--- title: "The Silent Killers in Your Ad Tech Stack: 4 Red Flags You Can’t Afford to Ignore" description: The right partner brings transparency. And the red flags that signal a bad one? They’re not hard to spot—if you’re paying attention. image: https://blog.ex.co/hubfs/EXCO_BlogAssets_Header_RedFlag_07172025.jpg --- [![EX.CO](https://ex.co/wp-content/themes/tg/assets/images/general/logo-dark.svg "EX.CO Home")](https://ex.co)[Blog](https://blog.ex.co/)Press Release [Get in touch](https://ex.co/contact/) - [Login](https://login.ex.co/login) - [Contact Sales](https://ex.co/contact/) - My Platform - Technology - [OVP](https://ex.co/ovp/) - [Monetization](https://ex.co/monetization/) - [CMS](https://ex.co/cms/) - [Player](https://ex.co/player/) - [Vertical](https://ex.co/vertical-player/) - Solutions - [Publishers](https://ex.co/publishers/) - [CTV/DOOH](https://ex.co/ad-server/) - [Sales Houses](https://ex.co/ad-partners/) - [Advertisers](https://ex.co/advertisers/) - Resources - [Case Studies](https://ex.co/case-study/) - [Blog](https://blog.ex.co/) - [Help Center](https://support.ex.co/) - [Industry Guides](https://ex.co/guides/) - [Glossary](https://content.ex.co/glossary) - [Get in touch](https://ex.co/contact/) - [Contact Sales](https://ex.co/contact/) - Company - [About us](https://ex.co/about/) - [Leadership](https://ex.co/leadership-team/) - [Careers](https://ex.co/careers/) - [Press Room](https://ex.co/about/news/) # The Silent Killers in Your Ad Tech Stack: 4 Red Flags You Can’t Afford to Ignore July 17, 2025 - by [Tammy Blythe Goodman](https://blog.ex.co/author/tammy-blythe-goodman) ![Ad Tech Stack Red Flags](https://blog.ex.co/hubfs/EXCO_BlogAssets_Header_RedFlag_07172025.jpg "Ad Tech Stack Red Flags") Publisher-oriented third-party vendors have one main task: to make their product work, in most cases by generating revenue for the [publisher](https://ex.co/publishers/). If they can’t make that happen, they’ll tend to do the next best thing—i.e., try to make their product *seem* like it’s working. Here’s the standard scenario: the publisher checks the numbers and everything looks solid. [Fill rate](https://content.ex.co/glossary#fill-rate)? Decent. [RPM](https://content.ex.co/glossary#rpm)? Stellar. But somehow, revenue still isn’t scaling. The money isn’t there. Why? Because by the time the dip starts, the publisher has already moved on to the next fire. And that’s exactly when small issues get overlooked—and vendors get away with more than they should. This isn't malicious behavior on the vendor’s part. It happens in most organizations by default. Vendors fudge the numbers the way plants turn towards the sun, automatically and instinctively. But that doesn't mean [publishers](https://content.ex.co/glossary#publisher) have to *put up* with it. The right partner brings transparency. And the red flags that signal a bad one? They’re not hard to spot—if you’re paying attention. ### Red Flag #1: You're Getting Reports, Not Results Numbers can *always* be sliced and diced to tell—or sell—a desired story. But you, as the publisher, have the ability to distinguish real momentum from fake momentum.  Fake momentum is usually conveyed through vanity metrics—clickthrough rate and vRPM (viewable [RPM](https://content.ex.co/glossary#rpm)), for instance, neither of which tell you much about your bottom line. What you should be demanding, instead, are the kinds of concrete metrics that can actually speak to the success (or failure) of your partnership. These include: - **[Viewability](https://content.ex.co/glossary#viewability):** Measures whether an ad had the opportunity to be seen by a user. This ensures [advertisers](https://content.ex.co/glossary#advertiser) only pay for [impressions](https://content.ex.co/glossary#impression) that had a fair chance of being noticed, rather than ads that loaded below the fold, were hidden in a background tab, or were skipped too quickly. Important note: [media buyers](https://ex.co/advertisers/) typically evaluate viewability in aggregate at the site or [campaign](https://content.ex.co/glossary#campaign) level, not per vendor. Translation? Your [viewability](https://blog.ex.co/monetization/how-to-ensure-more-of-your-video-ads-get-seen) stats may be high during your initial test with a vendor but if they start to slip 2 months later, your revenue will start to decline too. (Check out our industry guide, “The Science of Viewability and Beyond” [here](https://ex.co/guide-science-of-viewability/). - **[Completion rate](https://content.ex.co/glossary#completion-rate) trends:** The percentage of