Supply side platforms (SSPs), also known as sell side platforms, are also connected to digital ad exchanges. But they have a “mirror image” relationship to DSPs, so to speak. SSPs allow publishers (websites, blog owners, and other digital entities with ad space to sell) to procure the highest possible rates in the quickest possible way for their inventory of advertising space. Publishers leverage SSPs for many of the exact same reasons that advertisers use DSPs, but from the opposite vantage point. They’re looking to get the maximum amount of revenue for their ads in an automated fashion. And in just the same way DSPs and ad exchanges help advertisers reach their goals, they’re the perfect tool for publishers as well. Here’s why. Ad exchanges and SSPs have become known among digital publishing sites as yield optimization platforms. This is because they’re uniquely suited to help publishers maximize their revenue through real-time bidding or automatic digital auctions in which the highest-bidding advertiser is awarded the impression. The SSP is programmed to accept the highest possible bid on behalf of the publisher, with zero reliance on human negotiation (not to mention bypassing the issues of salespeople…errors, negotiation time, and of course their price markups). SSPs also allow publishers more control over their inventory of impression space. Publishers can connect their SSP to multiple ad exchanges, which gives them access to more potential buyers (advertisers) than ever before. This allows them more freedom to strategize.  They can establish “price floors”, or minimum prices for which they’ll sell their inventory. They can also choose to target specific types of advertisers and not others, depending on the type of website or blog they run. This is hugely important from a strategic vantage point because certain ad categories will reliably bring in more revenue than others, based on what’s being advertised and to whom.