The ADS.txt is the latest monetization standard created by IAB which will reinforce transparency in the online advertising world. With this new file that all the publishers need to place in their website, the trust level between the publishers and the advertisers will grow even more.

So, in this article, we will be discussing what the new ADS.txt file is and why it’s extremely important for both publishers and advertisers.

Therefore, without any further ado, let’s dive straight in…

What Is ADS.txt Exactly?

The ADS.txt is a new file devised by the IAB and it requires all the publishers to install it in their website who are monetizing their traffic and the website content through any form of advertising. IAB introduced this file in June, 2017 in order to fight against the publishers’ frauds.

And this new file has become a necessary piece of code that increases the transparency in digital advertising.

So, by the end of 2020, most online advertisers have stopped buying ad spaces from the sites that haven’t integrated with the new ads.txt file.

The Reason Why It’s Important

Since the IAB requires the publishers to integrate the new file to the root directory of their websites, it will be impossible for anyone to impersonate the owner of a certain website and reap illegitimate gains.

Here’s an example that will help you understand how it will really work:

As a rule of thumb, the publisher or the owner of an adult website cannot work with the advertising networks that are made for the general public. As a result, the owner of the adult site might attempt to sign up to a website monetization network using fake credentials and fake website url( for example, url of a news website).

And then he might use the tags he gets from the advertising network in his adult site instead of the news site he was supposed to use it on. Now, IAB is making it mandatory to add an ADS.txt file to each website. As a result, in order to use the display network’s tag, the person must add the specific Ads.txt file to the news website. But it would be impossible since the person doesn’t own the news site.

As for the advertisers, they can now make sure that they only broadcast their advertising campaigns to their intended websites. And not to the websites that might not get them any results.

With this kind of trust and transparency between the publishers and advertisers, publishers will be able to increase their income by offering spaces in their websites. And meanwhile, the advertisers will be able to prevent a huge budget waste that they could have spent on irrelevant and fraudulent websites.

As a result, this is a win-win situation for both of the parties.

More Transparency = Increased CPM = Greater Publisher Revenue

Still have questions? Contact ForeMedia today.