SSP (Supply-side) Platform

Victoria Hubkina
Jul 14, 2024
3 min

SSP definition

What does SSP stand for? SSP (Supply-Side Platform) is a technology platform that helps owners of websites, apps and other online services sell their ad space through automated auctions, such as RTB, or marketplaces.

This platform connects website owners and potential buyers through ad exchanges and demand-side platforms, serving as a bridge and optimizing the ad space buying process itself. The whole process can be called programmatic advertising.

How does supply-side platform work?

Now you know the meaning of a supply side platform, let’s take a look at exactly how SSP advertising works below.

Website owners connect their websites to an SSP to sell advertising space.
The SSP helps them set prices and terms for advertising.
The DSP (ad buying platform) then connects to the SSP and advertisers start bidding for ad space on the websites.
The site owner offers his bid for traffic and provides information about it (number of users, desired price), and the advertiser offers information about his ads. All this happens in a millisecond.
The SSP holds a real-time bidding (RTB) auction to determine who gets the right to place their ads on the site. Usually, the highest bid wins.
The bottom line is that SSP allows publishers sell ads and advertisers buy them efficiently.

Not only DSP platforms, but also ad networks such as RichAds can act as intermediaries. They also provide an opportunity for marketers and direct advertisers to buy ads in real time, without interacting directly with the platforms.

Like DSP platforms, ad networks have optimization tools such as Micro Bidding, Automated Rules, Target CPA, Performance Mode and others.

What is the difference between SSPs and DSPs?

Even knowing the answer to the question “what does SSP mean”, many people still confuse this platform with DSP, so let’s briefly explain their differences.

The main difference is who the platforms work with and their goals.

SSP helps website owners sell free ad space and get great deals from advertisers and maximize revenue.

DSP helps advertisers buy ads on different sites and find the right CA and place their ads.

Thus, sell-side platform works with publishers and DSP works with marketers. Both platforms help to manage the advertising process, but from different angles —- on the one hand they help to sell ad spaces, on the other hand they help to buy ads.

What are the advantages of a supply side platform?

Knowing, what is a SSP, you need to realize that there are several advantages of SSP platforms for publishers that make them particularly attractive.

Understanding demand.
SSPs give publishers access to information about demand for ad inventory, including data on prices, advertiser bids, and placement performance.
Working with multiple advertisers.
With SSP, it’s more than possible to maximize your revenues by tapping into multiple monetization sources, getting bids from multiple DSPs, and making direct deals.
Control over advertising.
Site owners can monitor in real time who is buying ads from them, control access to the auction and set minimum display prices. It is also realistic to limit some topics, such as content 18 + or online casino for their resource.
Different types of advertising.
With the help of SSPs, sites can show different types of ads, such as banners, videos or popup notifications to earn more money.
Tracking results.
SSPs provide tools to analyze data and report on how much money is made from ads to find out what works best.

How to choose an SSP platform in advertising ecosystem?

When choosing an SSP platform, there are a few key factors to consider:

Integrations with ad networks and exchanges.
Make sure your SSP supports integrations with a wide range of advertising partners to maximize your monetization.
Technology capabilities.
Check out what technologies and tools your SSP provides to optimize and manage your ad inventory, including targeting, analytics, and automation capabilities.
Support for different ad formats.
Make sure the SSP supports different ad formats such as display, video, mobile, etc.
Security and fraud protection.
Check what security measures the SSP has in place to protect against fraud and unscrupulous activities.
Pricing and commissions.
Compare the prices of different SSP platforms to choose the best value for your money.
Reviews and reputation.
Check out reviews of different SSP platforms to learn about their reputation and quality of service.

Best SSP platforms for online advertising

We have collected a list of the best supply-side platforms at the moment. These are the ones that publishers liked the most and got the best reviews.

Google Ad Manager
Admixer.SSP
Rubicon Project
BounceX
OpenX
Magnite
Sovrn
PubMatic
Xandr
SpotX
LiveRail

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Victoria Hubkina

Starting off as an account manager at RichAds, Victoria Hubkina has been immersed in affiliate marketing as a content writer for over three years. Her expertise spans all the possible verticals from Gambling to Nutra and various types of traffic. By now, Victoria has written over 100 articles on marketing topics and crafted scripts for RichAds YouTube channel. Beyond work, she indulges in esotericism, film photography, and vintage fashion.