Article link: Google March 2025 core update rolling out now
Description: Google has released its first core update of 2025, the March 2025 core update, which will take up to two weeks to fully roll out. These updates aim to improve search rankings by prioritizing relevant and high-quality content. No new recovery steps were provided, but Google advises focusing on helpful, people-first content. Core updates can cause ranking fluctuations, with potential recovery occurring over time or after future updates. The last core update was in December 2024. Marketers and site owners should monitor search performance for changes. More details are available in Google’s official documentation.
Article link: When the Floor Isn’t the Floor: Ad Tech’s Transparency Problem
Description: Floor pricing in ad tech should reflect the minimum price a publisher is willing to accept—but SSPs often adjust it dynamically to influence bids, creating a transparency issue. This debate, sparked by Mike O’Sullivan at Marketecture Live, reveals how SSPs optimize floors, sometimes inflating prices beyond publishers’ intentions. While some argue this maximizes revenue, others see it as opaque price manipulation. With increasing demand for supply path transparency, publishers risk losing buyers if pricing remains unclear. O’Sullivan suggests a “floorType” value to distinguish true floors from SSP-optimized ones, pushing for clarity in the auction ecosystem.
Article link: The IAB Tech Lab Is Launching A Server-Side Solution For Programmatic To Bypass Bossy Browsers
Description: The IAB Tech Lab is pushing back against browsers limiting data collection and ad monetization by launching a server-side solution. Their “trusted server” shifts programmatic ad processes out of browsers, giving publishers more control over auctions, targeting, and measurement. Integrated with Prebid Server, it reduces reliance on third-party network calls. Several publishers and SSP Equativ are already testing it. The Tech Lab is investing in support and plans a Trusted Server Task Force in Q2. With privacy changes accelerating across all browsers, this solution helps publishers regain control and prepare for future restrictions.
Article link: Publishers count their losses as the open auction bleeds ad dollars
Description: The open programmatic ad auction is facing a severe downturn, with publishers reporting double-digit CPM declines and a prolonged slump since late 2024. Once confined to Google’s ad exchange, the decline has now spread across the industry, affecting all ad tech vendors. CPMs for display ads dropped 33% in January, while video CPMs fell 39.2%, per Databeat. Advertisers are shifting budgets to private marketplaces and direct deals, which are projected to grow significantly. Factors like privacy crackdowns, cookie depreciation, and supply-path inefficiencies continue to erode the open auction’s viability, making its future uncertain amidst ongoing market challenges.
Article link: How AI Helps GroupM Take The Tedium Out Of Curation
Description: GroupM is leveraging AI to streamline the labor-intensive process of building curated private marketplaces (PMPs). By partnering with Cognitiv and using its ContextGPT tool, GroupM automates the generation of PMPs based on contextual signals, reducing manual workload while maintaining oversight. This AI-driven approach has led to significant efficiency gains, including an 83% lower CPUR for an entertainment brand and a 34% reduction in cost per lead for an auto campaign. As AI becomes integral to ad agencies, GroupM’s strategic adoption ensures faster, smarter, and more effective programmatic advertising.