If you’re a publisher trying to better understand ad servers, you’ve come to the right place.
Ad servers play a pivotal role in the programmatic advertising industry, so it’s important to understand what they are and which ones are the best for you.
What is an Ad Server?
An ad server is software that provides a platform for storing, managing, distributing, and monitoring online advertisements.
This technology is utilized by publishers, advertisers, and ad agencies to manage their online ad campaigns. It tracks and reports how ads are performing in real time, thereby providing insights that help optimize advertising strategies.
How Do Ad Servers Work?
Ad servers operate on a complex mechanism, executing several processes in milliseconds to deliver the appropriate ads to the right users.
Here are the steps that happen behind the scenes:
- Ad Request: The process begins when a user visits a web page with ad inventory. The browser sends a request to the ad server to fill these spaces. This request contains important information like the user’s location, device type, and browsing history.
- Ad Selection: The ad server then selects the most appropriate ads based on the information received. If it’s a publisher (first-party) ad server, it chooses from the ads directly sold by the publisher or sourced from ad networks. If it’s an advertiser (third-party) ad server, it selects the ads that match the target audience defined by the advertiser.
- Ad Delivery: Once the ads are selected, the ad server sends them back to the user’s browser where they are displayed in the designated ad spaces on the web page.
- Tracking and Reporting: The ad server then tracks the user’s interaction with the ads. It records data such as impressions, clicks, and conversions. This data is compiled into reports that publishers and advertisers can use to assess ad performance and adjust their strategies as needed.
Types of Ad Servers
As we mentioned in the “Ad Selection” stage, there are two types of ad servers. One for publishers and one for the advertisers.
First-Party (Publisher or Sell-Side) Ad Servers
First-party ad servers provide the means for publishers to organize, manage, and control the advertisements they display on their own websites.
This includes ads they’ve sold directly to advertisers and those sourced from ad networks. The server facilitates the scheduling and placement of these ads on their webpages.
In addition, it enables publishers to track the performance of these ads, collecting essential data on ad impressions, clicks, and more, to optimize the ad display strategy.
Third-Party (Advertiser or Buy-Side) Ad Servers
Third-party ad servers are utilized by advertisers to manage and monitor the performance of their ad campaigns across a multitude of websites or platforms.
They offer the ability to track key performance indicators, such as impressions, clicks, and conversions, thereby enabling advertisers to ensure their ads are reaching the intended audience and measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns.
This type of server enables advertisers to maintain a consistent tracking system across different publishers and platforms, ensuring a uniform metric system for performance analysis.
Why are Ad Servers Important for Publishers?
An ad server is an essential tool for publishers for several reasons.
Ad Management and Organization
Ad servers make it easy for publishers to manage and organize their ad inventory. You can schedule ads, determine the order of ad rotation, target specific demographics, and perform A/B testing to see what works best.
Maximizing Ad Revenue
By providing real-time data and insights, ad servers help you to optimize your ad strategy, allowing you to serve ads that are most likely to engage your audience and thus, generate higher revenues.
Better User Experience
An ad server allows you to ensure that the ads displayed on their site are relevant and engaging to their audience, thereby improving the overall user experience.
Ad Performance Tracking
Ad servers track key metrics, providing an in-depth analysis of ad performance. You can evaluate which ads are performing well and which ones aren’t, making necessary adjustments to your ad strategy.
Efficient Use of Ad Space
Ad servers help in the efficient utilization of ad space. They enable you to fill every available ad slot, ensuring no potential revenue is lost.
Best Ad Servers for Publishers
How to Get Started with an Ad Server
Admittedly, the information we outlined in this article is only the tip of the iceberg.
You would need to spend hours upon hours researching the vast world of ad servers in order to arrive at the best possible decision.
That’s where Adnimation comes in.
As a Google Certified Publishing Partner (GCPP), we’re here to make things easier for you.
That means taking the ad tech burden off your shoulders and helping you generate more ad revenue while we do it.
Get in touch with our monetization team today for a free consultation.
