In the post-MFA era of sites and fake metrics, the understanding of traffic quality in programmatic advertising has completely dissolved. Today, it does not mean the absence of bots and fraud-preventing filters, but rather reliable infrastructure, transparency in the flow, adherence to protocols, and supply verification with external platforms.
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This shift essentially showcases that nowadays, the real technical quality stems from the trust between SSPs, DSPs, and publishers. Where companies build value based on the aligned
After MFA: the Trust Deficit
The MFA crisis didn’t just expose fake sites — it exposed how fragile trust in programmatic has become. Advertisers were tricked into believing that their inventory was shown to the valuable audience, promoting their desired product, while, in reality, programmatic was overflooded with fake ad placement and hordes of bots, creating the illusion of valuable audience insights. Despite the initial high hopes that the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) would be the fix for the made-for-advertising (MFA) issue, even the sites that do pass through tests, looking clean on paper, do not bring real value for the advertisers.
In the MFA era, perceptions of “quality inventory” have fundamentally switched, and it is not surprising why it is skeptical. Publishers with fraud-free setups still grapple with thin content, bot-like engagement, and viewability issues that erode advertiser ROI. Cleanliness does not equate to quality anymore. This inventory can rack up auction sessions without contributing to any buying power, leaving everyone wondering what went wrong.
What “Quality” Used to Mean – And Why It Failed
The old approach has relied solely on the traditional, obvious techniques that focused primarily on detecting usual activity such as spotting bots that inflated impression rates. During those times, viewability played the role of the main KPI, meaning that if the content was viewed, it was deemed to be clean. The straightforward logic – “fraud-free = quality”. Although these methods worked more reactively than structurally, initially, they were thought to be effective. Tools like tag verification and basic fraud scanners were a go-to, chasing down anomalies after they popped up.
However, the widespread use of MFA sites exposed the limitations of the previous system. While authentication eliminated the most egregious fraud, sophisticated players circumvented these filters, forming visibly clean content that still delivered zero performance. Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) consequently lost confidence in even average inventory, as technical compliance no longer assured value. A critical distinction became clear: “brand-safe” environments that were free from previously aggressive fraud no longer guaranteed “performance-safe” outcomes. Advertisers were able to load their content without disruptions, though this did not generate the desired clicks and conversions or return on investment. Publishers, on the other hand, could meet industry compliance standards but failed to deliver proper user engagement, with high bounce rates and limited commercial intent.
Quality was treated as a filter, not as a foundation. This mindset formed solutions against short-term problems rather than cultivating inventory based on authentic user behaviour and real value creation. It led to the fast-eroding trust when the real problem struck.
Defining Quality Beyond Fraud and MFA
In the wake of MFA sites, quality in programmatic advertising demands a more serious redefinition. Quality equals verifiability. This switch moves the view of the inventory from simply non-frauded to a proactive search for contributing to the measurable value. Advertisers and their operated platforms request transparency through all stages, not just signals but control and independent validation. It is a necessary evolution that recognises how shallow and doubtful the surface-level compliance is.
Nowadays, there are three levels of modern quality control with each building a stronger foundation:
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Integrity
Technical integrity ensures that bidstream and data remain clean, consistent, and accurate. This allows full visibility into the user insights and accessible device details without external manipulation that hides the true intent. Incomplete data damages decision-making, yet many setups still rely heavily on the partial streams.
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Governance
Control over endpoints enabled Supply-side platforms (SSPs) to track exactly what the request routes are, preventing unauthorised diversions. With each platform submitting the overview of their supply path, other programmatic stakeholders can see the full inventory chain which helps block the rogue resellers or unmonitored paths that dilute performance.
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Verification
Last but not least, verification provides the ultimate layer. External scanners like Integral Ad Science (IAS), GeoEdge, or DoubleVerify confirm quality in real time. These external tools operate beside the in-house ones which helps provide a third-party validation for the credibility of the content.
All in all, this layered approach has proven to be effective since it counts for the industry’s past mistakes. Fraud-free no longer suffices when trust hinges on demonstrable proof. By focusing on verifiability, all part-takers of programmatic can regain confidence and rebuild trust, aligning their inventories with real user value and sustainable ROI.
Verification as Infrastructure: the IAS Integration Case
For the current programmatic landscape, verification means integrating additional tools into the core infrastructure. BidsCube exemplifies this through integration with Integral Ad Science (IAS), enabling real-time traffic scanning directly at the supply source. This is not an externally added feature; it is embedded at the endpoint level, allowing it to deliver quality where the bid request originates.
There are several stages of how this integration works. As the digital inventory enters the auction at the SSP, the IAS scanner instantly analyses the content, detecting any suspicious activity such as bot-behaving impressions and mismatched signals. All of that is automatically filtered before the beginning of auctions. Clean inventory then carries an IAS “verified traffic” label, visible to DSPs in the bidstream. This process provides three critical levels of verification: brand safety (contextual suitability), fraud detection (sophisticated IVT blocking), and viewability (measurable ad exposure). Most importantly, this occurs pre-bid which gets rid of the delays that used to slow down old-school checks after the bidding.
