ads.txt & Authorized Sellers
A bid is flowing through a seller the publisher never listed in its ads.txt file. Buyers will reject that path. Re-route the pipes through the listed, direct seller.
What you’ll learn
- What ads.txt is and where it lives
- DIRECT vs RESELLER entries
- How sellers.json completes the picture
What is ads.txt?
ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) is a public text file at the root of a publisher’s domain. Each line names an ad system, the publisher’s account ID there and whether that relationship is DIRECT or RESELLER.
Why buyers check it
Before buying, demand platforms check that the seller in the bid is listed in the publisher’s ads.txt. If it is not, the inventory may be spoofed, so the bid is dropped. Listed resellers are fine; unlisted sellers are the problem.
sellers.json and the supply chain
Ad systems publish sellers.json, which names the companies behind each account ID. Together with the supply chain object (schain), buyers can trace every hop from the publisher to the bid, and they favour short, verified paths.
Key terms
- ads.txt
- A public list of companies allowed to sell a publisher’s ad inventory.
- DIRECT
- The publisher holds the account with that ad system itself.
- RESELLER
- Another company is authorised to sell the inventory on the publisher’s behalf.
- sellers.json
- An ad system’s list of the sellers behind its account IDs.
Level 5 leaderboard
- 1Jatin1,000