GrowthCode Signal

Why AI Bidding Systems Prefer Fewer, Better Signals

More data does not make AI smarter.

Why Traffic is Becoming a Vanity Metric

AI Advertising Enters Its Signal Era

The Agentic Ad Revolution: Why Three New Protocols Are About to Rewrite the Open Web AI is no longer an emerging capability in advertising. It is becoming the default decision…

The Agentic Ad Revolution: Why Three New Protocols Are About to Rewrite the Open Web

The Agentic Ad Revolution: Why Three New Protocols Are About to Rewrite the Open Web The open web is at an inflection point. Third‑party cookies are fading fast, user privacy…

Why the Future of Open Web Addressability Has Us Optimistic

Embracing a privacy-centric future for digital advertising. I. Introduction: The Great Digital Reset The digital advertising market is shifting as third-party cookies fade out.…

The Publisher’s Guide to Maximizing Visitor Value (Part 3: Marketer)

Part 3 of a Three-Part Blog Series To recap, this content series from GrowthCode explores how visitor value can be maximized for each of the three key stakeholders to create…

The Publisher’s Guide to Maximizing Visitor Value (Part 2: Publisher)

Part 2 of a Three-Part Blog Series To recap, this content series from GrowthCode explores how visitor value can be maximized for each of the three key stakeholders to create…

The Publisher’s Guide to Maximizing Visitor Value (Part 1: User)

A Three-Part Blog Series In a world where traffic is declining and signal loss is accelerating, publishers must capture maximum value from every human visitor. Between AI-led…

How publishers of any size can capture "Disney Magic"

Mid-to-Long Tail Publishers can unlock Disney-grade first-party data Ad Revenue strategies with GrowthCode Disney's ad tech strategy is a masterclass in modern media monetization.…

Introducing GrowthCode Pulse Analytics

Turn on the lights with high-fidelity Prebid & graph health analytics for the data-driven publisher Today’s publishers are constantly asked to do more with less—less signal, less…

The New Rules of Addressability: Why 7+ IDs Is the Sweet Spot for Prebid Uplift

In the evolving world of programmatic advertising, publishers are looking for every edge they can find. With third-party cookies crumbling, search traffic cratering and signal…

Cratering Search Traffic Means Every Visitor Has to Count

How multi-signal bid enrichment helps publishers and SSPs make more from less Search traffic is falling off a cliff. Google’s shift to AI-generated summaries has changed user…

Another False Lifeline

Why the Market will Continue to Pivot to First-Party Data and Stop Its Preoccupation with Chrome’s ‘Legacy’ 3rd Party Cookie. Google’s decision to retain third-party cookies in…

Innovations in Bid Enrichment. We have arrived at 2.0

The advertising landscape is evolving rapidly, and more sophisticated tools are needed to maximize ad performance. Bid enrichment with universal ID signals has recently become a…

Unlock Revenue: How Multiple IDs are the Future of Curation Deals

The digital advertising landscape is in constant flux. As third-party cookies crumble and privacy regulations tighten, publishers are searching for sustainable ways to monetize…

Google’s IP Tracking Double Standard: A Deliberate Obfuscation of Privacy Protections

Google’s latest half-hearted attempt to limit IP tracking is yet another example of the tech giant’s ongoing strategy: pretend to protect user privacy while ensuring that its…

Understanding the Costs of First-Party Data Graphs

In the evolving landscape of digital advertising, building a robust first-party data graph and enriching bid requests are pivotal for maximizing addressability and driving value…

How the data management tech stack will evolve to meet the first-party data mandate

The ad tech industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation as first-party data becomes the foundation of digital addressability. This shift is driven by increasing privacy…

Multi-Signal: Maximizing Addressability for Open RTB and Deal ID Campaigns

Modern Addressability in Digital Advertising: The Marketer Cheat Sheet

Cracking the Marketer's Code for the Future of Digital Ad Targeting The advertising landscape has undergone a seismic shift, with privacy concerns, third-party cookie deprecation,…

New Year Resolutions: Learn The Three Languages of Data-Driven Addressability

Why Owning First-Party Data is Non-Negotiable

Modern Addressability in Digital Advertising: The Publisher Cheat Sheet

Cracking the Publisher Code for the Future of Digital Ad Targeting The form, function, and meaning of addressability are changing so fast that it's no wonder advertiser budgets…

Publishers: Stop blaming Google. Examine Their Priorities and Incentives Instead.

Google's Cookie Conundrum: A Publisher's Perspective In a surprising (?) twist, Google has decided to keep third-party cookies on the menu for Chrome users, stirring up a mix of…

The accurate and responsible use of UIDs and Identity will destroy The Identity Bridge to nowhere

UID Predictability Is a precondition for UIDs and post-cookie addressability to succeed. Short-sighted fraud will destroy the ecosystem. Chase the rats out of the kitchen. (Part 2…

The programmatic advertising landscape faces a severe threat disguised as a “solution”: ID Bridging.

