Nope! Publishers are ranked by traffic, and the rules are the same for everyone.
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Is the price shown the price I pay?
It's the price the publisher shares, with a link to the publisher's own page. You agree the final price with them directly.
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What if a publisher doesn't share prices?
We say so and link their advertising page or media kit, where you can ask them for a rate.
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How do I add a publisher?
Submit the site. Once we've checked that it sells ads, it goes live in the directory.
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How much does advertising cost?
It depends on the audience. A banner on a small blog can cost a few dollars, and an ad spot in a national newspaper can cost thousands. The listing puts the publisher's audience next to its prices, which helps you judge a rate.
One credit opens one page for good. You see how to place an ad, the ad spots with their prices, and the DSPs and sales houses behind them. Opening the page again is always free.
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Do unused credits roll over?
Plan credits reset each month. Credits from a pack never expire, and we only use them after your plan credits run out.
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Is a plan tied to a listing?
No. Your plan belongs to your Ad Spot Finder account. You can claim listings with that account, and your plan stays with you.
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Does paying move a listing up?
Nope! Listings are ranked by traffic on every plan.
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Can I cancel?
Absolutely, anytime. Your plan stays active until the end of the period you've paid for, and then it won't renew.
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What does Free include?
You can browse every listing, exchange and ad spot, open 50 pages a month, manage the listings you've claimed and get our weekly newsletter.
Yes, and they're often the best first buy. Newsletters, podcasts, apps, TV, radio and billboards sit in the same search as websites.
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How do I know who reads a publisher?
Start with the publisher's topics, country and traffic rank on its listing. For readership and demographics, open its media kit; many publishers link one.
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What if my niche is very small?
That's usually good news. Small niche publishers have the audience you want and lower minimums. Search your topic and filter by minimum spend.
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A publisher I like isn't listed. What now?
Send it through the Submit page. We check that it sells advertising and add it.
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Can I advertise with publishers outside my country?
Yes. Choose any country to see its publishers, the languages they publish in and how each one sells its ad spots.
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How do I contact a publisher?
The ad spot tells you: a self-serve link, a DSP, a private deal or the sales team's contact. For a first test, pick self-serve if it's offered.
Ad Spot Finder lists publishers in more than 200 countries. The largest markets have the most detailed research.
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Can I share a listing with a client?
Yes. Every publisher has a public page you can link from a client deck, and any page you've unlocked stays unlocked for your account.
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Do publishers know when we look them up?
No. Your searches are private to your account.
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Can I see a publisher's sales house?
Yes. When a sales house sells a publisher's ads, the publisher's listing names it.
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Can I see which DSPs can buy a publisher's ad spots?
Yes. A publisher's listing shows the exchanges that sell its ad spots, direct or resold, and the exchange pages list the DSPs that buy from them.
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Do you cover TV, radio and outdoor?
Yes. Broadcasters, radio groups and out-of-home companies are listed alongside websites, each under its own channel, with rates per week or per spot where they publish them.
Start with a newsletter in your niche. The audience is clearly defined, the minimum spend is usually low and the price is a flat fee per issue.
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How small can I start?
As small as you like. Set the budget filter to what you want to spend and every publisher with a higher minimum drops out of the list.
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Do I need an agency?
Nope! For a small test, book a self-serve publisher yourself and bring in an agency when you spend more.
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How do I know a test worked?
Give each publisher its own promo code or UTM link, so you can see which sign-ups came from which ad.
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Can I stop a campaign early?
Self-serve platforms usually let you stop a campaign at any time. For ad spots you book with a publisher's team, check the publisher's terms before you pay.
Start with self-serve. It usually has the lowest minimum spend, which lets you start small. Go through a sales team when you want a package or a volume discount, and expect a larger commitment.
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Do I need a DSP?
Nope! Many publishers sell self-serve or through their sales team. Skip the DSP if you only buy from a handful of sites. It pays off when you buy across many at once.
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Is programmatic the same as an auction?
No. Programmatic guaranteed and preferred deals are bought through a DSP at an agreed price. Only private and open auctions involve bidding.
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How long does each option take?
A self-serve ad can go live the same day. A sales team usually needs a brief, a proposal and a signed insertion order first.
A supply path is the route your bid takes to reach a publisher, through every exchange and reseller along the way.
