Q3 2018ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The IAB-led ads.txt initiative, launched in 2017, aims to bring transparency into the programmatic

advertising ecosystem of sellers and domains.

Publishers have rapidly adopted ads.txt since its inception. Pixalate began tracking implementation in

September 2017; since then, adoption has increased at an astronomical rate (over 14,037%).

Marketers have begun buying inventory from sites that have ads.txt implemented to ensure a transparent

transaction. Google recently announced the ability for marketers to only buy ads.txt-authorized display

and video inventory.

Pixalate fully supports the ads.txt initiative, and our Q3 2018 report updates the marketplace on the latest

trends.

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018 3

KEY 2018 TAKEAWAYS

7.1xgrowth in adoption in 2018

99%how often Google is on ads.txt files in 2018

22%lower ad fraud rates on sites with ads.txt;

improvement from 10% in Q2 2018

77%of top programmatic sites have ads.txt to

end 2018, up from 47% in 2017

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

Continued improvements in overall ad fraud protection

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LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019

Mobile in-app and Connected TV/OTT adoption of ads.txt

More scale; 23% of top 5000 programmatic sites have yet to adopt ads.txt

A variety of SSPs expand reach on top programmatic sites; not too concentrated

SITES WITH ADS.TXT HAVE 22% LOWER AD FRAUD RATES

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADS.TXT AND AD FRAUDQ2 2018

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22% LESS AD FRAUD

● Sites with ads.txt had a

13.5% IVT rate in Q3

2018 versus 17.4% for

sites without ads.txt

○ This is a 22%

difference

● Improvements are

increasing; there was a

10% different in ad

fraud in Q2 vs. a 22%

difference in Q3.

ADS.TXT ROSE 7.1xYEAR-OVER-YEAR

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

TOTAL NUMBER OF SITES WITH ADS.TXTQ4 2017 - Q3 2018

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UP 7.1x YEAR-OVER-YEAR

● Ads.txt adoption has

increased over 7.1x

year-over-year

○ From under

100,000 sites to

nearly 600,000

● Adoption increased 19%

in Q3 compared to Q2

7.1x growthYoY

OVER 75% OF TOP PROGRAMMATIC SITES

NOW HAVE ADS.TXT

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

% OF TOP 1000 PROGRAMMATIC SITES WITH ADS.TXTQ4 2017 - Q3 2018

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RISING ABOVE 75%

● Over 75% of the top

1000 sites (in terms of

programmatic ad volume)

now have ads.txt

○ Q3 marked the

first time this

milestone was

eclipsed

● Adoption increased over

33% year-over-year

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

% OF TOP 5000 PROGRAMMATIC SITES WITH ADS.TXTQ4 2017 - Q3 2018

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64% YoY GROWTH

● 77% of the top 5000

sites now have ads.txt

○ This is the first

time the 75%

barrier has been

broken

● Ads.txt adoption

increased 64%

year-over-year among

the top 5000

programmatic sites

ALEXA 1000 GROWTHPLATEAUED AT 40%

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

% OF ALEXA TOP 1000 SITES WITH ADS.TXTQ4 2017 - Q3 2018

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PLATEAUED ADOPTION

● 40% of sites in the Alexa

1,000 had ads.txt

implemented by the end

of Q3 2018

● Adoption has plateaued;

the same number of

Alexa 1000 sites have

ads.txt in Q3 2018

compared to Q2 2018

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

% OF ALEXA TOP 5000 SITES WITH ADS.TXTQ4 2017 - Q3 2018

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SLOW AND STEADY

● Ads.txt adoption

continued slow and

steady growth among the

Alexa 5000, rising to

37.4% in Q3 2018

● Adoption has increased

87% year-over-year

GOOGLE IS TOP ADS.TXTPARTNER, BUT OTHERS

CONTINUE TO GAIN

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

EXCHANGES LISTED ON MOST ADS.TXT FILESAS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018; AMONG TOP 10K PROGRAMMATIC SITES

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GOOGLE GROWS, BUT LEAD SLIPS

● Of the top 10,000 programmatic

sites, Google is listed on 7,443

ads.txt files, representing an

increase of 635 compared to Q2

● AppNexus (+766), OpenX (+841),

Rubicon Project (+933), PubMatic

(+1,151), Index Exchange (+845),

One by AOL: Display (+982), SpotX

(+871), and Sovrn (+881) all gained

ground on Google in Q3

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

COVERAGE RATE AMONG TOP 10K PROGRAMMATIC SITESAS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

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6 EXCHANGES ON 66%+ ON TOP DOMAINS

