The importance of keeping your ads.txt up to date

For those who are unfamiliar with the topic, what is ads.txt?

Ads.txt is a file that publishers can use to publicly declare the companies they authorize to sell their digital inventory. The file is hosted on the publisher's domain and lists the authorized digital sellers for a specific publisher. This allows advertisers to verify the legitimacy of the inventory they are purchasing, and helps to prevent the sale of counterfeit inventory. 

How do you declare partners correctly?

To declare ads.txt partners, publishers need to create an ads.txt file and list the companies that are authorized to sell their digital inventory. The file should be placed on the root domain of the publisher's website and can be accessed by anyone who wants to verify the legitimacy of the inventory being sold.

Each entry in the ads.txt file should include the name of the authorized seller, the seller's publisher account ID, and the type of relationship the seller has with the publisher (e.g. DIRECT or RESELLER).

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What does DIRECT and RESELLER mean?

DIRECT in an ads.txt file indicates that the seller has a direct relationship with the publisher of the website on which the ads are being served. This means that the seller is the source of the inventory and is responsible for selling the ads directly to the buyer, rather than through an intermediary. This can provide added assurance to buyers that the inventory is legitimate and of high quality.

If a partner is marked as a RESELLER it indicates that the seller is a reseller of inventory, rather than the source. This means that the seller is buying the inventory from another party (the "source") and then reselling it to buyers. The presence of a RESELLER entry in an ads.txt file indicates that the seller is not the original source/creator of the inventory, and buyers should be aware that there may be additional parties involved in the transaction.

Remember that sellers of exclusive inventory can be DIRECT partners even if they are not the publisher of the site. The point of this declaration is to signal buyers if the inventory’s position in the supply chain.   

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Keeping your ads.txt up to date

It is important for online publishers to keep their ads.txt files up to date for several reasons. An ads.txt file is a text file that is used to provide transparency in the digital advertising supply chain. This file lists the authorized digital sellers for a publisher's inventory, and is used by advertisers and other industry participants to verify the legitimacy of a publisher's inventory.

One of the main reasons why it is important  to keep your ads.txt files up to date is to prevent unauthorized reselling of your ad inventory. By listing the authorized digital sellers in the ads.txt file, publishers can help to ensure that only authorized parties are able to sell their inventory. This can help to prevent fraud and other types of unauthorized activity in the digital advertising supply chain.

It’s important for the whole online publishing industry to comply with industry standards and best practices. Many industry organizations, such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), have recommended the use of ads.txt as a way to improve transparency in the digital advertising supply chain. By keeping their ads.txt files up to date, publishers can demonstrate their compliance with these standards and best practices. The better the whole industry works together, the stronger it can become.

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