Key Points

  • Getting approved on major programmatic demand sources as a stand-alone publisher that is mid-size or smaller can be very difficult.
  • There are key best practices you can follow to improve your chances of getting approved on major demand sources.
  • Working with a partner or header bidding wrapper is often the easiest way for mid-size publishers to get approved across a variety of SSPs.

Best Practices for Getting Approved on Programmatic Demand Sources

Most SSPs are looking at similar factors when considering your website, however none have explicitly documented their criteria. Thus, we can’t give you hard and fast rules, but rather a series of recommendations that should help you across the board.

Generally, SSPs are looking at a few categories:

Traffic Considerations

When reviewing your website, most SSPs will look at the volume and quality of your traffic as a key consideration when determining if they should accept you.

Many have minimum traffic volume requirements, and if your traffic isn’t above a certain amount, they will automatically reject you. They will also look at the geographies where your traffic is originating from, the sources of your traffic (e.g. organic vs. paid), and look for indicators that traffic might be coming from bots as opposed to real people.

Ad Layout Considerations

Many SSPs will reject sites that show signs of ad clutter, or sites where they feel the inventory won’t be valuable enough. We recommend implementing all of the best practices for avoiding ad clutter provided in this article before submitting your website to SSPs in order to improve your chances of approval.

Content Considerations

SSPs will also review the quality of your content when reviewing your website. Content should be unique, original, and amazing for both audiences and advertisers.

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Read the Guide: How to Build Your Target CPM and Price Floor Strategy

Recommendations for Getting Started

If you are getting started for the first time, we’d recommend beginning by using Google Ad Manager. This is the simplest to set up and has the lowest barrier to entry, making it a great starting point.

It will also be a great indicator of whether you’ll get approved on other major demand sources. If your website does not get approved by Google, it is highly likely that it will be rejected from most major SSPs as well. If you find yourself in this position, we recommend working through the issues that are causing your website to be banned by Google before submitting to other programmatic demand sources.

How to Apply for Monetization Through Major SSPs

For the most part, the process to apply to have your website monetized through an SSP is relatively consistent. You’ll go to that SSP’s website and fill out a form in order to start the conversation, they’ll review your website and then determine if you are a good candidate to monetize through their service.

Keep in mind that as a small to mid-size publisher, it is not uncommon to have your application rejected when reaching out directly to an SSP. But, you can still access demand from these SSPs through a partner like Playwire or a header bidding wrapper.

GOOGLE AD MANAGER

Google Ad Manager is a sell-side platform and ad server. It provides access to programmatic buying and networks.

Follow these instructions to set up a Google Ad Manager account.

AMAZON PUBLISHER SERVICES

Amazon Publisher Services is a full platform built for publisher monetization. It includes demand from many different SSPs and demand sources.

If you are a mid-sized publisher, to monetize with Amazon, you’ll follow the steps that initiate after clicking on “Get Started” from this page.

TRIPLELIFT

triplelift is an ad exchange and ad placement company that offers design services, omnichannel publishing and works directly with publishers.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

MAGNITE

Magnite was born from a merger of The Rubicon Project, Telaria, and SpotX. They claim to be the world's largest independent SSP, with integrations for every ad format and ad channel.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

XANDR

Xandr (owned by AT&T) uses proprietary technology to drive monetization, providing a platform for both buy-side and sell-side ad tech.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

WUNDERKIND

Wunderkind , formerly known as BounceX, provides services specific to enterprise ecommerce clients on its SSP platform.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

OPENX

OpenX addresses a full range of digital ad and marketing needs, built on privacy, knowledge and performance. Their branded ad platform is called OpenAudience.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

RHYTHMONE / UNRULYX

RhythmOne was recently acquired and all publisher solutions have been rolled into UnrulyX. UnrulyX is a supply-side platform that allows publishers to unify and report on all outstream video demand in one place.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form at the bottom of this page.

PUBMATIC

PubMatic has several branded technologies, including OpenWrap OTT and is connected to Prebid.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, fill out one of the contact forms that pops up when you click on the Contact buttons on this page.

YAHOO SSP

Yahoo SSP, which recently acquired Verizon Media’s SSP, is built for omnichannel businesses, video creators, bloggers and app developers.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

INDEXEXCHANGE

IndexExchange is a global advertising marketplace with high-quality inventory for publishers and buyers.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

SONOBI

Sonobi is an ad technology developer that designs advertising tools and solutions for the industry's leading publishers, media agencies and advertisers.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form at the bottom of this page.

33ACROSS

33Across builds technology for publishers to increase the value of their inventory and safely monetize it for the open internet within the bounds of privacy.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form at the bottom of this page.

Sharethrough

Sharethrough has a Native Advertising Exchange (Sharethrough for Advertisers) geared toward performance oriented buyers.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

Adagio

Adagio is known for helping publishers optimize the revenue of their existing sources while bringing new demand to the picture.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, click the button on the Publisher section of this page to launch the contact form.

NoBid

NoBid focuses on the bottom of the stack to help publishers drive pressure across their inventory and increase revenue.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

EPLANNING

ePlanning offers ad server + SSP. One of the oldest ad servers in the world. You can manage advertising sales efficiently with e-planning tools while maximizing each impression profit and increasing income.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

The MediaGrid

The MediaGrid allows publishers to tap into premium demand and offers robust testing tools.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form at the bottom of this page.

GUMGUM

GumGum is an artificial intelligence company, with particular expertise in computer vision. Since 2008, the company has applied its patented capabilities to serve a variety of industries from advertising to professional sports. Formerly known as GumGum.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

YieldMo

YieldMo’s SSP “enables publishers to monetize more efficiently and effectively with actionable inventory insights, flexible deals tools, and smart curation.”

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

152Media

152Media offers a full monetization solution, complete with header bidding adapter if needed.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

MEDIA.NET

Part of the Yahoo! and Bing network, Medianet gives you instantaneous access to one of the world's largest marketplaces for keyword-targeted advertisers.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, reach out using the appropriate contact information provided here.

Infolinks

Infolinks offers a variety of ad products for publishers.

To apply to monetize with this SSP, submit their contact form here.

The Easy Button

Looking for the easy way out? We don’t blame you. Luckily we’ve got direct relationships with all the major SSPs and programmatic demand sources on the market, and a team that is responsible for managing those relationships.

Our Yield Ops team makes the process of getting approved across demand sources as easy as the push of a button, and keeps a 24/7 watch on the performance of all the websites and apps in the Playwire network, ensuring that your revenue is always protected. And, if that wasn’t enough, they are constantly working in concert with our AI and machine learning algorithms to find unique opportunities to optimize and increase your revenue.

Apply now to learn more about the revenue you could be earning.

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