Getting Started with Sovrn Ad Exchange
The Ad Exchange allows you to monetize by putting ads on your site. Ad Exchange connects you to Sovrn's Premium demand partners, procured by Sovrn's expert demand team.
The Ad Exchange supports OpenRTB, Google Open Bidding, Prebid, and Amazon's Transparent Ad Marketplace.
How do I sign up for an account and get started?
Sign up for a free account here. You can use an email and password, or choose to use your Google account to sign up.
Find out more about terms and conditions/policies here and upon account creation. Then, you'll be prompted to flow through the following steps:
👋 Welcome
Once you sign up, and confirm your email, you'll start on the Welcome tab in the Platform. From here, you can click Get started under Display & video ads or click Advertising on the left-side navigation bar. This'll take you to the Getting Started page for the Ad Exchange.
You'll be able to return to the Welcome tab anytime to learn more and get started with other products.
🚀 Getting Started
From here, click Get started with Advertising. This'll walk you through a few steps you'll need to complete to start monetizing, also described below.
⚙️ Submit sites for Approval
You'll be prompted to submit your sites for approval. You can submit a single site, or many sites using the bulk uploader.
You'll also need to read and accept terms and conditions at this point.
You will have the option come back later and submit more sites using the sites page which will appear soon.
📝 Update Ads.txt
Use the lines here to update your ads.txt file. See below for more information.
ℹ️ Provide more info
Here is where you'll provide sellers.json information. See below for more information on sellers.json, and here is more information on selecting a business type.
⭐ Get Approved
Your sites will be in the queue for review by our Network Quality team. Here is more information on the approval process. You can see your site's status on the sites page.
➡️ Next Steps
Make sure to complete everything required to monetize successfully by checking out the following steps below.
When signing up with Sovrn, do I need to sign a contract?
No, we do not ask our publishers to sign a contract. However, we do require publishers to accept Standard Terms and Conditions, which can be found online here. During the onboarding process, your Sovrn contact will send you a welcome email including our Standard Terms and Conditions and an option to opt-in.
Does Sovrn have a Privacy Policy?
Yes, to view the Sovrn Privacy Policy click here.
What is sellers.json and why does Sovrn need this information from me?
During account sign up, Sovrn will collect information from you necessary to maintain compliance with the IAB's Sellers.json initiative. Learn more and read the spec here.
The purpose of this initiative is to increase transparency in the supply chain by allowing advertisers (buyers) to identify each seller (publisher) involved in the sale of inventory (directly or via an intermediary). Providing accurate sellers.json information to us will ensure there is as much opportunity as possible for your inventory to monetize, as many buyers limit their purchases to a fully transparent supply chain.
Which business type should I choose when submitting sellers.json info?
The first time you work through the Getting Started steps, you'll be asked to provide more information about your account.
Under the heading: Next, we need more info from you, you'll be prompted for business type. Here's some info that might help you decide what's right for you to put here:
Publisher
You or your company own the website(s) you are submitting for monetization and control the formatting and content published on the site(s) - listed as the OWNERDOMAIN in the website's ads.txt file
OR your company exclusively manages monetization for the site(s) - listed as the MANAGERDOMAIN in the website's ads.txt file
Intermediary
Your company is authorized to represent and aid in the monetization of the website(s) through increased demand exposure, technical solutions, programmatic strategy, content solutions, etc but does not own or control the website(s)
Both
Your company has access to a mixture inventory that falls under both of the categories listed above. Please note: selecting this seller type can limit opportunities for monetization because it makes it difficult for buyers to determine which sites in your inventory mix best fit their needs.
If you believe "BOTH" best describes your offering but would like to learn more about how you can make your inventory as accessible to buyers as possible please Sovrn Support.
How do I submit a site?
See this article for detailed information on how to submit and manage sites in Ad Exchange.
Navigate to the Sovrn Platform here or by clicking Sites under Advertising.
Click + Site in the upper right hand corner.
Enter the domain of the site you'd like to submit. You only need to enter the root/primary domain of your site, no need to submit subdomains or individual site pages.
See your domain listed under My Sites in the Pending tab. This means it is in review with our Network Quality team to ensure your site is a good fit for our network and that you will find success with our demand partners and vice versa. Find out more about the approval process here. It may take some time for your evaluation to be completed.
Make sure to follow the next step in getting started, which is to install ads.txt on your page. This will be required to get approved.
What is Ads.txt and why do I need it on my site?
For more information on ads.txt and its importance, see the article: Ads.txt and Sovrn Ad Exchange.
How do I install Ads.txt?
Note: Find your ads.txt lines in the platform here.
Please see our resources for installing your ads.txt lines here:
Ads.txt Quick Implementation Guide
More detailed information can be found: Ads.txt and Sovrn Ad Exchange
What is the approval process/requirements for Ad Exchange?
Sovrn strives to provide buyers and sellers with a safe, transparent, and fair marketplace. That's why we have site evaluation and why our approval requirements are stricter than most exchanges.
Make sure you've followed these steps. After that, you'll be automatically added to the queue for our Network Quality team to evaluate you.
Make sure your site is live and not behind a login screen. Otherwise our Network Quality team will not be able to evaluate you, resulting in a denial.
Check our policies and code of conduct to make sure you are in compliance. This does not constitute a full list and is meant only as a guide for publishers wanting to work with Sovrn.
Sovrn reserves the right to update this list at any time without notice and to refuse or revoke participation of any publisher based on its own judgment.
Check your site's approval status in the Sovrn Platform here and Sovrn Support with any questions.
How do I know if my site is approved?
You'll be notified via email when your evaluation has taken place and of the results. Until then, please see the Sites page in your account. Under My sites, you'll be able to see which domains are Approved, Pending, or Denied.
Why don't I have any ad revenue yet?
Before ads will serve on your page, your site must be approved in the Sovrn network. Please review the Getting started overview and make sure you've completed all the steps.
Once a site is submitted it can take 24 - 72 hours in order to review and communicate the status of your site. You will receive an email explaining your status with instructions on implementing Sovrn tags if your site is approved.
Once you have been approved, make sure to move on to the next steps - you'll need to choose a method and implement ads on your site in order to start seeing revenue.
If all this is complete, check to make sure your ads are appearing successfully and if they are not, check out Ads Not Appearing - Ad Exchange Troubleshooting.
Why don't I see my approved sites in the dropdown menu for the Analytics Site filter?
If you're a new account and you have just had your site/s approved, you may not see them in the dropdown menu for the Sites filter on the Analytics page. This is because you haven't earned any revenue through those sites yet. Once you earn revenue through your site, you'll be able to filter by that site.
I got approved! Now what?
You'll want to make sure the rest of your account is set up so we can start paying you! Make sure to complete these items as next steps:
Choose a method and start implementing ads on your site:
Waterfall: Ad Tags in Ad Exchange
I still need help.
Still have questions? Feel free to reach out to Sovrn Support for help from a real-live person.