In the fast-paced world of digital advertising, building trust and ensuring transparency between buyers and sellers is of utmost importance. To address these concerns head-on, the IAB Tech Lab introduced Sellers.json, an invaluable tool that elevates transparency in programmatic advertising. In this blog post, we’ll explore three key advantages of Sellers.json and shed some light on how it distinguishes itself from ads.txt.

Benefit #1: Unparalleled Transparency & Trust

Sellers.json takes transparency in the digital advertising supply chain to a new level. By allowing buyers to verify all entities involved in selling ad inventory, like publishers, intermediaries, and resellers, it provides deep layers of insight.  This heightened transparency empowers buyers to make well-informed decisions by identifying authorized sellers, effectively reducing the risks associated with ad fraud or unauthorized inventory.

Benefit #2: Comprehensive Seller Information

With Sellers.json, buyers gain access to comprehensive information about sellers participating in the ad transaction. This information encompasses details such as domain names, seller IDs, and any disclosed relationships between sellers and intermediaries. By offering this level of transparency, Sellers.json allows buyers to develop a crystal-clear understanding of the supply chain, fostering trust and enabling them to verify each entity involved in the process of selling ad inventory.

Benefit #3: Boosted Revenue for Publishers

Publishers reap substantial rewards from Sellers.json, as it enables them to maximize their earnings by identifying inventory selling partners with streamlined and efficient digital advertising supply chains. By uncovering unnecessary intermediaries within the supply chain, publishers can safeguard a significant portion of their inventory revenue that would otherwise be lost to these multiple supplier partners.

Sellers.json and ads.txt–What’s the difference?

First, Sellers.json goes beyond the scope and function of ads.txt. While ads.txt offers valuable clarity by providing additional information about directly sold inventory, its primary purpose was never to identify all the intermediaries involved in the reselling of ad space. Sellers.json provides a comprehensive view of the supply chain, including intermediaries and resellers, making it a more robust tool for transparency.

Sellers.json also offers more detailed granularity, giving detailed insights into multiple intermediaries involved in the selling process. This increased level of granularity enables advertisers to gain a deep understanding of the entire supply chain, ensuring transparency every step of the way.

Lastly, with implementation, publishers take the reins for ads.txt and have the task of uploading the text file to their domains. With Sellers.json, it’s the advertisers and buyers who handle the implementation by retrieving and analyzing the Sellers.json file to verify the entities involved in the ad transaction. This distinction in implementation highlights the differing roles and responsibilities associated with each tool.

Sellers.json plays a crucial role in establishing trust, transparency, and brand safety within the programmatic advertising ecosystem. Offering in-depth information about sellers and their relationships empowers advertisers to make informed decisions and effectively mitigate the risks of ad fraud and unauthorized inventory in the video monetization space. While ads.txt focuses on the buy side, Sellers.json takes transparency a step further by encompassing intermediaries and resellers. By harnessing the advantages of both tools, the industry can enhance trust, safeguard brand integrity, and cultivate a more secure and transparent digital advertising landscape, especially for online video platforms.