The value of the best DSPs lies in its transparency. It is the platform’s capacity to empower advertisers to manage multiple ads, bid in real-time as well as efficiently track and optimize ad performance that makes it worth the investment.

Using a demand-side platform comes with many advantages: The automated platform allows marketers using a mobile DSP in particular, to buy mobile ad inventory through a single interface.

DSPs enable a quick and easy set up of ad campaigns and management, so you don’t have to waste countless of valuable hours on the slow process of manually contacting hundreds of publishers directly.

And it does not end just there.

Advertisers can see the market rate for every impression they buy, control the ad exchanges they want to buy and realistically decide how much they want to bid.

So not only do DSPs make campaign creation and management simpler, but they also make sure you get your money’s worth from your placement bid, securing a solid foundation for those conversions to skyrocket.

But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves just yet.

While we can list several advantages of using a DSP, we also don’t want to sound like a pro-DSP guide.

We promised a detailed guide so you can make an informed decision on how to choose the best DSP companies. And that is exactly what we will give you.

So before you go investing loads in a demand-side platform software, take a quick look at this pros & cons list to get an unbiased overview of the advertising tool:

Pros & Cons of using DSP advertising

Pros

Transparency

Most DSPs offer full transparency of what types of ad placements you are buying, tracking substandard offers and looking out for any fraud ads.

Time efficiency

If you commonly manage ad campaigns across more than one network, DSP dashboards ensure a great overview and easy management of everything, which can save a lot of valuable time.

Precise targeting

Thanks to DMPs, marketers are able to gather valuable user data. The more data, the more precise the targeting. And accurate targeting allows for more personalized ads and messages, resulting in higher conversions.

Best value

Not only do DSPs give you the best suitable ad placement, but they also allow you to buy impressions on platforms with quality audiences. With DSPs you don’t have to worry about wasting your money on empty traffic.

Performance tracking

You can analyze ad placements and their performance directly on the demand-side platform. This allows you to spot any errors immediately and fix it without wasting your budget.

Cons

Hidden costs

The process may be budget-friendly, but a lot of DSPs with various cost models can be rather pricey as a whole. Some may require monthly fees, or even include hidden costs, increasing your ad spend overall. But we will expand on this, including the complexities of a DSP in the next part of the guide.

Ad fraud risks

When using such an automation marketing tool, there is always a risk in buying fraudulent impressions, and not all DSPs have sufficient ad fraud detection features in place. So you want to be aware of any potential financial losses that may result from this.