Written by:
By Lior Shvo
New to Sellers.guide? Analyzed your domain, got it scored, and now you’re faced with all the warnings, issues and flags demanding your attention?
To get the most out of the feedback, we have five easy steps you can follow. These quick wins will get you on the road to a clean and efficient ads.txt file.
The first quick win is removing all ads.txt lines representing seats that are not listed in the exchanges' sellers.json files. Simply expand the Non-Existing Seats section of your domain analysis and review the seat IDs that are not listed. Go over them to ensure there are no "should-have-been-live" seats that someone in the exchange simply forgot to add to their sellers.json file. This is integral to maintaining a cleaner, more organized ads.txt file, which will lead to managing your inventory better and greater revenue growth.
Another quick win is making sure your ads.txt file does not include intermediaries listed as the direct source of the traffic. In the table provided under the flag named “Direct ads.txt line misrepresentation” you’ll find all of the lines that meet that criteria. Changing the lines to reflect the correct relationship type - which is usually RESELLER - can help you avoid the cannibalization of your direct budgets and prevent your traffic from being blocked by misleading buyers. Three more flags point out misrepresented relationships: “Number of Sellers listed as DIRECT”, “Same Seller listed as both Direct and Reseller”, “Publisher listed as Reseller”. These should be the next lines to take a closer look at.
Scrolling down past the list of flags, you’ll find a list of all your sellers. We know this list may be pretty long, but it’s worth checking out and making sure it only includes vendors you’re currently in business with, know and trust. Keeping vendors that you don’t work with on your ads.txt file allows them to continue selling your inventory without your permission. Remember, a good rule of thumb is that a seller needs to represent a monthly paycheck to you.
While exchanges and SSPs have the right to list some of their sellers as confidential, this might affect your bottom line as some buyers will not buy traffic from non-transparent sources. We recommend reaching out to any partner that lists their sellers as confidential and makes them aware of the situation.
Last but not least, let’s get back to some more cleanup. Ensure your domain is listed correctly and consistently under the same name across all the sources that buy your traffic. This might not change your revenue potential, but it’s just good housekeeping, and ensures that all buyers know you by the correct name.
Following these quick wins can help you reach the full potential of your ads.txt file - the way you intended it to be. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need some assistance. We’d be happy to join you on this journey.
