Understanding ATS Analytics in Prebid: A Publisher’s Guide to Setup and Best Practices

Publishers often struggle to measure and optimize the value of authenticated audiences in header bidding setups. With more demand partners requiring first-party data solutions, efficient analytics for these workflows are increasingly vital.

LiveRamp’s ATS Analytics for Prebid provides a straightforward, privacy-focused way to track authenticated traffic and campaign effectiveness. This article breaks down how it works, why it matters, and practical integration steps for publisher ad ops and monetization teams.

What Is ATS Analytics and Why Should Publishers Care?

ATS Analytics is LiveRamp’s analytics adapter for Prebid, purpose-built to monitor and analyze the performance of authenticated audiences across header bidding auctions. By offering granular reporting on the use of first-party identifiers, publishers can directly measure how authentication impacts demand, pricing, and fill rates.

Solving a Key Measurement Gap

In the push towards cookieless monetization, traditional analytics often lack visibility into the authenticated user’s journey in programmatic auctions. ATS Analytics fills this gap by providing publishers with detailed metrics tied to authenticated traffic, making it easier to demonstrate and extract value from these audiences.

How ATS Analytics Works in a Prebid Header Bidding Flow

ATS Analytics is enabled as a provider in your Prebid.js setup. It requires the use of a Placement ID (pid), assigned by LiveRamp after a quick registration. This pid acts as a unique identifier for your site or property, allowing LiveRamp to segment analytics cleanly and securely.

Step-by-Step Example for Implementation

1. Register with LiveRamp to obtain your Placement ID.
2. Integrate the ATS Analytics adapter in your Prebid.js setup by adding the following configuration:

pbjs.que.push(function () {
pbjs.enableAnalytics([{
provider: “atsAnalytics”,
options: {
pid: “YOUR_PLACEMENT_ID”
}
}])
});

3. Redeploy Prebid.js.
4. Monitor analytics dashboards in your LiveRamp Console.

Integration with GAM and Other Ad Servers

ATS Analytics does not disrupt standard interactions between Prebid.js and ad servers like Google Ad Manager. Once enabled, it collects data passively about authenticated users, auction outcomes, and performance signals—providing actionable insights without changing auction logic or delivery.

Common Pitfalls and Ways to Avoid Them

Getting the most out of ATS Analytics depends not just on technical setup, but on following good practices around registration, identifier management, and data usage.

Pitfall: Incorrect or Missing Placement ID

Failure to use the correct Placement ID will result in either missing analytics or pooled, inaccurate data. Always validate the pid before deployment and keep it current during property changes.

Pitfall: Not Reconciling Analytics Data with Other Sources

If ATS Analytics insights are left siloed, publishers may miss actionable opportunities. Integrate findings with your overall header bidding reporting so that monetization and ad ops teams can correlate authentication signals with revenue outcomes.

What this means for publishers

ATS Analytics offers publishers direct, privacy-respecting visibility into how authenticated audience strategies are performing in real time. This means you can optimize identity solution investments, spot emerging opportunities from demand partners, and resolve operational issues faster—without adding friction to your ad stack or auction processes.

Practical takeaway

Publishers looking to leverage first-party data in their monetization strategies should implement ATS Analytics as part of their Prebid.js workflow. The setup is lightweight—the key step is to register with LiveRamp and configure your unique Placement ID.

Teams should monitor the analytics both in the LiveRamp Console and alongside other header bidding data. Pay close attention to fill rates and CPMs for authenticated cohorts, and swiftly address configuration errors to avoid data gaps. As the industry moves further from third-party cookies, robust, unified measurement tools like ATS Analytics will become a necessity, not a luxury.