What differs this integration from others, however, is its infrastructural nature. Unlike the add-ons that layer verification on top of the existing structure, Bidscube routes endpoints within IAS-native pipelines. Hence, every decision that SSP makes, whether it is inventory sourcing, routing and tagging, incorporates verified data.
Ultimately, verification shouldn’t be an afterthought. In the modern world, it should be an essential part of the infrastructure. With this approach, DSPs no longer need to wonder about the opaque routes, gaining trust through proven reliability from a third-party partner. In this sense, integration with IAS not only elevates the inventory’s quality – it rebuilds DSP’s confidence in predictability and performance consistency. Advertisers have peace of mind, knowing that their inventory flows through audited paths, while publishers benefit from premium positioning in competitive auctions.
From Filtering to Governance: How SSPs Rebuild Trust
Over the years, SSPs have evolved beyond simply filtering the unsuitable material into a full governing quality of the digital inventory through a systematic process. This shift showcases how trust in pos-MFA era demands more than reactive blocks: it requires the adoption of an advanced infrastructure capable of anticipating the risks and proving reliability with performance. In 2025, SSPs play a crucial role in becoming the mediators of the supply chains, transforming them into auditable systems that DSPs can depend on.
Here are key practices that define this governance model:
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Controlled QPS and Bid Routing
Setting explicit limits on the queries per second and steering bids through vetted, low-risk paths helps SSPs maintain stable auction dynamics without congestion issues even during the peak traffic spikes.
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Traceable Latency Cycles
Timing data is collected instantaneously, making delays visible in real time. This allows teams to catch and react to the uncertainties and bottlenecks, whether from network routes, proxies, or endpoint performance.
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Supply Audits and Reporting
Logs capture every inventory provenance, resale, and previous performance. They enable precise audits and easier consolidation for publishers and DSPs.
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Partnership Integrations for External Verification
Ongoing integrations with various validators, such as IAS, embed third-party checks into the core workflow. In return, they deliver instant assurance of fraud prevention, brand safety, and viewability without adding friction to the bid process.
This structured approach transforms governance into a daily practice, so much needed in modern programmatic. When QPS is controlled, latency is transparent, and supply chains are auditable, publishers and DSPs gain a predictable, measurable foundation for collaboration. External verifiers, on the other hand, reinforce confidence and integrity in every step of the supply chain. In this environment, trust is earned through continuous collaboration with disciplined architecture and verifiable performance.
The New Economics of Trust and Quality
Quality transcends technical value; now, it carries a clear financial benefit. In today’s markets, verified supply commands DSPs to allocate larger budgets towards inventory with proven transparency, enhancing CPM. Publishers with IAS- or other scanned-certified traffic always see CPM uplifts which is a reflection of advertisers’ willingness to pay for the guarantee and reduced risk.
DSPs have adapted by optimising bid priority based on the transparency score. Many platforms set higher bids for publishers and SSPs with better bidstream transparency. This means clearer and complete data at endpoints, latency, and governance. On the contrary, inventory that lacks these features is deprioritised, facing lower CPMs, despite often being fraud-free. Overall, this shift showcases a switch to systematic quality rather than isolated metrics.
On the other hand, SSPs with verified supply sources are able to reduce or fully remove “fraud tax” – hidden costs wasted on fraudulent traffic. By certifying routes against standards like Ads.txt and Sellers.json, they reduce potential disputes, preserve quality and revenue per impression.
According to the current trends, transparency will trade at a premium in the next market cycle. In modern days, it’s not about simple compliance, but a competitive advantage. Verified traffic cuts the risks for buyers while maximising value for the sellers. This creates a virtuous exchange of higher bids and sustainable growth. As privacy and transparency regs intensify, the companies ignoring these signals will face margin erosion, while others dominate this trust-oriented, quality ad economy.
Quality is an Architecture, Not Appearance
Made-for-advertising era exposed the weaknesses in the previous superficial ad quality, heavily relying on simple metrics that were easy to fake and hard to sustain. In the post period, the industry has evolved beyond filtering to building quality as foundational infrastructure. The architectural approach transforms compliance into growth with scalability.
SSP platforms lead this change, introducing more rigorous verification, real-time controls, and open protocols from the start of work. This approach led to the creation of audited supply paths, enforcing transparency in bidding along with certifying traffic against fraud tactics and gradually restoring market trust for other stakeholders. Buyers regain confidence with predictable and stable performance which helps sellers unlock premium yields without significant fraud tax. All in all, the future of programmatic trust will belong to the platforms where verification is native.
Learn how BidsCube SSP contributes to this evolution, integrating verification and transparency to deliver trusted programmatic supply.
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