Here are 20 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) on Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) in the context of programmatic advertising, designed to help prepare for an interview.
MCQs on Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs)
1. What is the core purpose of an SSP in programmatic advertising?
A) To allow advertisers to upload targeting criteria
B) To help publishers sell their ad impressions to multiple buyers
C) To monitor fraudulent clicks for advertisers
D) To optimize ad creatives
Answer: B
2. Which type of organization typically uses an SSP?
A) Media buyers
B) Mobile app developers
C) Website publishers and content owners
D) Email marketers
Answer: C
3. An SSP connects publisher inventory to which platform for bidding?
A) Data Management Platform
B) Demand-Side Platform
C) Keyword auction tool
D) Social media scheduler
Answer: B
4. What does the term “Fill Rate” refer to in SSP metrics?
A) Percentage of ads with video content
B) Percentage of impressions filled with paid ads
C) Number of ad servers connected
D) Page load time
Answer: B
5. What is a “Floor Price” in the context of an SSP?
A) Minimum rate for content subscriptions
B) Fixed price for direct deals only
C) Lowest acceptable bid for an ad impression
D) Highest bid price for banner ads
Answer: C
6. What does “Header Bidding” allow publishers to do?
A) Run sequential auctions within their SSP
B) Let multiple demand sources bid simultaneously before calling the ad server
C) Pause bidding for better performance
D) Block ads served via DSPs
Answer: B
7. A Private Marketplace (PMP) is typically used when:
A) Publishers want to sell leftover inventory
B) Publishers want to invite premium advertisers into exclusive auctions
C) Advertisers need to comply with GDPR rules
D) Retargeting is disabled
Answer: B
8. In SSP terms, what does the term “Latency” refer to?
A) Delay in payment from agencies
B) Delay in ad delivery after a page loads
C) Delay in floor price adjustment
D) Delay in ad creative uploads
Answer: B
9. What’s the role of an SSP in a Real-Time Bidding (RTB) auction?
A) Create the ad creative
B) Host the bidding and send requests to DSPs
C) Deliver the final ad to the user
D) Encrypt user data
Answer: B
10. What is the main goal of “Yield Optimization” on SSPs?
A) Reduce website traffic
B) Maximize revenue per impression
C) Decrease ad server load
D) Remove low-quality advertisers
Answer: B
11. What is one benefit of using an SSP over direct deals?
A) Higher costs
B) Automated access to multiple buyers
C) No control over ad placements
D) Slower auctions
Answer: B
12. What does “Open Bidding” refer to in Google Ad Manager?
A) Buying ad space without a DSP
B) Server-side auction involving multiple SSPs and exchanges
C) A bidding strategy that reduces ad fraud
D) A type of video bidding format
Answer: B
13. How do SSPs earn revenue?
A) Selling cookie data
B) Taking a percentage commission on ad revenue
C) Charging advertisers monthly
D) Added fees for low-bid impressions
Answer: B
14. Why is “Brand Safety” a feature of many SSPs?
A) To block harmful content from hosting ads
B) To protect user data
C) To avoid showing ads to low-value users
D) To prevent fake bidding
Answer: A
15. What is the “Waterfall Model” in SSP auctions?
A) Simultaneous bidding among DSPs
B) Sequential offering of inventory to buyers at pre-set priorities
C) Bidding only based on geographic filters
D) Displaying ads based on user engagement
Answer: B
16. What is “Programmatic Guaranteed” from a publisher’s perspective?
A) Impressions reserved in advance and bought programmatically
B) Always the highest bid in open auctions
C) A direct sale to ad blockers
D) A type of fraudulent inventory
Answer: A
17. Which of the following describes “Supply Path Optimization (SPO)”?
A) Eliminating unnecessary middlemen in ad supply chains
B) Reducing publisher’s commission fees
C) Increasing demand sources via header bidding
D) Optimizing publisher website layout
Answer: A
18. What kind of targeting data can publishers pass to SSPs for better bidding?
A) First-party audience segments
B) Email passwords
C) Credit card history
D) IP addresses only
Answer: A
19. An SSP is most similar to which of the following?
A) A marketplace for publisher ad space
B) A CRM tool for sales teams
C) A social media advertising tool
D) A content recommendation system
Answer: A
20. What is a key difference between an SSP and a DSP?
A) DSPs manage publisher rights while SSPs manage user profiles
B) SSPs serve publishers, while DSPs serve advertisers
C) DSPs are used for print ads, and SSPs are used for video ads
D) Both platforms serve the exact same purpose
Answer: B
What is an SSP (Supply-Side Platform)?
A Supply-Side Platform (SSP) is a software platform used by publishers (website owners, app developers) to automate the selling of their digital advertising inventory.
Think of it as a “smart sales assistant” for publishers.
Core Function:
Its primary job is to help publishers maximize their revenue from ad space by connecting their available inventory (e.g., a banner ad on a news article, a video ad in a mobile app) to the vast pool of advertiser demand coming from Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) via ad exchanges.