What is an ad publisher?
An ad publisher is an app or website owner who sells advertising space on their property to advertisers, generating revenue from the ad impressions their users see.
Publishers are on the supply side of the ad ecosystem. They supply the audience and the ad inventory, while advertisers supply the demand. See Unity's own app monetization solutions for how publishers put this into practice.
What does an ad publisher do?
Publishers commonly combine several monetization methods at once, such as rewarded video, interstitials, and native placements, and use mediation platforms to automatically route each ad impression to the highest-paying demand source. For a deeper look at combining these effectively, see Unity's own definitive guide to ad monetization. A publisher can also act as a sub-publisher, reselling ad inventory it sources from other publishers rather than only its own.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What is the difference between a publisher and an advertiser?
A publisher owns the app or website where ads are shown and supplies the ad space. An advertiser is the business paying to show ads there. Publishers are on the supply side of the ad ecosystem, advertisers are on the demand side.
Can a game studio be both a publisher and an advertiser?
Yes. Many mobile game studios act as publishers, showing ads inside their own games, while also acting as advertisers when they run user-acquisition campaigns to promote their games in other apps.