Hi,
I am working a piece titled "Do Publishers Still Need Multiple SSPs in 2026?". For this, I would like to know the PoV (point of view) of AdTech stakeholders like publishers, programmatic heads at SSPs, AdOps experts, and other relevant stakeholders.
Thanks!

Question

Samuel Charmetant · Accepted Answer

For a marketplace like Artmajeur, the question isn't one or many SSPs, it's which few SSPs actually move the needle.

When we ran a long list of SSPs, we saw classic problems: duplicate bid requests, noisy logs, and CPMs that looked higher but did not lift net revenue once fees were mapped. After we ran a simple SPO audit and cut to three strong partners, our reporting got cleaner, and page latency dropped without hurting fill.

In 2026, I think most publishers still need multiple SSPs, but use them like specialist tools, not a big address book one for unique demand, one for tech and tooling strength, and one as a strategic backup.

The winning stack is small, transparent, and easy for your AdOps team to explain in one slide.

Will Melton · Answer

Here's what I'm seeing with AI search: everyone's cutting down their SSPs. We were juggling so many platforms for a while, but switching to a couple of AI-driven SSPs that actually integrate data made a huge difference. It's simpler now, and our content gets in front of the right people. Don't just collect SSP partners, pick the ones with the best AI.

Ryan Beattie · Answer

From the buyer side, long supply paths are where budgets go to die. We saw this when comparing performance across inventory that looked identical on paper.

When we pushed our partners to share more path data, a pattern showed up. Shorter, cleaner paths with fewer hops gave us better viewability and lower fraud risk at the same or lower CPM. That made us favor publishers who had done SPO work and trimmed their SSP lists.

By 2026, I expect serious buyers to actively bias spend toward publishers with a curated SSP stack and clear ads.txt. Many SSP connections with overlapping demand will look like noise.

So do publishers still need multiple SSPs? Yes, but not for show. As an advertiser, I trust the ones who can say, Here are the three paths to my inventory, and here's exactly why each exists.

Paul McKee · Answer

As a smaller publisher, we don't have the luxury of a huge AdOps team, so every extra SSP is also extra overhead.

We tried the more pipes = more money approach. It gave us more complexity than revenue. What helped was grouping SSPs by what they really added: unique demand, tools, or nothing special. Only the first two stayed.

The way I'd frame it for 2026:
Keep 2-3 SSPs that clearly beat your benchmarks.
Watch log-level data for bid duplication and strange paths.
Run a simple check: Can I explain why this SSP is here in one sentence?
If the answer is vague, it's probably time to cut it.

Multiple SSPs still make sense, but only if each one has a clear job description.

Hi, I am working a piece titled "Do Publishers Still Need Multiple SSPs in 2026?". For this, I would like to know the PoV (point of view) of AdTech stakeholders like publishers, programmatic heads at SSPs, AdOps experts, and other relevant stakeholders. Thanks!

1 Answers

Samuel Charmetant

Related Questions

Hi, I am working a piece titled "Do Publishers Still Need Multiple SSPs in 2026?". For this, I would like to know the PoV (point of view) of AdTech stakeholders like publishers, programmatic heads at SSPs, AdOps experts, and other relevant stakeholders. Thanks!

1 Answers

Samuel Charmetant