The Ad Server Explained: What Role Does It Play?

What is an ad server? The confusion around this question originates from the technical side of digital advertising, and mostly because of the term “server” that is naturally associated with programming. What is more, the modern advertising world is huge and diverse, so it might be hard to distinguish every set of ad instrument and remember the difference.

In the world of digital advertising, there are ad exchanges, video ad serving platforms, AdTech platforms, DSPs, and SSPs. These are the participants of the ad-selling and ad-buying process. The server allows serving ads and this is another tool all marketers and advertisers should be aware of. Even though this technology is pretty old, it is still popular and efficient. In today’s post, we will make things clearer and let you understand its significance in digital advertising.

This piece of advertising technology was created to manage, serve, and track ads regarding their digital properties. It provides amazing opportunities for targeting such as solutions based on ad relevance, goals, and budget. The server displays the best and most appropriate ads taking into account numerous factors.

Traditionally, there are two types of ad servers – a sell-side (publisher), and a buy-side (advertiser). The former delivers and manages the ads on the side of digital properties, and the latter allows marketers to track the way ads appear on websites or applications. Now let’s take a look at ad server’s essence in more detail.

Publisher-Side Ad Servers

A  publisher ad server allows website owners to place ad content on their digital properties, i.e. direct-sold and programmatic ads. It functions as a storage and management platform for all the ad campaigns that are meant to appear on users’ screens. Essentially this means that the publisher-side ad server defines the most suitable ads, timing, and placement. The engine makes the best decisions considering different aspects and shows the right content when needed.

This technology can be united with an SSP or DSP. If you do combine them, most of the procedures described above will be done by an SSP and DSP. However, the ad server continues managing everything for internal and direct-sold ads.

The Advertiser-Side Ad Server

This ad serving technology allows advertisers to track and manage their campaigns explicitly and efficiently. What is more, this technology allows advanced tracking and reporting on your campaigns’ efficiency. Compared to a publisher-side server, this one has limited functionality. As a rule, it is used to collect information and track metrics, like clicks and impressions. This kind of ad servers doesn’t allow working with targeting, but it gives various creative opportunities for optimization. For example, it allows advertisers to change a campaign considering the latest analytics or evaluate their creative approaches via A/B testing.

The third-party ad server also allows one to gather and make sense of the information about the audience that sees your ads anywhere – whether a streaming platform or social network. In other words, it works as a tool to measure and check if the content was delivered properly. The numbers in publishers’ and advertisers’ reports can vary, but this variation is considered normal.

Ad Serving To The Point

A great thing about ad serving software is that it can be used to display and manage any type of digital advertisement, including:

• Emails
• Digital maps
• Mobile applications
• Desktop
• AMP articles
• Video games
• Podcasts

If you use a native or custom ad server, then you can go far beyond standard desktop banners and spread your ads across multiple ad channels.

Ad Serving on Connected TV

Today, connected TV is one of the most popular advertising environments. However, this is not the same as Internet TV, while it is a standalone channel that provides entertaining content on demand. Users choose what they want to watch, which makes advertisers closer to them – it is a perfect opportunity to make ads super-targeted considering the preferences of your prospects. In the world of advertising, personalized advertising is the main sales booster.

With the growth of CTV advertising, the significance of SSAI (server-side ad insertion) increases as well. Also known as ‘dynamic insertion’ it literally stitches ad content into the video content stream thus allowing ad creatives to bypass ad blockers and reduce revenues losses.

Key Components and Functions of an Ad Server

Whatever channel you use, there are functions every ad server delivers. Let’s discuss them below:

• Ad Serving. The main element is obviously…a serving element! This is an engine that uses complicated algorithms to choose and display the most relevant content to each user. The set of requirements is established by publishers, advertisers, and the platform itself. As we have already mentioned, they include frequency, time, location, priority, and so on. The technology processes numerous variables in real-time and displays the relevant ad. Whether you stick to CTV or any other channel, the ads are chosen within milliseconds. 
• Results Tracking. The technology tracks metrics and considers users’ engagement, like clicks and conversions. When viewers interact with an ad, their behavior is recorded for further measurement. Marketers can analyze the retrieved data later and make improvements if needed. Speedy and correct tracking helps advertisers evaluate the efficiency of their promotions.
• Management. Ad serving tools allow you to manage and control the way your ads are served. It also gives you oversight on the way promotional content is managed and analyzed, as well as everything else that surrounds it, including social media groups, sites, partners, and channels.
• Reporting. The reporting system organizes information in charts, tables, and other easy-to-understand elements. Reports inform advertisers about clicks, rates, conversions, impressions, and other events.
• Cost Control. Ad serving software also helps you to measure ad spend and control your budget. You can handle your payments and invoices by means of the ad platform and review the reports to see if your investments are distributed smartly.
• API. API helps publishers and advertisers build customized automated processes and insert a server into external advertising systems.

Conclusion

Ad servers are the platforms for online advertising, where advertisers and publishers can cooperate and make fruitful deals. They make it easier and faster for both sides to serve, manage, and control digital ad campaigns. Traditionally, they are divided into two groups — publisher- and advertiser-side ad servers. On their side, publishers manage ads that appear on their websites and display ad content that has been previously sold to advertisers. Advertiser-side servers allow marketers to track if the intended ads were served properly and measure their performance.

Put simply, ad serving technology allows publishers and advertisers to get the most out of their campaigns, track them, and make adjustments. As a result, it increases customer engagement, targeting, and the efficiency of promotions.