Supply Chain
Supply-side platforms and publisher monetisation
Understand how SSP demand, auction controls and reporting affect publisher monetisation, and what to check when choosing a setup.
A supply-side platform (SSP) helps a publisher offer eligible ad opportunities to programmatic buyers. More connections do not automatically mean more revenue. Buyers must be able to bid on the inventory, their bids must meet applicable rules, and an ad must be selected and delivered. An SSP auction win may still lose at the publisher’s final ad-selection step.
Start with sellable inventory
List the placements, formats and devices available to programmatic demand, separating them from booked commitments. For each placement, identify the system that makes the final fill decision. With a Prebid.js web header-bidding setup, confirm how the setup passes bid information to the ad server.
With Google Ad Manager Open Bidding, eligible yield partners bid within Ad Manager’s unified auction. Settings and records differ between routes.
A connection reaches only the opportunities for which its account, format, size, targeting and deal conditions are satisfied. Ask a prospective partner to trace one representative Australian placement from request to final selection. Confirm that the proposed property and account can use the route; an available integration alone does not establish access.
Open Bidding uses a server-to-server integration. Ad Manager receives requests through Google Publisher Tags, the Google Mobile Ads SDK or the IMA SDK, with user, device and targeting information passed along. Yield-group targeting determines which partners receive requests for eligible opportunities.
Requests marked as child-directed in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act are not sent to Open Bidding yield partners. This is an eligibility limit to check when assessing which inventory can reach that demand route.
SSP Integration Routes: Open Bidding vs. Prebid.js
- Integration TypeServer-to-server (Open Bidding), Client-side (Prebid.js)
- Ad Server Decision PointGoogle Ad Manager (Open Bidding), Publisher's ad server (Prebid.js)
- Eligibility CriteriaYield-group targeting, account setup, deal conditions (Open Bidding); format, size, targeting (Prebid.js)
- Child-Directed InventoryNot sent to Open Bidding partners; may be restricted in Prebid.js depending on configuration
Decide what each control should do
| Control | Publisher question |
|---|---|
| Partner eligibility | Which partners can receive this opportunity? |
| Price rules | Which demand faces a floor or target, and where is it applied? |
| Timeout | How long can a response take before the next decision? |
| Deal terms | Is inventory reserved, or is a buyer offered an opportunity to compete? |
| Ad-server rules | How do booked commitments and other eligible ads affect final selection? |
A higher floor may raise the minimum accepted price while excluding bids that could have filled the placement. Check the effect on delivered impressions and publisher revenue.
Pricing rules govern auction floors for non-guaranteed demand, but their application depends on the platform and route. They do not apply to campaigns negotiated through Programmatic Direct.
Pros and Cons of Using Auction Floors in SSPs
- ProsCan increase minimum accepted prices; helps protect against undervalued inventory
- ConsMay exclude viable bids; can reduce fill rate if set too high; does not apply to Programmatic Direct deals
Judge connections by usable competition
For each candidate, establish who operates the connection, which inventory and deals it can reach, what technical integration and commercial approval are needed, and which results it can report. An integration alone does not guarantee a bid on every request.
If a trial is feasible, compare the same placement and format across suitable periods. Record changes to floors, timeouts, inventory mix and booked-campaign delivery. Review partner callouts, responses, bids that entered the auction, delivered impressions, response time and revenue where those measures are available. A partner may add useful competition without winning every auction; a revenue change alone does not identify its cause.
Steps to Evaluate an SSP Connection
- Confirm operational ownership and integration typeCheck if the partner operates the connection and what technical setup is required
- Verify eligible inventory and deal accessConfirm which placements, formats, and devices are accessible under the partner’s account
- Assess commercial approval and payment termsIdentify who contracts with and pays the publisher; check for separate invoicing of fees
- Run a trial and measure performanceCompare delivered impressions, response time, bids entered, and revenue over consistent periods
- Reconcile reports and definitionsAlign time zones, currency, and metric definitions before drawing conclusions
Check the money and the records
Confirm who contracts with and pays the publisher, what deductions appear in each reported amount and whether any fees are invoiced separately. A gap between buyer and publisher dashboards cannot, by itself, identify an intermediary’s fee.
Ask for a report that shows performance at a level useful for decisions, and confirm the definitions of its measures. Google Ad Manager provides yield-group reporting for Open Bidding and mobile-app mediation; avoid combining figures unless their scope and counting basis are clear.
Compare reports by placement, format and date after aligning time zone, currency, revenue basis and estimated or final status. Treat a discrepancy as a question about definitions or events before changing partners or rules.
For Ad Manager yield-group reports, check whether metric totals overlap with other metric groups before adding them. Google advises against summing these totals to avoid double-counting impressions.
For Open Bidding, billing and payments are based on Ad Manager report totals. Include that reporting basis when reconciling the publisher’s records with the commercial terms.
Key Metrics for SSP Performance Review
- Revenue Basis
- Ad Manager report totals (for Open Bidding)
- Time Zone Alignment
- Critical for accurate cross-platform comparison
- Currency Consistency
- Ensure all reports use AUD or convert consistently
- Reporting Scope
- Avoid double-counting impressions across yield groups
In this guide
- Understanding a publisher's auction configurationTrace a publisher’s auction configuration across eligibility, deal types, floors, timeouts and final ad selection.
- Evaluating SSP reporting from a publisher's perspectiveEvaluate SSP reports using event definitions, revenue basis, useful breakdowns and publisher-side reconciliation checks.
