Key Takeaways

• Ad tech (advertising technology) is the collection of software and tools that power digital advertising

• It connects advertisers who want to promote products with publishers who have space to show ads

• The technology handles targeting, buying/selling ad space, and measuring performance

• Ad tech is different from martech, which focuses on owned channels like email and content

• Core components include DSPs (for advertisers), SSPs (for publishers), and ad exchanges

What Even Is Ad Tech Anyway?

If you've ever wondered how ads seem to follow you around the internet or why certain ads show up on specific websites, you can thank (or blame) ad tech for that.

Ad tech—short for advertising technology—is basically the plumbing that makes digital advertising work. It's the whole ecosystem of platforms, tools, and software that connects advertisers who want to promote their stuff with publishers who have space to show those ads.

I like to think of it as a matchmaking service, but for ads and websites instead of people. The technology does everything from targeting users based on their interests to automatically buying and selling ad space in milliseconds.

The Main Players in Ad Tech

The ad tech landscape has a bunch of moving pieces, but here are the key players you should know about:

Demand Side Platforms (DSPs)

These tools help advertisers buy ad impressions across multiple sites. Instead of negotiating deals with individual publishers, advertisers can use DSPs to purchase ad space programmatically (automatically) across many different websites and apps.

Popular DSPs include Google's Display & Video 360 (formerly DoubleClick Bid Manager), The Trade Desk, and Amazon DSP.

Supply Side Platforms (SSPs)

On the flip side, SSPs help publishers sell their ad space to advertisers. Publishers connect their inventory to SSPs, which then make that inventory available to multiple ad exchanges and DSPs.

Major SSPs include Google Ad Manager (formerly DoubleClick for Publishers), Xandr (formerly AppNexus), and PubMatic.

Ad Exchanges

Think of these as the marketplace where ad impressions are bought and sold, usually through real-time bidding. Ad exchanges connect DSPs and SSPs and facilitate the auctioning of ad space.

Google Ad Exchange, OpenX, and Rubicon Project are among the biggest ad exchanges.

How Ad Tech Actually Works

Let's break down what happens in the few hundred milliseconds between when you click on a webpage and when an ad appears:

1. You visit a website

2. The publisher's ad server sends a request to an SSP

3. The SSP sends this request to multiple ad exchanges

4. The ad exchanges hold auctions where DSPs bid on behalf of advertisers

5. The highest bidder wins the auction

6. The winning ad is displayed on the page you're viewing

All of this happens faster than you can blink—typically in less than 300 milliseconds.

Ad Tech vs. MarTech: What's the Difference?

People often confuse ad tech with martech (marketing technology), but they're different beasts:

• Ad tech focuses on paid advertising channels like display ads, video ads, and search ads

• Martech deals with owned or earned channels like email marketing, content management, and CRM systems

The simplest way to think about it: ad tech helps you reach new potential customers through paid channels, while martech helps you nurture relationships with existing customers or leads.

Why Ad Tech Matters for Publishers

If you're running a website or app and want to make money from it, understanding ad tech is crucial. Here's why:

• Revenue Optimization: Ad tech helps you get the best price for your ad space through techniques like header bidding

• Better User Experience: Advanced ad tech can help deliver more relevant ads to your users

• Data Insights: The tools provide valuable data about your audience and content performance

For publishers just starting out, platforms like Google AdSense offer a simpler entry point into the ad tech ecosystem before diving into more complex solutions like Google Ad Manager.

The Future of Ad Tech

The ad tech landscape is constantly evolving, with several trends shaping its future:

• Privacy Regulations: With the phasing out of third-party cookies and stricter privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA, ad tech is adapting to rely less on individual user tracking and more on contextual targeting

• AI and Machine Learning: These technologies are improving targeting capabilities while potentially reducing the need for personal data

• Connected TV and Audio: As streaming services grow, ad tech is expanding to better serve these channels

Getting Started with Ad Tech

If you're a publisher looking to monetize your content, here are some steps to get started:

1. Research different ad networks and platforms to find one that matches your traffic volume and content type

2. Implement basic ad units on your site through a service like AdSense

3. Learn about programmatic advertising to maximize your revenue potential

4. Explore header bidding to increase competition for your ad inventory

Final Thoughts

Ad tech might seem complicated at first, but understanding the basics can help you make more informed decisions about monetizing your content. As a publisher, the better you understand how the system works, the more effectively you can optimize your revenue.

Whether your managing a small blog or a large media property, ad tech is the backbone that powers your monetization strategy. And as the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, staying up-to-date with ad tech trends will help you adapt and thrive.

This article is part of our Monetization Minis series, designed to help publishers and adtech professionals understand key monetization concepts.