Every content network has walked this rope at least once – ad inventory optimization. Direct sales team can only sell 40-50% of your ad inventory at any given time. The rest is filled with different ad networks, big and small. The math is very simple; push those ad networks which pay you higher CPM all the time. However, the truth is, no single ad network pays highest CPM all the time. It varies a lot depending on geography, time, page/site context, readers, etc. And to top it all, with strict frequency capping and default ads deployed,ad networks leave you playing with pennies. Indirect sales can result in 30-40% of total ad revenue for any mid-size to large publisher. Today, for any smart publisher it’s must to optimize their indirect sales channel to boost the revenue. This becomes more challenging as almost allad networks are closed wall and have not (neither have intentions to) come out with APIs giving power to publishers.
