Demand Side Platform (DSP)

What is a demand side platform?

Demand side platform (DSP) is an automated buying platform where advertisers and agencies go to purchase digital ad inventory. Essentially, DSP ad servers are used to buy mobile ads, search ads, and video ads from a designated marketplace where publishers list their advertising inventory. These online advertising platforms allow you to manage advertising across real-time bidding networks. Together with supply-side platforms, DSP ad tech enables programmatic advertising — and can be integrated into multiple ad exchanges, as well.  

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is an example of a demand side platform?

    Today, the most popular DSPs for ecommerce ad spend include: Amazon DSP, Facebook Ads Manager, Rocket Fuel, MediaMath, DoubleClick, LiveRamp, AppNexus, and Choozle. While some DSPs focus on specific channels (like video or mobile apps), others operate on their own buying platforms and use technology they’ve licensed from the companies listed.

  • What does a demand side platform do?

    A demand side platform allows marketers and app developers to buy digital advertising inventory from various publishers. With a DSP, these agencies and developers can manage multiple ad buying and data exchange accounts through a single interface. Simply put, DSP solutions let advertisers bid on ad space — banners, video, native, and so on — for greater ad campaign performance and optimization (based on CPC and CPM metrics).

  • Which DSP is best?

    While there are a wealth of DSP ad networks to choose from, the best one for you will be whichever platform serves your needs. When you’re in the DSP buying process, consider its demographics, its efficiency, its pricing, and the level of support you’ll receive from the customer service team. If you can find a high-quality DSP that caters to your specific requirements (and target audience), you’ll see a lot more ad impressions and customer acquisition as a result.