SSPs Unveiled: Defining and Understanding Their Role

If you advertise online, it’s important to understand the underlying technology that allows you to deliver engaging content to your target audience. While there are many such technologies, supply-side platforms (SSPs) are quickly becoming one of the most impactful.

But what is an SSP in the first place? Below, we’ll pull back the curtain on these platforms, including their role in digital marketing and how you can use them effectively.

What Exactly Are SSPs?

SSPs are tech solutions specifically designed to automate and optimize the sale of ad inventory on websites, mobile apps, streaming channels, and other digital platforms. They connect publishers with businesses that want to purchase advertising space. And in doing so, SSPs ensure that every ad slot finds its highest bidder.

The Role of Supply-Side Platforms in Digital Advertising

SSPs help publishers and media entities sell their ad space more intelligently while also increasing accessibility to prospective buyers.

With that in mind, the key tenets of supply-side platforms are as follows:

Automation and Efficiency

Traditionally, you would have to negotiate with publishers for ad space and conduct the ensuing transactions manually. Purchasing a single slot may be relatively simple under such a model, but ad campaigns don’t rely on just one placement. You’ll need multiple placements across several different times and channels to maximize your reach.

Thanks to SSPs and their automation capabilities, transactions are becoming more streamlined by the day. Publishers set prices and establish rules for the types of ads that they will display. As a buyer, all you need to do is determine your bid pricing and overall campaign budget. The algorithm does the rest.

Real-Time Bidding

As a cornerstone of SSP functionality, real-time bidding (RTB) is a process that uses a robust algorithm to sell ad impressions in real-time auctions.

As an example, suppose that you bid $5 for a particular ad placement. When an opportunity for an impression arises, the SSP’s algorithm will compare your bid to those of other advertisers with similar campaign settings. If you have the highest bid, your ad will be displayed, and your account will be billed. Any losing bids will not be charged, thereby preventing overspend.

Revenue Optimization

SSPs grant publishers access to a much larger pool of advertisers, thereby increasing the odds that they will get top dollar for their inventory. The RTB process further optimizes revenue, as marketers are incentivized to bid more. And if that were not enough, publishers also get to set minimum price points for their inventory. Premium ad slots have higher thresholds.

Reporting

Lastly, the reporting features make SSPs even more appealing to publishers. They provide publishers with valuable data about their inventory’s performance, audience insights, and market trends. In turn, that data can help publishers analyze the big picture of ad space sales trends, inform their strategies, and set optimal price points.

Making the Most of SSPs

As you can see, SSPs represent a central part of digital marketing. But the question is, how can you leverage SSPs to improve the reach and efficiency of your ad campaigns?

First, you’ll need to find a way to access the ad inventory. And the most pragmatic way to do that involves using a demand-side platform (DSP), the advertiser’s answer to SSPs.

With a DSP, you can view inventory from multiple suppliers. But more importantly, you can set up custom campaigns that include audience criteria, location-based preferences, and a budget, of course.

DSPs and SSPs work together to facilitate real-time bidding and automated transactions. Tapping into the two of them at once can provide some substantial benefits for your business, such as:

Increased Control

SSPs and DSPs bring ad space buyers, like you, and publishers together. You get control over how much you bid, what type of slots you purchase, and your total budget.

Better Efficiency

Together, supply-side and demand-side solutions make transactions more efficient for everyone involved. You can buy ad space without having to manually negotiate and complete each transaction. And as a result, you’ll have a lot more time to focus on the creative side of brand-building.

Enhanced Reach

Since you’ll have access to numerous channels at once, you can prioritize the opportunities that give you the highest-quality impressions at the best price. Ultimately, that will lead to greater reach, more leads, and better bang for your buck.

Looking Ahead

SSPs efficiently connect publishers with the right advertisers, optimize ad sales, and provide valuable market insights, thereby empowering publishers to thrive in the competitive digital landscape.

As a business leader who wants to grow your presence through strategic marketing, it’s important to recognize the value and power of SSPs in tandem with DSPs and other ad networks. By doing so, you can reach key segments of your customer base, engage them, and generate high-quality traffic that converts.