Glossary /
DSP
Efficiency & cost
DSP
The software that buys ad impressions programmatically across many exchanges in real time, on your behalf.
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
A DSP (Demand-Side Platform) is software that lets advertisers buy ad inventory programmatically across multiple ad exchanges and supply sources in real time, through a single interface — examples include DV360, The Trade Desk, and Amazon DSP.
?
?
What is DSP?
A DSP sits on the buy side of programmatic advertising. Instead of negotiating placements site by site, you set targeting, budgets, and bids in the DSP, and it bids on individual impressions across many exchanges through real-time bidding — winning the ones that fit, in milliseconds. Because a DSP buys across a fragmented supply chain of exchanges, SSPs, and intermediaries, its reporting is shaped by that chain. Impressions, viewability, and conversions are stitched together from many sources, and each DSP applies its own attribution, fee structure, and identity resolution. That's why two DSPs running 'the same' campaign rarely report the same reach or CPM. For measurement, the DSP is one more channel with its own definitions — and one of the messier ones, because the impression you paid for passed through intermediaries before it was served.
How DSP differs across ad platforms
DV360 (Display & Video 360)
Google's enterprise DSP, tightly integrated with Google's exchange (AdX), Campaign Manager, and YouTube inventory. Its reporting leans on Google's identity and measurement stack, which can advantage Google-owned supply in reach and attribution.
The Trade Desk
The largest independent DSP, deliberately not tied to owned media. Strong in CTV and audio, and the steward of UID2 for cookieless identity. Its open-web, exchange-agnostic footprint means its reach and pricing differ from a walled-garden DSP like DV360.
Amazon DSP
Buys across the open web plus Amazon's own properties, with the distinguishing edge of Amazon's first-party shopping and purchase signals for targeting and attribution. Its conversion reporting can reflect retail outcomes other DSPs simply can't see.
Common DSP misconceptions
A DSP is just another ad network.
An ad network owns or aggregates specific inventory and sells it. A DSP is buy-side software that bids across many exchanges and supply sources. It's the buyer's tool, not the seller's pool of placements.
DSP reporting is clean because it's all programmatic and automated.
The opposite, often. Impressions pass through exchanges, SSPs, and resellers before serving, and each DSP applies its own fees, identity matching, and attribution. Reach, CPM, and conversions vary meaningfully between DSPs for the same campaign.
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DSP in simple terms?
A DSP is the software you use to buy online ads automatically. You tell it who to target and how much to spend, and it bids on individual ad slots across thousands of websites and apps in real time — so you buy at scale without negotiating each placement by hand.
How does DSP work?
Why does DSP differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on DSP?
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
A DSP (Demand-Side Platform) is software that lets advertisers buy ad inventory programmatically across multiple ad exchanges and supply sources in real time, through a single interface — examples include DV360, The Trade Desk, and Amazon DSP.
?
?
What is DSP?
A DSP sits on the buy side of programmatic advertising. Instead of negotiating placements site by site, you set targeting, budgets, and bids in the DSP, and it bids on individual impressions across many exchanges through real-time bidding — winning the ones that fit, in milliseconds. Because a DSP buys across a fragmented supply chain of exchanges, SSPs, and intermediaries, its reporting is shaped by that chain. Impressions, viewability, and conversions are stitched together from many sources, and each DSP applies its own attribution, fee structure, and identity resolution. That's why two DSPs running 'the same' campaign rarely report the same reach or CPM. For measurement, the DSP is one more channel with its own definitions — and one of the messier ones, because the impression you paid for passed through intermediaries before it was served.
How DSP differs across ad platforms
DV360 (Display & Video 360)
Google's enterprise DSP, tightly integrated with Google's exchange (AdX), Campaign Manager, and YouTube inventory. Its reporting leans on Google's identity and measurement stack, which can advantage Google-owned supply in reach and attribution.
The Trade Desk
The largest independent DSP, deliberately not tied to owned media. Strong in CTV and audio, and the steward of UID2 for cookieless identity. Its open-web, exchange-agnostic footprint means its reach and pricing differ from a walled-garden DSP like DV360.
Amazon DSP
Buys across the open web plus Amazon's own properties, with the distinguishing edge of Amazon's first-party shopping and purchase signals for targeting and attribution. Its conversion reporting can reflect retail outcomes other DSPs simply can't see.
Common DSP misconceptions
A DSP is just another ad network.
An ad network owns or aggregates specific inventory and sells it. A DSP is buy-side software that bids across many exchanges and supply sources. It's the buyer's tool, not the seller's pool of placements.
DSP reporting is clean because it's all programmatic and automated.
The opposite, often. Impressions pass through exchanges, SSPs, and resellers before serving, and each DSP applies its own fees, identity matching, and attribution. Reach, CPM, and conversions vary meaningfully between DSPs for the same campaign.
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DSP in simple terms?
A DSP is the software you use to buy online ads automatically. You tell it who to target and how much to spend, and it bids on individual ad slots across thousands of websites and apps in real time — so you buy at scale without negotiating each placement by hand.
How does DSP work?
Why does DSP differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on DSP?
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See viewability and vCPM across every platform—display, video, programmatic— in one normalized report, instead of reconciling vendor numbers by hand.
Book a demo