Ad Servers - The best guide for publishers in 2024

What is an ad server

An ad server is a programmatic software that performs ad trafficking - deciding what ads to display, when, and on which app, completely taking the process of ad revenue strategy into control. As a publisher, you can rely on ad-serving platforms for detailed reporting about the ad campaigns running on your app and their performance.

Let's dig a little deeper into the concept.

How ad serving technology works

During the first few years of programmatic advertising, negotiations between publishers and advertisers took place manually. Soon when the number of advertisers increased, publishers felt the need to have a more efficient system to manage the ads on their apps, which is when ad-serving platforms were introduced.

Both publishers and advertisers use ad servers but for different purposes. For instance, Google Ad Manager can be used by both publishers and advertisers for their individual requirements.

Based on the purpose, ad servers that publishers like you use are called first-party ad servers, whereas ad servers used by advertisers or agencies are referred to as 3rd party ad servers. There are three basic steps involved in the working of it.

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Working process of ad servers

1. Calling the ad tag on the publisher site: When a user visits an app, the ad tag placed in the ad unit is called so that the ad server gets an ad creative ready.
2. Selecting an ad creative: An ad creative is chosen depending on factors such as whether the deal is pre-negotiated, an open auction is involved, and available user information such as behavior, geographic location, browsing history, etc.
3. Calling the advertiser ad creative to display: In the case of pre-negotiated deals, the advertiser creatives are stored and called directly from the first-party advertising server. However, a 3rd party ad-serving platform is involved when there is an open auction. In both cases, user information is considered to deliver the most relevant ads.

We're now clear that the working of ad-serving systems depends on whether you use a stand-alone first-party server or a third-party server. Let's look at both processes.

First-party ad servers

Here is a simple explanation of the working process of first-party advertising servers:

1. When the publisher's app page loads, an ad request is sent to the ad server.
2. The ad-serving platform determines the best ad to display based on user information.
3. The ad-serving solution returns the ad creative. The ad is displayed to the user, and the user's impression is recorded.

First-party with third-party ad servers

Here is how ad serving works when a 3rd party ad server is involved:

1. When the publisher's app page loads, an ad request is sent to the first-party ad server.
2. The first-party advertising server selects an active ad campaign based on the user information.
3. The first-party ad-serving platform returns the ad campaign's ad markup (code) to the app, containing a URL that calls the ad creative on the third-party ad server.
4. The third-party ad server selects an ad creative by processing the user information.
5. The third-party ad server returns the ad creative to the publisher's app. The ad is displayed to the user, and the user's impression is recorded.

Features of good ad-serving platforms

Although you now know to some extent what an ideal ad server should be like, there are a few more things that an ad-serving solution must accommodate.

• Support for multiple ad formats: Making ads compatible with various screen sizes and browsers is critical for improving ad revenue. Thus, a good advertising server offers multiple ad format capabilities to support different advertiser campaigns and deliver the best results.
• Support for A/B testing: A/B testing is a critical aspect that defines a good ad-serving system. It is a process of testing two or more variables of an ad creative to identify the best-performing ad. This can be done by testing an entire ad unit or parts of it.
• Support for dynamic creative optimization: Dynamic ads are those that are shown to individual users based on their past behaviors or browsing histories. Ad-serving platforms with support for dynamic creative optimization allow you to display personalized ads and create retargeting opportunities.

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Why do you need advertising servers

As a publisher, you have a variety of advertisers running on different creatives with different budgets and targeting. Ad servers let you manage these without a hassle. Also, you can use ad-serving platforms as a single source of tracking ad delivery and revenue.

The following are the benefits of using ad servers:

• Specific targeting options: Advertising servers allow publishers to set up targeting options to serve relevant ads to the users for better results. The different types of targeting are geo-targeting, keyword targeting, and contextual targeting.
• Detailed analytics: In-depth information about how ad placements, formats, etc., are performing helps publishers plan their inventory. Also, some ad-serving platforms come with built-in inventory forecasting tools.
• Transparency: The transparency that comes with ad servers stems from the advanced analytics that they offer. Also, almost all ad-serving solutions are MRC-accredited or recognized by other similar organizations, making them more reliable.
• Ad frequency capping: The frequency at which an ad must be shown to users is something that you need to master. Gaining more impressions, clicks, etc., without being too repetitive is important, and ad management tools in ad-serving technology help you accomplish that.
• Ad rotation: Ad rotation means showing different ads to users every time they land on a page. By doing this, ad-serving solutions ensure that a user's experience is not hampered due to redundant ads.

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