ads.txt stands for "Authorized Digital Sellers," and is a simple, flexible, and secure method that publishers and distributors can use to publicly declare the companies they authorize to sell their digital ad inventory. An initiative created by IAB Technology Laboratory, the mission of the ads.txt project is straightforward: increase transparency in the programmatic advertising ecosystem. You can find more information on ads.txt
here.
As the advertising industry continues to champion greater transparency and safety for publishers, IAB has officially released
ads.txt Version 1.1.
There are two additional variables that have been introduced in this update:
OWNERDOMAIN (Recommended): This variable specifies the business that owns the domain. In case a domain is owned by a publishing group, publishers need to specify that parent company's domain. It’s recommended that this value is included in every ads.txt file, even if the OWNERDOMAIN does not differ from the domain on which the ads.txt file is hosted.
Example: OWNERDOMAIN=mediacompany.co
MANAGERDOMAIN (Optional): This variable is used to specify the primary or exclusive monetization partner. The MANAGERDOMAIN should be the most direct path to purchase a publisher’s inventory. If a publisher has multiple monetization partners per country, they can use the country extension.
Example: MANAGERDOMAIN=adprovider.com, USA
To ensure that your ad inventory is only sold through authorized sellers, we kindly ask you to update the ads.txt file with the aforementioned variables. Using RebelMouse’s
Ad Manager dashboard, you can add content from any .txt file digital sellers have sent to you.
Here’s how to update your ads.txt file with the new variables:
First, click the hamburger menu
(☰) in the top-left corner of your Posts dashboard. Next, scroll down to Ad Manager and click on it. Alternatively, you can type the following into your browser’s address bar:
{Your Site’s Domain}/core/dashboard/a_manager
Then, click on the
ads.txt tab. Add the new variables as new lines in the text box labeled Ad ads.txt code. It should look like this:
Once completed, you can see the new variables by adding
/ads.txt after your domain in your browser’s address bar. Here’s an example:
{Your Site’s Domain}/ads.txt
Ads as a Service: Take Advantage of RebelMouse’s Modern Monetization Methods
Securing recurring revenue in the current climate of the open web isn’t easy. Between content creation, SEO strategy, and performance optimization, little time is left for optimizing the right revenue streams.
That’s why RebelMouse offers ads as a service. This means our traffic and revenue experts can take over your ad management through a revenue-sharing arrangement. We can work alongside your existing AdOps team to optimize your current ad setup and agree on new KPIs.
We can control both programmatic and direct-sold ads, completely eliminating the need for an external ads provider. Not only can we set up the campaigns for you, but we’re also able to test them in real environments to eliminate any stress or surprises along the way. Plus, you won’t ever be left in the dark — we'll also monitor the results of your campaigns every day and provide transparency through a real-time performance dashboard for you to reference at any time.
Rake in Results With RebelMouse
Taking advantage of our ad services can deliver quick increases in ROI. Here are a few insights from one of our new media clients after we took over and optimized their ad placements and overall setup.
Check out how much better ads performed after just 30 days.
Ad revenue increased by 28 times after optimizing the existing ad placements and introducing new ad units.
CPM increased by three times after optimizing the demand sources and implementing header bidding.
Viewability increased by over 40%.
CTR increased by over 25%.
If you’re interested in letting RebelMouse take the stress and hassle of revenue management off of your hands, email
support@rebelmouse.com or your account manager today.
Not on RebelMouse yet?
Request a proposal and let’s start working together.
Our platform is a complete digital publishing toolbox that's built for modern-day content creators, and includes game-changing features such as our:
Why RebelMouse?
Unprecedented Scale
RebelMouse sites reach more than 120M people a month, with an always-modern solution that combines cutting-edge technology with decades of media savvy. And due to our massive scale, 1 in 3 Americans have visited a website powered by RebelMouse.
120M+ Users
550M+ Pageviews
17+ Avg. Minutes per User
6+ Avg. Pages per User
Today's Top Websites Use RebelMouse
Thanks to the tremendous scale of our network, we are able to analyze a wealth of traffic data that informs our strategies and allows us to be a true strategic partner instead of just a vendor.
What Clients Say
We’re here to help you weigh and understand every tech and strategic decision that affects
your digital presence. Spend less time managing everything yourself, and more time focused on
creating the quality content your users deserve.
I love the control panel. Awesome work. I have to say, what an amazing creative team RebelMouse is. I am so grateful!