● Six companies are on at least

two-thirds (66%) of ads.txt files

among the top 10,000

programmatic domains; only 1

company had this much

coverage rate in Q2

● Nine companies now have

60%+ coverage rate, up from

four in Q2 and just one in Q1

OPENX OVERTAKESGOOGLE AS NO. 2

‘RESELLER’ PARTNER

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

EXCHANGES LISTED AS ‘DIRECT’ PARTNER ON TOP SITESAS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

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GOOGLE TOPS THE LIST

● Google is a ‘Direct’

partner with 7,019 sites

among the top 10,000

programmatic sites – an

increase of 642 QoQ

● PubMatic became the

No. 10 company in terms

of ‘Direct’ listings among

top publishers

○ The rest of the

top 10 was the

same as Q2

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

EXCHANGES LISTED AS ‘RESELLER’ ON TOP SITESAS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

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OPENX TAKES NO. 2 SPOT

● AppNexus was again the

top ‘Reseller’ partner,

with 6,896 listings (+832

QoQ)

● OpenX (+956) overtook

Google (+644) as the No.

2 ‘Reseller’ partner

among the top 10,000

programmatic sites

GOOGLE IS ON 98.7%OF ALL ADS.TXT FILES

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

EXCHANGES LISTED ON MOST ADS.TXT FILESAS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018; AMONG ALL DOMAINS WITH ADS.TXT

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GOOGLE AT 98.7%

● Of the nearly 600,000+

domains with ads.txt,

Google is listed on 98.7%

of them

● AppNexus (64.2%),

PubMatic (62.6%) round

out the top three

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

WHAT IS ADS.TXT?

The IAB Tech Lab’s ads.txt initiative aims to increase

transparency in the inventory supply chain by helping buyers

identify “Authorized Digital Sellers” for participating

publishers. Specifically, ads.txt combats “counterfeit

inventory,” defined by the IAB as “a unit of inventory sourced

from a domain, app or video that is intentionally mislabeled

and offered for sale a different domain, app or video.”

WHAT IS A ‘DIRECT’ SELLER AND A ‘RESELLER’?

“Direct” means that the SSP or exchange has a direct

business relationship with the publisher to sell the publisher’s

inventory. “Reseller” means the publisher has authorized

another company to resell inventory on the publisher’s behalf.

IS THIS DATA INCLUDED IN THE SELLER TRUST INDEXES?

Yes. Our ads.txt data is incorporated into the Pixalate Seller

Trust Indexes. Each seller is given an “Ads.txt Score.”

DOES ADS.TXT WORK FOR MOBILE APPS?

As of the end of Q3 2018, ads.txt only supports domains (e.g.

desktop and mobile web). A version of ads.txt for apps is in a

state of public comment as of November 30, 2018. The latest

draft can be found here.

ARE ALL SITES WITH ADS.TXT TRUSTWORTHY?

Not necessarily. Any publisher can add an ads.txt file to their

site. Just because they have an ads.txt file does not mean

they are a trustworthy publisher. Ads.txt does, however, give

buyers confidence that they are buying legitimate publisher

inventory (rather than “counterfeit inventory”).

DOES ADS.TXT REMOVE ALL AD FRAUD?

No. Proper use of ads.txt combats domain spoofing, which is

just one type of invalid traffic; Pixalate tracks 38 unique types.

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FAQs

ADS.TXT TRENDS REPORT Q3 2018

The research and insights contained within this report represent Pixalate’s

opinion as it pertains to the information Pixalate believes will be most relevant to

the digital advertising industry’s battle against ad fraud.

The data has not been audited or reviewed by a third party, but the research

and insights are grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics,

which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating.

Pixalate’s data science and analyst team analyzed over 7.5

million domains utilizing proprietary analytics tools to compile

this research. The research contained herein represents data

collected by Pixalate from October 1, 2017 through September

30, 2018. Pixalate measured millions of domains each month to

identify sites that have ads.txt files implemented. The data in this

report is reflective of root domains only; Pixalate has removed

duplicates occurring from subdomain ads.txt files.

“Alexa Top 1000” and “Alexa Top 5000” sites were identified

using Alexa.com’s rankings. The top 1000/5000/10000 sites in

terms of programmatic ad volume (i.e. “Pixalate Top 5000”) were

identified using Pixalate’s proprietary ranking of volume among

domains which support programmatic advertising. The ranking

data is reflective of the marketplace as of the last date of each

quarter.

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METHODOLOGY & DISCLAIMER

METHODOLOGY DISCLAIMER

ABOUT PIXALATEPixalate is the only cross-platform fraud intelligence company that works

with brands and platforms to prevent invalid traffic and improve ad inventory

quality. We offer the only system of coordinated solutions across desktop,

mobile web, mobile in-app, and OTT for better detection, diagnosis, and

elimination of ad fraud. Pixalate is an MRC-accredited solution for the

detection and prevention of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) across

desktop and mobile web, mobile in-app, and OTT advertising.

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