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What does direct mean?
Direct means the exchange sells the publisher's ad spots from the publisher's own account, with no reseller in between.
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What is supply path optimisation?
Supply path optimisation means buying through the shortest route to a publisher, so less of your budget goes to intermediaries.
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How often are the paths updated?
Ad Spot Finder re-reads publishers' ads.txt files and exchanges' sellers.json files every week, and updates the paths when an exchange adds or removes a seller.
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Is a reseller safe to buy from?
A reseller listed in the publisher's ads.txt file is authorised to sell its ad spots, but each extra step usually takes a fee. Choose the direct path when there is one.
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Do you cover CTV and in-app?
Yes. Exchange pages list the formats each exchange sells, including CTV, in-app and audio.
Stories come from the trade press and from company announcements, and every story links to its source.
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Why are some stories left out?
A story has to change something for an advertiser, such as a new partner, a new way to buy or a new rule. Launches that change none of those are skipped.
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Can I see news about one company?
Yes. Publisher and exchange pages show their own stories, and you can filter the news page by company.
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How often is it updated?
We add stories as we review them, and the newest stories are always at the top.
No. Every fact comes from a publisher's own page or a public record, and links to it.
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How often is the data updated?
We re-read publishers' ads.txt files and exchanges' sellers.json files every week. Rates and ad spots are updated when we re-read a publisher's advertising page or media kit, or when the publisher sends a correction.
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Can a publisher edit its listing?
Yes. Publishers can claim their listing and send corrections.
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What if two sources don't match?
We show the publisher's own page first and link every other source next to it.
Yes. On Standard or Premium you can create a team and invite colleagues by email, with up to 3 people on Standard and 10 on Premium. Everyone in the team uses the plan's credits.
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Can we pay by invoice?
Stripe handles payments and invoices. Email us if you need a different arrangement.
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Is there a contract?
No. Cancel any time and the plan keeps running until the end of the period you've paid for.
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Do unused credits roll over?
No. Plan credits are reset each month. Credits from packs don't expire.
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Can we switch plans later?
Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time from your account.
Retail media is advertising that a retailer or marketplace sells on its own site, app and emails. Some retailers also sell ads that reach their shoppers on other websites.
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Do I need to sell through the retailer?
For sponsored product ads, yes: the ad links to your product page in that store. Some retailers also sell display and off-site ads to brands that don't sell through them.
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Which retailers are listed?
The directory lists every publisher that sells a retail media ad spot, and publishers whose own pages say they sell retail media.
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Are prices shown?
Most retailers give prices on request. Where a retailer publishes a CPM, CPC or flat fee, you see it on the ad spot; otherwise the ad spot shows how to contact them.
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Can I buy retail media through a DSP?
Some retailers sell their shopper audiences through DSPs. The retailer's page lists the DSPs that can buy them.
CTV ads play inside streaming apps on internet-connected TVs. TV ads play in broadcast ad breaks. Ad Spot Finder lists them as separate channels.
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Can I buy CTV without a DSP?
Yes, if the publisher sells directly. The publisher's page shows its options, and some publishers take bookings by email or through their sales team.
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How do I know which exchanges sell a publisher's ad spots?
Open the publisher's page. It lists the exchanges that sell its ad spots, marked direct or resold, and the DSPs that can buy them. The list isn't complete, so an exchange that isn't listed may still sell them.
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Are CTV prices shown?
Where the publisher publishes a price, it is shown, usually as a CPM. Most CTV publishers give rates on request.
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What creative do I need?
Usually a broadcast-quality video file in the ad lengths the publisher accepts. The ad spot lists the specs when the publisher states them.
A demand-side platform (DSP) is software that lets you buy ad spots from many publishers at once, usually by bidding on impressions.
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How do I know which publishers a DSP can buy from?
A publisher's listing names the exchanges that sell its ad spots and the DSPs that buy through them. If a DSP isn't there, it may not be able to buy from that publisher.
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Do I need more than one DSP?
Start with one. Open a second account only if the first can't buy a publisher on your plan.
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Can a small team use a DSP?
Yes. Several DSPs are self-serve and have low minimum spends, and their pages show their requirements.
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Are SSPs listed too?
The directory lists DSPs because buyers open accounts with DSPs. SSPs are shown on each publisher's page as the companies that sell its ad spots.