Terrence O'Hanlon
Founder and Chairman Reliabilityweb
It’s like we’ve been riding horses to commute all our lives and someone just showed us a Tesla.
Brendan Farley
Vice President, Product Management Strada Education Network
Thanks to RebelMouse, United doesn’t have to sacrifice great content for speed. You can have both!
Ryan Bujeker
Director, Social Media Strategy & Digital Engagement United Airlines
We're in a much better position to make it through the current crisis in part due to RebelMouse and their platform. We've not only saved on overhead costs, we've more easily optimized our traffic with their smart measuring and SEO tools, as well as their social integrations.
Jill Braff
President/Chief Operating Officer Brit + Co
THANK YOU for all the good, fast work you put into making our public rollout such a big success. I know we threw a lot at you very quickly, but you were calm under pressure and pulled it all off perfectly. Very glad to be working with you all.
Tim Grieve
Executive Editor Protocol
So inspired and impressed by these results from RebelMouse. Check them out and ask Andrea Breanna how they got there! Just goes to show that spending millions doesn't necessarily get you to the right destination. It's spending no more than you need on the right technology with the right platform that does! 🌐💙🏎️
Andrey Lipattsev
Partner Development Manager Google
It is not often I jump out of my chair and scream in a positive way, but I just did! This is the happiest I have seen my Managing Editor in 2021! Thank you.
Nick Smith
CEO Investing News Network
Working with RebelMouse is an actual treat. From the CEO down, every single member of the team has partnered with us to meet our needs. Everyone willingly (and with endless patience!) shares their expertise and insights to ensure we optimize search and create a great audience experience. As we have implemented the various search tactics, positive results are almost instantaneous. Training our content creators has been simple. The system is incredibly user friendly. As a co-worker commented, "RebelMouse doesn't just sell you something, they partner with you to deliver exactly what you want." I couldn't agree more!
Emma Schofield
Director of Change Management Investing News Network
We continue to be huge fans of RebelMouse and envision a very long-term relationship with the platform. The service has been impeccable.
Douglas Fischer
Executive Director Environmental Health News
I am a HUGE RebelMouse fan, and basically tell everyone I meet who's looking to overhaul their website to get in touch right away.
Susan Hassler
Editor Emeritus IEEE Spectrum
Every member of the RebelMouse team, but especially our project team, are superstars! Our site launch on the platform met all our expectations and we love the technology. We are positive about the future of our site and look forward to improving our approaches and processes with RebelMouse's guidance!
Terrence O'Hanlon
Founder and Chairman Reliabilityweb
RebelMouse's Layout & Design Tool is one of the most comprehensive and flexible tools I have ever used of any CMS. Their product team is also extremely helpful and constantly supports to make sure your properties are up to date and use the best industry standards, especially in terms of page speed.
Chuck Lapointe
CEO Narcity Media
The best thing about RebelMouse is how much they care about their customers. When working with them, I always get a sense that they go above and beyond for their customers. When working with the RebelMouse team, I very much consider them to be a partner, rather than just a vendor. Upon migrating to their technology, we have seen tremendous improvements in many key areas, particularly technical SEO. They have out-of-the-box functionality that is tremendously helpful to customers. At the same time, their system is flexible enough to allow us to adapt it to any new business needs that we have.
David Nguyen
Senior Director of Digital Marketing Investing News Network
RebelMouse has shepherded us through the modernization phase, and has been keen, practical, and nimble throughout the entire journey. They have helped modernize our website through an infinite scroll setup that allows us more advertising real estate while creating more time on site to capture reader engagement. Plus, the RebelMouse team has helped educate our own team on the various aspects of programmatic advertising and worked to best implement them. Premier Guitar joining forces with RebelMouse in 2020 was one of the best choices we could have made!
Luke Viertel
Digital Strategist Premier Guitar
RebelMouse has stepped up our content management process by providing a user-friendly interface, robust customization options, and seamless collaboration tools. The platform's analytics and reporting capabilities have empowered us to make data-driven decisions, while their exceptional customer support ensures any issues are promptly addressed in a professional, respectful, and friendly way!
RebelMouse employs a unique, diverse, and decentralized team that consists of 70+ digital traffic experts across more than 25 different countries. We have no central office, and we cover every time zone to ensure that we’re able to deliver amazing results and enterprise-grade support around the clock.
Our team is well-versed in all things product, content, traffic, and revenue, and we strategically deploy ourselves to help with each element across all of our clients. We thrive on solving the complex.