What is Ads.txt?
Similar to the infamous Robots.txt file, ads.txt is a “plain text” file that is hosted on your root domain, at the top level of your website. It contains a list of authorized sellers of your advertising inventory, and changes as those sellers change.
What is the point of Ads.txt files?
The Ads.txt initiative was started to combat ad fraud, and in particular two main types – unauthorized reselling of your ad inventory through arbitration, and more importantly, ad fraud through misrepresentation or counterfeit ad impressions.
The Importance of Having An Up To Date Journey Ads.txt File On the Site
Having a missing or out-of-date ads.txt file can have negative consequences for you as a publisher including:
- Reduced Ad Revenue. If your ads.txt is missing or out of date, advertisers may not bid on ad space because they can’t verify who the authorized seller is on the site, which can lead to lower ad revenue for you as the publisher.
- Advertiser Trust. Advertisers look for ads.txt files to ensure their ads are placed on legitimate sites.
Keeping your ads.txt file up to date is crucial for maximizing ad revenue and preventing ad fraud. This gives you, as the publisher, or Journey by Mediavine, as your authorized seller of the inventory, the chance to say where it’s legitimate to buy.