Ad Exchange, DSP, and SSP: Which Is Best?

Ad exchanges

Ad exchanges allow two sides of the same coin (SSP and DSP) to connect with each other. It is a neutral, autonomous platform that facilitates the entire buying and selling process through real-time auctions.  
A virtual marketplace where publishers and advertisers come together to trade digital advertising space is called the Ad Exchange. This advertising space that the publisher makes available on her website, also known as advertising inventory, includes native, display, mobile game, video, and in-app advertising inventory. Buying and selling of inventory take place in a real-time auction. Ad Exchange is driven by a simple supply and demand mechanism. A publisher is looking to sell ad space on their site to the highest bidder. That's where ad exchanges come in. This autonomous virtual platform is powered by real-time bidding (RTB) and enables programmatic ad buying. Ad exchanges are digital marketplaces that automate advertising transactions between advertisers and publishers.

Demand-side platform (DSP)

A demand-side platform (DSP) is software that allows advertisers to buy ad impressions from an exchange at the best possible price. DSPs are connected to ad exchanges and other inventory sources. Advertisers can use DSPs to purchase ad space during real-time bidding. DSPs help advertisers save time and money by automating the ad inventory buying process. The biggest advantage of using DSPs is access to large inventory pools. You can also target your advertising campaigns to specific audiences. App developers and brands who want to promote their apps can use DSPs to reach their target audience. For example, if you want to target people who have a particular game installed on their phones, you can use DSP to target them.

Supply-side platform (SSP)

A supply-side platform (SSP) is a technology that enables web owners to manage their ad impression inventory and maximize digital media revenue. The SSP collects the publisher's various forms of advertising demand. It originates from traditional ad networks and ad exchanges and is later collected by demand-side platforms (DSPs). This allows his SSP to bid on the publisher's inventory using real-time bidding (RTB). Simply put, the SSP is used by web owners to maximize revenue and serve ad impressions to sell directly to many ad exchanges and DSPs.

DSPs, SSPs, and Ad Exchanges work together

DSPs, SSPs, and Ad Exchanges work together to deliver live ad impressions. The publisher uses SSP, which essentially “plugs into” the ad exchange, to keep inventory running. From there, the advertiser uses DSP to connect to Ad Exchange to determine ad impressions that match the criteria described in the settings. When it comes to DSPs and SSPs, their goals are slightly different. Publishers try to sell their inventory at the highest possible price, while advertisers try to minimize costs and buy at a lower price. While it may seem like a dispute between SSPs and DSPs, SSPs and DSPs work together to balance pricing, allowing advertisers to bid and publishers to reserve prices before impressions are bought and taken into account.

Read more: What is an Ad Exchange and how it works? 

 

Ad Exchange vs DSP vs SSP

From DSPs to Ad Exchanges to SSPs, all this jargon can confuse newbies. So let's understand the main differences between them. Advertisers use DSP to buy ad impressions from the exchange at affordable prices. At the same time, the publisher is using SSP to do the exact opposite of accelerating inventory returns. Additionally, ad exchanges allow both publishers and advertisers to buy and sell ad impressions in an auction. Simply put, if you want to buy advertising space, use DSP. If you want to sell advertising space, use SSP. The sites in which the actual purchasing and selling happen are called ad exchanges.