ads.txt
A public file at the root of a domain listing who is authorised to sell that site's ad inventory.
Created to kill domain spoofing: if a seller is not in a site's ads.txt, they are not authorised to sell its inventory, and a buyer can check that in one request. It works because it is public, machine-readable and controlled by the domain owner.
It is also the cheapest ownership proof on the web. Anyone who can add a line to ads.txt controls the domain, which is precisely the thing an advertiser needs to know before paying them.
How LinkBourse handles it
One of the accepted ownership checks for website properties, alongside a DNS record, a meta tag, or an uploaded file.
Ownership checks we acceptTerms it depends on
- Verification
- Proving that the person selling a placement actually controls the property it will run on.
- Invalid traffic
- Clicks and impressions that did not come from a real person acting on the ad — bots, prefetchers, repeat automation, and traffic from somewhere other than the booked property.