users who finish reading or engaging with a piece of [content](https://ex.co/content/). - **[Revenue per session](https://content.ex.co/glossary#rps):** The average revenue generated from each user visit to a website, which can be segmented by various factors including device type, geographic location, etc. - [**Bid density**](https://blog.ex.co/how-to-spot-and-fix-unfair-video-auctions-in-ctv-dooh-and-the-open-web)**:** The number of [bids](https://content.ex.co/glossary#bid) submitted for an individual ad [impression](https://content.ex.co/glossary#impression) in the course of a programmatic [auction](https://content.ex.co/glossary#auction). Higher bid density can signify stronger demand and can correlate with higher [CPMs](https://content.ex.co/glossary#cpm), while lower bid density may suggest weak competition or inefficiencies in demand paths. - **Throttling rate** - The percentage of ad opportunities (or bid requests) that are intentionally withheld or limited by a platform. A high throttling rate could mean you're limiting revenue potential by reducing the number of [auctions](https://content.ex.co/glossary#auction) demand partners can [bid](https://content.ex.co/glossary#bid) on. A low throttling rate might indicate that most [inventory](https://content.ex.co/glossary#inventory) is being made available—but could also drive up infrastructure or processing costs. ### Red Flag #2: “Your [Fill Rate](https://content.ex.co/glossary#fill-rate) Is Fine—But Only Because You’re Underselling” If a door-to-door knife salesman sells to 90%+ of the households he visits, we might be inclined to call him successful. But if we learn that he's selling his wares for 10 cents a piece—far below their market value—the story changes considerably. The same applies in digital publishing. A high [fill rate](https://content.ex.co/glossary#fill-rate) can only tell you a part of the story—and in many cases suggests that a vendor is filling at any price, instead of optimizing for value. Quality *and* quantity should be the ideal when it comes to fill rate. This means that any vendor you partner with should offer: - **Dynamic floor pricing:** The ability to set and adjust minimum acceptable [bids](https://content.ex.co/glossary#bid) for [ad inventory](https://content.ex.co/glossary#ad-inventory) in real-time, by triangulating factors like user behavior, device type, [traffic](https://content.ex.co/glossary#traffic) source, historical demand patterns and more. - **Advanced bid segmentation:** The ability to deploy distinct bidding strategies for different [audience segments](https://content.ex.co/glossary#audience-segments), allowing for more precise targeting. You want to make sure your vendor is prioritizing high-quality demand—not simply taking all comers. EX.CO's AI-driven yield engine intelligently routes [impressions](https://content.ex.co/glossary#impression) to do precisely that—driving actual revenue, not just fill. ### Red Flag #3: “They Say It’s Contextual—But It’s Really Just Guesswork” When a video is well-matched to its accompanying article page, the odds of engagement increase drastically. This is the promise of contextuality. Many vendors, of course, are talking about it—but few are actually *providing* it. It’s not uncommon, on certain websites, to see videos embedded on pages that are completely irrelevant (or worse) to their content. For instance: cat videos accompanying baseball game recaps. Or, worse yet: frivolous celebrity news accompanying articles about natural disasters. This is the difference between "[contextuality](https://blog.ex.co/unlocking-the-power-of-contextual-recommendations)" as a gauzy marketing buzzword and *actual* contextuality, which demands true artificial intelligence. That means advanced, frame-by-frame video indexing and high-level semantic article analysis. These tools—provided by EX.CO—can drive 4X higher engagement rates with the [video player](https://ex.co/player/) than the industry benchmark.  ### Red Flag #4: “You Haven’t Seen an Update in Months” There is a meme on social media: people who post about "big things coming" who never actually seem to *do* anything. This syndrome is very much on display among certain vendors, who might hint at exciting updates without ever delivering. In some industries, slow-paced innovation might be acceptable. Digital publishing isn't one of them. This is an industry whose best practices can change completely in the space of six months. Vendors that aren't evolving are actively dragging you down. Transparency is the only guarantee of success here. On a very simple level, your vendor should be able to tell you what they're working on, how that work is going, and when they plan to actually ship their next updates. You are, after all, *partners*. Your vendor should behave that way. ### Bonus: 3 Questions to Ask in Your Next Tech Review - “Can you show me how you optimize yield in real time?” - “How does your contextual engine actually determine relevance?” - “What [ROI](https://content.ex.co/glossary#roi) benchmarks should we expect in 30–60 days?” ### TL;DR: If You’re Not Auditing, You’re Losing When you sign on with a vendor, you are—in an ideal scenario—starting a relationship. As with any relationship, dialogue is crucial. [Publishers](https://content.ex.co/glossary#publisher) shouldn't be shy about regularly checking in and asking hard questions. Spotty answers from a vendor here can tell you everything you need to know. Again: few ad tech vendors are actively trying to *deceive* their partners. Trying to gussy up a bad set of stats is natural for any organization. But the net effect, of course, is the same: publishers get less for more. At a time of industry contraction, when every cent matters, that is not going to work.   Don’t settle for “fine.” Demand better. *EX.CO helps publishers uncover hidden revenue opportunities with transparent reporting, true contextual matching, and smarter yield [optimization](https://content.ex.co/glossary#optimization). Drop us a line below to start the conversation.* ### Speak to an expert ## Recent posts ## About Tammy Blythe Goodman Tammy Blythe Goodman is VP, Brand Marketing & Communications at EX.CO. Prior to joining EX․CO in 2022, Tammy managed global communications at Taboola, Innovid, and SpotX, respectively. She has an MFA in Film from Columbia University and a BA in Communications and Literature from American University. Tammy lives in New York City and is a proud rescue dog owner and passionate pluviophile. [More posts by Tammy Blythe Goodman](https://blog.ex.co/author/tammy-blythe-goodman) ## Topics [Digital Publishing](https://blog.ex.co/tag/digital-publishing), [Online Video](https://blog.ex.co/tag/online-video), [Ad Tech](https://blog.ex.co/tag/ad-tech), [transparency](https://blog.ex.co/tag/transparency), ## Sign up to our newsletter [Back to Blog Home](https://blog.ex.co/) [![logo](https://blog.ex.co/hubfs/images/logos/exco/EXCO_Logo_Color_200w.png)](https://ex.co) [![LinkedIn](https://ex.co/wp-content/themes/tg/assets/images/parts/footer/icon-linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/excoplatform) [![X](https://ex.co/wp-content/themes/tg/assets/images/parts/footer/icon-twitter-x.svg)](https://twitter.com/excoplatform) [![YouTube](https://ex.co/wp-content/themes/tg/assets/images/parts/footer/icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc99IT0x9Za1uQ_r8b1PwXQ?view_as=subscriber) Platform - [OVP](https://ex.co/ovp/) - [Ad Server](https://ex.co/ad-server/) - [Monetization](https://ex.co/monetization/) - [Content](https://ex.co/content/) - [Player](https://ex.co/player/) - [Vertical](https://ex.co/vertical-player/) Solutions - [Publishers](https://ex.co/publishers/) - [Advertisers](https://ex.co/advertisers/) - [Sales Houses](https://ex.co/ad-partners/) - [CTV/DOOH](https://ex.co/ad-server/) Resources - [Case Studies](https://ex.co/case-study/) - [Blog](https://blog.ex.co/) - [Help Center](https://support.ex.co/) - [Industry Guides](https://ex.co/guides/) - [Glossary](https://content.ex.co/glossary) Company - [Contact](https://ex.co/contact/) - [About us](https://ex.co/about/) - [Press Room](https://ex.co/about/news/) - [Careers](https://ex.co/careers/) - [Events](https://ex.co/events/) Sign up to our newsletter ![Google Certified Publishing Partner](https://ex.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/logo-google.svg) ![ISO/IEC 27001-2002 Certified Company. MQA Certification UK Ltd.](https://ex.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ISO.svg) ![IAB member](https://ex.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/logo-iab.svg) ![IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework Registered Vendor](https://ex.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/logo-iab-framework.svg) ![AOP Associate Member](https://ex.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/logo-aop.svg) ![Human](https://ex.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/logo-human.svg) - [Terms of Service](https://ex.co/terms-of-services/) - [Cookie Policy](https://ex.co/cookies-policy/) - [Privacy Policy](https://ex.co/privacy-policy/) - [Accessibility](https://ex.co/accessibility/)