If you work with programmatic advertising, you've likely encountered SSPs. These platforms connect traffic sources (publishers and other SSPs) with buyers of advertising inventory. The main purpose of SSPs is to transform "raw traffic" into a ready-to-sell advertising product, although part of this work is also done by DSPs.

Basics

• SSP (Supply-Side Platform) — a platform for managing publishers' advertising inventory. SSPs help publishers monetize traffic through automated ad space auctions.
• DSP (Demand-Side Platform) — a platform for managing advertising campaigns. DSPs allow advertisers to purchase ad inventory through automated auctions using user data.
• DMP (Data Management Platform) — a platform for collecting and analyzing user data. DMPs segment audiences and pass this data to SSPs or DSPs for targeting purposes.

Technical Terms

• Bid Request — a request from an SSP to a DSP, containing information about the ad placement, user, device, and ad format, required for participating in the auction.
• Bid Response — a DSP's response to an SSP's request, including the bid, creative, and other data for ad display.
• OpenRTB — an open standard for data exchange between SSPs and DSPs, defining the formats and rules for bid requests and responses.
• Timeout (Time-to-Live, TTL) — the maximum time a DSP has to respond to an SSP's request. Typically ranges between 100–300 ms.
• QPS (Queries Per Second) — the number of requests from SSPs to DSPs per second. A key performance indicator for load capacity.
• Endpoint — the URL or interface used for SSPs to interact with other systems, such as DSPs. This is the primary integration point for transmitting auction requests.
• Fill Rate — the proportion of DSP requests that result in a won impression. Calculated as the ratio of successful impressions to total requests.
• Win Rate — the percentage of bid requests that a DSP wins, successfully purchasing ad inventory.
• Floor Price — the minimum CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) set by an SSP for auction participation.

Business Terms

• Deal ID — a unique deal identifier defining terms between SSPs, DSPs, and advertisers, such as price, CTR, demographic parameters, and other metrics.
• Header Bidding — a technology that allows advertising partners (DSPs, SSPs) to participate in auctions simultaneously rather than sequentially.
• Second-Price Auction — an auction type where the winner pays the second-highest bid plus the minimum increment.
• First-Price Auction — an auction type where the winner pays exactly the bid they offered.

Metrics

• eCPM (Effective CPM) — the actual revenue per thousand impressions, accounting for all bids, impressions, and inventory fills.
• CTR (Click-Through Rate) — the ratio of clicks to impressions, expressed as a percentage.
• Impression — a single successful ad display.
• Revenue Share — the percentage of revenue retained by SSPs for providing inventory or services.
• Viewability — a metric for measuring ad visibility: the percentage of an ad's pixels that remain in the visible screen area for a set duration. Standard: 50% of pixels visible for at least 1 second for banners or 2 seconds for video ads (see also MRC).
• vCPM (Viewable CPM) — the cost per thousand viewable impressions.
• Completion Rate — the percentage of users who watch an ad to completion.
• Viewability Quartiles — metrics that show the percentage of users watching a video ad up to 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% completion.
• Bounce Rate — the percentage of users who leave a site or app without performing meaningful actions (e.g., navigating to another page or consuming additional content).
• Engagement Rate — the percentage of users performing a targeted action (click, video view, subscription) out of total impressions. This is often measured using tools like Yandex.Metrica.
• Time in View — the average time an ad remains in the visible area of a user’s screen.
• Frequency Capping — the maximum number of times an ad is shown to a user over a specific period.

Objects

• Ad Slot — a placement on a website or app where ads are displayed. It differs from ad formats, as placements can accommodate various formats (e.g., combo banners in Yandex).
• SSP Integration Types — methods of integrating with DSPs: API, Server-to-Server, Header Bidding, or SDK (for mobile apps).
• Supply Path Optimization (SPO) — the process of optimizing the supply chain to select the most efficient SSPs or publishers while minimizing costs and maximizing performance. Usually involves:
  • Analyzing the existing supply chain;
  • Identifying priority SSPs;
  • Shortening the supply chain;
  • Setting prioritization rules.

Roles and Processes

• Yield Management — optimizing publisher revenue by setting minimum prices, auction rules, and prioritizing demand.
• Inventory Management — managing ad space and configuring rules for its usage.
• Inventory Reselling — reselling SSP-owned inventory to other SSPs.
• Audience Segmentation — dividing users into groups (segments) based on shared characteristics such as behavior, demographics, or interests. Used for targeting adjustments.
• Fraud Detection — identifying fraudulent activities (bots, fake clicks, and impressions). In Russia, the primary verification tool is AdRiver, though alternatives exist.
• Whitelist / Blacklist — lists of approved (whitelist) and prohibited (blacklist) DSPs, domains, formats, creatives, and advertisers.
• Cookie Syncing — synchronizing user identifiers between SSPs and DSPs for targeting.

Unique Path

The Russian market for programmatic advertising has unique characteristics, primarily its significant separation from the global market. Let’s explore key regulatory features.

• Personal Data Law (Federal Law No. 152) — requires user data to be stored and processed exclusively on servers within Russia.
• Advertising Law (Federal Law No. 38) — mandates labeling of advertising materials and regulates targeting for children.
• Domain and Foreign Agent Blocks — involves compliance with Roskomnadzor’s blacklist of websites.
• ORD (Advertising Data Operator) — a company collecting, processing, and transmitting advertising data.
• ERIR (Unified Internet Advertising Registry) — a government system for recording and monitoring online advertising.
• FFD (Fiscal Data Operator) — an organization accredited by Russia’s Federal Tax Service to receive, process, store, and transmit fiscal data from cash registers to tax authorities. Such data can be used for targeting.