The shift to first-price auctions intended to simplify programmatic advertising auctions and increase transparency. In theory, this should have created a more open and efficient ecosystem where the highest bid wins and media owners capture the full value of their inventory.
In reality, it introduced new inefficiencies. Bid prices became more volatile, the gap between the highest and lowest bids for the same impression widened, and price predictability eroded. Some platforms capitalised on this volatility by adjusting their take rates to capture the spread between what buyers paid and what media owners earned.
This approach blurred the line between performance and profit, often benefiting the platform at the expense of media owners.
It raised a critical question in our industry: If first-price auctions were meant to give you transparency, why is it still so challenging for you to see where value is allocated?
Reimagining the economics of the exchange
At Index Exchange, we believe a sustainable ecosystem depends on aligned incentives. We only grow if you grow—full stop. This principle guided our development of Transparent Dynamic Take Rates, a feature designed to make auctions more efficient while maintaining full visibility into how value is shared.
Our model optimises for media owners’ revenue and fill first. We designed it to be revenue-neutral—sometimes even revenue-negative—for Index. When the system lowers our take rate, it’s to help you win more auctions. When it raises it, it’s only to balance the economics over time. It’s not about squeezing extra dollars from media owners; it’s about giving you back the value that’s been leaking out of programmatic auctions.
Here’s how it works:
- If a buyer’s bid is underpriced, we temporarily reduce our take rate to boost it to a competitive price and help the bid clear.
- In auctions with competitive bids where the media owner is more assured of bids clearing, we might slightly increase our take rate to balance overall economics.
- Publisher floors are always respected, and the highest bid will always win, ensuring any impression represents the highest bid price available across all demand for each auction.
- Index respects the contracted take rate across the billing period. Because of the way we built this feature, this means media owners receive their contracted take rate, or even slightly more, within a given billing cycle.
And, as always, every impression is fully auditable through our Client Audit Logs and reporting, ensuring transparency at every step.
Proof in practice: the Guardian
The Guardian—a global publisher with a deep commitment to transparency and efficiency in its programmatic business—wanted to explore whether a more flexible, auditable pricing model could improve win rates and yield without disrupting their existing setup or floor strategy.
The publisher joined a select group of media owners who piloted this feature. The Guardian saw immediate results after implementing Transparent Dynamic Take Rates, proving that transparency and performance don’t have to be trade-offs:
- 4% Increase in revenue
- 45% More impressions served
- Achieved without lowering floors or changing their publisher setup
“The dynamic take rate model made it easy to understand how value was being exchanged. It’s made a real difference to how we think about monetisation and working with partners,” said Dave Strauss, vice president of revenue operations and strategy at the Guardian.
After seeing success across the pilot test group, we began rolling out Transparent Dynamic Take Rates to all media owners.
Why this matters now
Signal loss, fluctuating demand, and the dominance of walled gardens make every percentage point of efficiency count. Static take rates can limit efficiency, blocking valuable bids and creating missed revenue opportunities.
A dynamic model can optimise yield and unlock incremental value through intelligent pricing. The key is ensuring the pricing model is designed to drive higher revenue for you—not extract margin from you—while providing you full transparency and control.
Transparent Dynamic Take Rates do just that. For buyers, this means more opportunities to win relevant impressions. For media owners, it means higher yield and more predictable revenue. It represents a shift toward a more accountable and sustainable ecosystem.
At Index, Transparent Dynamic Take Rates embody a commitment to transparency that scales with performance, not profit. When media owners win, the open internet wins.
Have questions about what Transparent Dynamic Take Rates can do for your business? Get in touch.
