State of Ads.txt Adoption 16 Sep 2017 10:59 AM (7 years ago)
What is ads.txt? Ads.txt is an IAB Tech Lab project that was created to fight inventory fraud in the digital advertising industry. The idea is simple; publishers put a file on their server that says exactly which companies they sell their inventory through. The file lists partners by name, but also includes the publisher’s account […]
Setup an Ads.txt Web Crawler 16 Sep 2017 10:50 AM (7 years ago)
This post is a step by step walkthrough of how to start using Neal Richter’s ads.txt web crawler Python script posted under the official IAB Tech Lab’s git repository. You might know him as the former CTO of Rubicon Project or current CTO of Rakuten, but he also served as a key contributor to the […]
Server Side Header Bidding Explained 25 Jan 2017 3:00 AM (8 years ago)
What is Server Side Header Bidding? Server side header bidding promises to improve latency, scalability, and auction logic issues seen in traditional header bidding by moving communication with exchanges away from the browser and into servers. The process is essentially the same way SSPs and DSPs integrated for years, except this time the SSPs are […]
How to Catch & Kill Mobile App Store Redirect Ads 3 Jan 2017 3:30 AM (8 years ago)
We’ve all seen them; you’re casually browsing your favorite app or playing a game on your phone and suddenly you’re being redirected to the app store to download Candy Crush. What gives? It’s another obnoxious mobile app store redirect ad that’s automatically sending you to the app store without a click. These are the pop up […]
Charles Proxy on Cellular Networks 13 Dec 2016 11:52 AM (8 years ago)
Note: Special thanks is due to Scott Eichengrun for this article, specifically showing me how to get the two phone rig going. This article is a tutorial on how to configure Charles Proxy to inspect traffic over cellular networks, and while it’s designed with ad operations use cases in mind, it’s applicable to any front end web […]
Advanced Charles Proxy Tutorial for Ad Ops 13 Dec 2016 11:52 AM (8 years ago)
I’ve already written a number of posts on how to use Charles Proxy for ad operations work, including how to setup Charles for mobile debugging, both over Wi-Fi and cellular networks. This post is an advanced Charles Proxy tutorial, meant to highlight best practices and advanced tips once you know the basics. I’ve suggested use cases […]
Charles Proxy Tutorial for Ad Operations 13 Dec 2016 11:51 AM (8 years ago)
Charles Proxy is a popular application for web developers generally, also used in the Ad Operations field. Ad Ops staff use Charles to debug digital ads and ad technology like header bidding setups, ad server configurations, and so forth. What makes Charles Proxy useful is that it records the HTTP requests between a computer’s browser and […]
Guide to Header Bidding Wrappers 24 Feb 2016 2:30 AM (9 years ago)
I’ve covered header bidding from a few different angles on this site in the past few months, from how it works and helps publishers earn more revenue, to documenting how specific companies integrate with real publishers. One key element that I’ve been missing though has been the topic of header bidding wrappers, which are increasingly important for publishers, especially […]
9 Ways to Design the Best Ad Ops Team in the World 23 Nov 2015 2:30 AM (9 years ago)
Recently I was speaking with a friend who’s heading up a new digital publishing organization that’s taking their sales in-house, and they’re shopping for all the usual trappings of ad technology, as well as standing up an Ad Ops team from scratch. At first I thought, “good luck with that!”, but then after some more […]
Header Bidding Implementations in the Wild 16 Nov 2015 2:30 AM (9 years ago)
My original header bidding articles have been read by over 10,000 people since I posted them in late June of this year, and one of the most common questions I got in the comments and on other channels was where to see a header bidding integration live on a real publisher. At the time, there wasn’t […]