App-ads.txt: Why Should Publishers Care?

Ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) is a solution that helps buyers identify authorized sellers in the programmatic world. Ads.txt was first released in May 2017 for website and mobile web publishers and then on November 30, 2018, the IAB announced the release of app-ads.txt, Authorized Digital Sellers for Mobile Apps.

What is app-ads.txt?

The publisher creates a repository of authorized sellers, a .txt file hosted in the root domain of their developer website, that can be accessed by buyers, using a crawler. If you wish to understand more about how app-ads.txt works, do visit our earlier blog, “ IAB Extends Ads.txt to Apps”. Using app-ads.txt buyers can identify the legitimate sellers of the ad inventory they desire.

Why should publishers care about app-ads.txt?

App-ads.txt provides benefits to buyers and publishers. If you are an app publisher, here is how you can benefit from adopting app-ads.txt:

• Divert advertising dollars from fraudsters back to you:
  Certain unscrupulous publishers, ad networks or exchanges time and again misrepresent the nature of their traffic to resemble your legitimate inventory. Top publishers like The New York Times and The Washington Post lose $3.5 million a day to domain spoofing. App-ads.txt, using a developer domain creates a universal namespace, which can help buyers to identify and block instances of unauthorized impersonations, hence diverting valuable advertising dollars back to you.
• Protect your in-app revenue:
  Adopting this simple solution can help you secure and certify your supply path and hence your in-app revenue. App-ads.txt lets buyers pick out high-quality inventory from the marketplace. As major DSPs decide to buy only app-ads.txt compliant inventory, publishers who do not implement app-ads.txt will see a decline in revenue.
• Get a fair price for your inventory:
  Brand advertisers will be willing to pay a premium for app-ads.txt compliant inventory as it is less susceptible to fraud. Hence, app-ads.txt compliance in all likeliness will drive your eCPMs up.

Sometimes, intermediate sellers resell your inventory without your knowledge, resulting in underpriced inventory in the system. This prevents you from getting a fair price for your inventory. When you make your inventory app-ads.txt compliant, you let buyers pick out legitimate sellers.

Wondering how to implement app-ads.txt?

For more information on how to implement app-ads.txt, please see the support portal documentation. Please reach out to your InMobi account manager should you have any questions or concerns about ads.txt for apps.