Anna VintsevskaIn the beginning, traffic curation began with ad networks creating packages based on content and audiences. In 2012, it was largely synonymous with basic content matching using keyword-level signals and general site categorization to align ads with content.
In 2013-2018, direct sales moved to private marketplaces, facilitating closer relationships between SSPs and buyers, with inventory segmented by publisher, format, geography, or vertical category. PMPs were positioned as a step toward greater transparency and quality control. And to some extent, they delivered.
By the end of 2024, PMPs scaled. Segmentation alone often failed to account for key buyer requirements—signal integrity, contextual nuance, user engagement quality, and measurable outcomes. This increased the demand for more sophisticated deal curation. Buyers didn’t want or need to be sent every impression opportunity.
The latest 2025 Programmatic Benchmark from the ANA reports that advertisers are clearly shifting their budgets toward higher-quality, brand-safe inventory. This showcases they’re no longer willing to risk their reputation just to chase reach.
What the advertisers really demand is precision: the right context, the right content, and the right audience. When an SSP puts together inventory without really thinking about what buyers need, it might look “premium” at first. However, to those holding the budgets, it feels unclear and risky. The traffic isn’t good enough, DSPs don’t bid, and the ads never reach the audience they were meant for.
So, why didn't it work out?
Working closely with partners to test curated deal capabilities, we’re noticing a common pattern. The audience isn’t always relevant or ready to take action, even if the category fits. Let’s take a luxury car brand running a campaign as an example. The DSP sets the targeting to include “automotive” content, and the SSP serves traffic from different auto-related sites. In reality, that traffic might include users reading about used cars or DIY repairs. This has little to do with buying a luxury car, doesn’t it?
In this scenario, traditional category-based targeting falls apart. It’s too broad, assuming all content labeled under a certain topic is equally valuable. But what really matters is the intent. Instead of relying only on basic labels and volume metrics, traffic curation considers behavioral patterns, content context, and historical outcomes. This helps advertisers reach people who are not just in the right category, but in the right mindset. Without deeper, intentional alignment, segmentation becomes just another form of guesswork. As a result, campaigns waste impressions, budgets, and time. And this is where many SSPs go wrong by treating segmentation as a strategy.
What true deal curation means
With a solid background in building white-label SSPs and ad exchanges, we believe SSP has to serve both publishers and buyers. On one side, it means truly understanding what publishers need and what kind of traffic they are providing. On the other, it’s about syncing perfectly with what demand-side platforms and advertisers are actually looking for.
Curated Deals represent a defining capability of the next generation of SSPs. For optimal bid rates and fill rates, the inventory and its segments must match the ad content and DSP target options. Curated deals effectively bridge the gap between supply and demand through:
Hyper-relevant audience targeting, focused on actual behavior, intent, and context.
Rich taxonomy and context-based filtering so your ads run in specific, meaningful environments.
Full-funnel control over inventory, frequency, creative types, and scale.
By organizing inventory by content type and audience, we cut out the lower-quality sources and keep the placements that really matter. With context-based segmentation, the ads only appear next to content that feels right for the brand. This avoids mismatches and enables SSPs, publishers, and monetization companies to create deals that accurately describe the audience and content included in the offer. TeqBlaze Curated Deals are now available in early access for platform clients. Reach out to your account manager or contact us to explore deal creation tools, curated inventory management, and full-funnel audience targeting in action.
From segmentation to strategy
By shifting from segmentation to Curated Deals, SSPs can position themselves not just as inventory distributors, but as strategic enablers of campaign success.
Better conversions. When your platform matches traffic signals with the buyer’s actual criteria—audience, context, and intent—the ads don’t just show up but perform. Curated deals take the guesswork and drive real conversions.
Spend optimization. When a deal is built the right way, advertisers don’t have to rely on hunches. They’re not wasting budget on traffic that was never a good fit in the first place. This brings more control, cleaner ROAS, and a media plan that actually makes sense.
Predictable pricing. Advertisers can shift from reactive spending to proactive planning. Whether it’s fixed CPMs or consistent performance-based pricing, curated supply gives you fewer surprises and more stability.
Brand safety. When the SSP is transparent and compliant, brand safety isn’t a vague promise. It’s something that can be monitored and maintained.
Fraud-free environment. When the SSP uses multi-layered scanning, verified supply paths, and signal-rich inventory, fraud gets locked out. This allows advertisers to choose from inventory that’s already been verified.
Curated deals shift the focus from cost to value, ensuring advertisers reach the right audience precisely. This is also complemented by greater transparency and stronger trust. Now, more and more marketers are putting brand safety at the top of their priority list. According to IAB Europe, this concern is only growing.
By treating traffic curation as a core infrastructure layer, buyers will see more signals and make informed decisions, increasing procurement efficiency. Publishers will benefit from increased fill and yield. And the SSP will build stronger, more trusted relationships with both sides of the marketplace.
Final thoughts
Many SSPs are still stuck in the old mindset of segmenting inventory and hoping buyers will connect the dots. But what buyers are looking for are deals that make sense, drive results, and fit seamlessly into their strategies.
A 2024 study by Exchangewire shows that 41% of marketers in Europe see curated deals as a better way to get more return on their ad spend. And we can already notice this shift in the numbers. Jounce Media reports that nearly three out of four programmatic ad bids now come from curated deals across multiple publishers. At the same time, the open auction is slowly fading, as more advertisers move toward smarter and targeted buying.
In the era where precision outperforms pure scale, curated deals are matching supply with genuine buyer intent, not just in lifting performance numbers. Curated deals do what PMPs were always supposed to: deliver relevant and intentional supply ready to perform. They take the guesswork and turn raw traffic into something buyers can immediately trust and act on.
It’s about becoming a partner that buyers genuinely want to work with. And that’s where the real value begins. The platforms that lead will be those offering real transparency, structured inventory, and full control. Book a demo and explore how Curated Deals can help you build offers that actually sell.
