As the advertising world braces for the inevitable demise of third-party cookies, tech companies are hard at work developing cookie alternatives.
Enter publisher provided signals (PPS), a new privacy-focused product developed by Google to help publishers better leverage first-party data.
As a Google Certified Publishing Partner (GCPP), Adnimation is privy to Google’s latest technologies and we have been granted access to this new product, which we are implementing for hundreds of our publishers.
In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about publisher provided signals.
What Are Publisher Provided Signals?
Publisher provided signals (PPS) is a new beta feature in Google Ad Manager that enables publishers to seamlessly leverage their first-party data and contextual data directly in the programmatic auction.
PPS helps publishers categorize their first-party data into consistent audience or contextual segments. This makes it easier for programmatic buyers to target audiences based on demographics, interests or purchase intent across multiple sites and apps.
Uniquely, PPS does all of this without tracking people’s activity in apps or across the web.
Benefits of PPS for Publishers
- Easy and scalable method to leverage first-party data into the auction
- Makes first-party audience attribute easier for buyers to discover
- Ability to share first-party data while protecting user privacy
- Valuable for OTT/CTV and mobile app inventory where limited contextual signals are available
How Is PPS Implemented?
PPS is implemented by mapping out a subset of first-party audience segments and/or key-values to a standard taxonomy segment.
Then, the signals are passed to eligible buyers participating in the auction. The signals can be passed in two ways:
- Values assigned to PPS categories in Google Ad Manager
- Signals are sent at the time of the ad request
Values Assigned to PPS Categories in Google Ad Manager
In this method, mapping audiences, custom key-values, or CMS key-values are assigned to the PPS categories in GAM. This enables you to map your first-party data already coming from the properties you own.
Signals Are Sent at the Time of the Ad Request
In this method, the signals are sent only once a user visits a website, mobile app, or CTV app.
Once this happens, publishers generate first-party signals and standardizes content and audience signals, sending an ad request to GAM. These signals are then sent to the buyer.
Supported Taxonomies
PPS currently supports IAB Audience and IAB Content taxonomies, but as time goes on, more standardized taxonomies may be supported as well.
Getting Started
If you’re interested in utilizing PPS on your site or app, feel free to get in touch with us today.
As a trusted GCPP, our monetization experts will ensure that you are getting the highest possible value out of your first-party data.
