On March 13, 2019, IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB working group released a standard that helps to prevent unauthorized inventory trade: app-ads.txt. By now it has become one of the most successful and widely embraced mechanisms that solve the problem with domain-spoofed mobile app inventory. App-ads.txt is an extension of ads.txt released by IAB in 2017 for web inventory. The new app-ads.txt standard enables app developers to certify their inventory just like website owners do.
Since starting from August 27, 2019, Google will block ads that come from unauthorized sellers, SmartyAds recommends app developers to prepare app-ads.txt file as soon as possible. This will help you to stay valid on buyers’ target media lists’ and will protect your monetization incomes in the future.
What is App-ads.txt?
App-ads.txt file indicates the names and IDs of all sellers who can legitimately sell mobile and CTV advertising inventory. After the implementation of app-ads.txt, advertisers are able to bid on mobile placements only from those sellers that are listed in the file.
SmartyAds supports IAB Tech Lab’s app-ads.txt
SmartyAds is among companies who pioneer the latest technological advancements and today app-ads.txt is just the case. By registering authorized sellers and eliminating illegitimate sellers from the supply chain, we strive to help advertising ecosystem eradicate fraud and increase programmatic trading transparency.
How to add SmartyAds to your apps-ads.txt file
The whole process is pretty much equal to ads.txt implementation. It is simple, straightforward and you can go through it in several minutes.
1) On SmartyAds SSP, open Inventory section and click 'Get ads.txt' link:
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2) Put the downloaded file to the root directory of your site. If you already have an app-ads.txt file on your site, just copy content and add it to the existing app-ads.txt file on a new line. The content needs to meet the requirements listed in the table below:
|
Field name |
Description |
|
Domain Name of the Advertising System |
The domain name of the advertising system to which the publisher connects. |
|
Seller/Publisher Account ID |
Account ID of the publisher in the advertising system. |
|
The Type of Account |
DIRECT if the publisher directly controls the account specified in field 2. RESELLER if the publisher is authorized to resell account's traffic. |
|
Certification Authority ID |
Identifying the advertising system in the certification center. SmartyAds ID is fd2bde0ff2e62c5d. |
For Example:
Where Should Publishers Post Their app-ads.txt File?
App developer can publish it on their domain in the App Store and/or Google Play. You can insert our TAG ID into app-ads.txt file in a few easy steps described above. (Don’t forget to add other ad networks, which can sell your add inventory to the list).
Why Implement app-ads.txt?
App-ads.txt files help to distinguish legitimate supply sources from the fake ones. Without app-ads.txt brands may lose billions on mobile ads each year because of unauthorized reselling, arbitrage or domain spoofing. Especially it is valid for ad inventory that is sold in open marketplaces. Implementing app-ads.txt, app publishers not only protect their mobile revenues but also make a step towards greater transparency and safety of programmatic media-trading.
