Oct 21, 2017
✨Introducing ads.txt validator✨
Why we build it, how it works, and what it validates. Check it out, it’s free 🙌
We’re incredibly excited to announce the launch of ads.txt validator, a free product for validating ads.txt sites/files (if you didn’t guess from the name 😉). We hope you’ve already started working on your ads.txt file, but for those that don’t know what it is:
Ads.txt is a solution that publishers use that allows buyers to know exactly which vendors are authorized to sell their inventory.
The more publishers that adopt ads.txt, the cleaner the ad tech ecosystem will be (or have the potential to become). In order for buyers to handle these files programmatically, they need to be properly formatted. As with other parts of your site that can change, you should be monitoring ads.txt to catch any issues.
That’s where our validator comes in. Use it to check a site on-demand, or sign up to get updates in your inbox on a weekly basis.
How does it work?
- Enter an ads.txt URL
2. View your results (errors, warnings, records, comments, variables, ad systems)
3. Share the result or compare against historical trends
4. Add your email to get weekly updates. You’ll receive a report with the latest results every week. No need to go to the site and test manually.
What is the validator testing?
The validator tests ads.txt files agains the official ads.txt spec. It checks for the following:
- Is there an ad system domain for each row/record?
- Is the ad system domain valid?
- Is the ad system domain the preferred name? Some systems have multiple domains and should be rolled to one canonical domain.
- Is the publisher ID present?
- Is the relationship value either DIRECT or RESELLER? (helps catch typos)
We’re excited to put this out there, and we hope it’s helpful in building and monitoring your ads.txt presence. We’d love any feedback! If you like it, please share with your friends and colleagues. The more publishers using the tool, the more accurate ads.txt will be, and we can all work together to rid the ad tech ecosystem of fraud!
Here’s the link: https://www.adstxtvalidator.com
