a free website audit!