Real ID works in the real world; why are we playing games with anything other than the truth at this critical moment in our transition to using first-party data? Over the last few…

First-Party Data: Your Compass in the Evolving Landscape of Google's Advertising Frameworks

The digital advertising landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation. As user privacy takes precedence and regulatory pressure continues to build, traditional methods built…

Stale Cookies (and other Walled Garden Conspiracy Theories)

Well, Google has done it again. They have delayed the deprecation of the 3rd party cookie. This time its unclear if its the CMA, legitimate reasoning, strategic posturing or all…

Fighting our way out of Open Web Enshitification

With first-party data, stakeholders can take control and re-engineer a better advertising experience on the web. This might just save the day for publishers, advertisers,…

Open Web Enshitification: its rise (and hopeful fall)

The open web is threatened by myriad trends and actors. Do Publishers hold the key to blocking the sewage? First, what is Enshitification? Today, the Web seems to be hurling…

Navigating the Shift to First-Party Audience Data: Opportunities and Challenges

Publishers and vendors face new challenges and opportunities as the advertising industry shifts from third-party cookies to first-party data. This article outlines key strategies…

Monetizing your First-Party Identity Graph

How do I make money once I have a first-party identity graph?. Once you have a Firsty-Party Data Graph, the next logical question is, "How can I turn this valuable asset into…

Building a First-Party Identity Graph: A Publisher’s Roadmap

As a publisher, creating a robust first-party identity graph is crucial for effectively connecting with your audience, personalizing experiences, and adhering to privacy…

The foundations of the new first-party data currency

In an era where third-party cookies are on their way out, digital publishers are pivoting to a more controlled and sustainable, privacy-focused approach to data collection and…

Rating Data Types for Building the New Publisher Currency

When publishers inventory their data, some types are better than others for creating the key data feedstock asset

The Rosetta Stone & Bridge to the Future for Independent Publishers

The cookie’s demise has led to dozens of different planning, activation, and measurement techniques without the cookie. Many seek to leverage first-party data.

The golden opportunity for independent digital publishers

The first party-data asset is the new currency. Denying this fact or not acting on this moment to create and secure these first-party assets will leave publisher roadkill.

Bid Signal Enrichment in adtech: Part 2

Part 2: The Value of Bid Enrichment(read Part 1) Challenges for Publishers and Technology Partners The adoption of multiple universal IDs creates challenges for publishers.…

Bid Signal Enrichment in adtech: Navigating Universal IDs and First-Party Data

PART 1: Understanding Bid enrichment {% module_block module "widget_fd416074-50a0-46a0-b15b-846f980cd584" %}{% module_attribute "child_css" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}{}{% endraw…

Maximize Profits: Use First-Party Data to Build New Revenue Streams

As the ecosystem transitions to the use of publisher first-party data (1PD) as the currency for targeting, Publishers are getting smart on other ways to leverage their investment…

Unveiling the Risks: The new Advertising Technology Black Box

Introduction: In an era where digital advertising is undergoing massive transformation, online publishers have become more intertwined with advertising technology than ever…

Will Universal IDs replace the 3rd-party cookie?

What are they? Universal IDs (UIDs) are a type of identifier that can be legally used to track users across multiple websites. They are designed to replace third-party cookies,…

Why online publishers need to own their data and identity stack

Lets Review... Third-party cookies are tiny pieces of data that are stored on a user's computer when they visit a website. These cookies can be used to track users' browsing…

Unleashing the Power of First-Party Cookies: Digital Advertising

Introduction:We are witnessing a monumental shift in the world of digital advertising. all about the increasing importance of first-party cookies in the wake of third-party…

IAB versus GPT on Publishing's fundamental question

How do the humans compare to the bots when it comes to answering the key publisher question of our day? We had a lot of conversations early last week about what media owners are…

What ChatGPT Thinks About its Own Impact on Publishing

We asked Chat GPT about its potential impact on online publishing. This is it's response: The GPT (Generative Pre-training Transformer) is a type of language model developed by…

The Future Proof Publisher's Monetization Stack

How the next wave of monetization will usher in a transformation of the publisher stack and a transition of power (and data) back to independent publishers, as it reduces tech…

How publishers can future-proof monetization.

Signal loss and the art of stack maintenance As Publishers, we've been hearing for years that the sky is falling due to the deprecation of the third-party cookie. Yet with each…

Nuances of SDA: when & why will publishers will invest in it (pt 2)

As with all things adtech… Seller Defined Audiences (SDA) is complicated (Part 2 in our Seller Defined Audience briefing) See part 1 here As always, the devil is in the details.…

Are Seller Defined Audiences (SDA) the new adtech black?

How the new taxonomy will empower publishers to flourish after the cookie and provide brands with PII-free inventory at scale (Part 1 of our Seller Defined Audience briefing) On…

Reflections on the State of Publisher Monetization

We are a month out and time has provided deeper reflections on the conversations and issues at the show. Let’s jump right to Observations along with the Opportunities they present…