A new app-ads.txt standard that has been released by IAB OpenRTB working group this March, has brought in a new mechanism of inventory protection against mobile ad fraud. The standard has two main goals: to help application developers prevent spoofing and enable advertisers to safeguard their budgets from fake impressions.
As we mentioned before app-ads.txt alert for publishers, app-ads.txt file gives app publishers a chance to indicate who can sell their inventory legitimately.
This version became an extension of earlier ads.txt standard, but designed specifically for mobile and CTV. Regarding this, we decided to implement several updates to SmartyAds DSP, the core of which will be app-ads.txt and new dashboard interface release planned for autumn.
Adoption hits industry-wide scale
Starting from August 27, Ad Manager and AdMob will start blocking display ads coming from unauthorized inventory sellers in applications in case publishers don’t implement app-ads.txt.
According to Google, so far there’s no better way than app-ads.txt that helps support fraud-free mobile advertising ecosystem and eliminate advertising budget waste.
A new standard has quickly gained the attention of the leading ad tech players, who joined the initiative in order to move the industry towards greater transparency and traffic purity. Willing to become a part of great global transformations, SmartyAds also decided to mitigate invalid traffic on SmartyAds DSP by default and embrace the new standard.
SmartyAds enforces app-ads.txt implementation
As you might have guessed, we’ve adopted app-ads.txt and previously implemented ads.txt at our programmatic tech stack. Embracing app-ads.txt, we actively enforce new mobile traffic quality standards on our DSP. As well, we take all necessary measures to authorize and validate mobile and web inventory sellers on our proprietary SmartyAds SSP that provides a good traffic share to DSP. To help publishers verify the correct implementation of the file, we rolled out the guidelines that describe where publishers on our SSP can download the file and how they can navigate it.
With app-ads.txt, SmartyAds DSP will be able to approach impression purchasing selectively and automatically target mobile inventory that comes from media-sellers validated by app-ads.txt. This way advertisers can count on pure traffic flow from authorized sellers, protection for their media budget from fraud, and more predictable campaign outcomes as a result.
SmartyAds DSP puts trust and transparency among partners on top of its operational priorities. That’s why we are always among the first to implement innovative technologies that ensure traffic quality and safety.
“SmartyAds is always at the forefront of innovations, especially when it comes to media-trading safety. Ad fraud elimination is what drives the success of a single taken ad campaign and the whole programmatic ecosystem altogether. We keep investing our efforts and time in building brand-safe technologies, and will keep supporting IAB safety initiatives as long as they guarantee clean, fraud-free programmatic environment,” says Ivan Guzenko, CEO of SmartyAds LLP.
As more and more publishers will integrate app-ads.txt, advertising market will see broader adoption of the standard, and that’s when we believe there finally will be no room for mobile and web advertising fraud.
