What is Authorized Digital Sellers, or ads.txt? How do I Create an ads.txt file for My Website?

​What is ads.txt and how to Implement It?

An IAB Tech Lab project called Authorized Digital Sellers, or ads.txt, helps to verify that your digital ad inventory is only sold through sellers (like AdSense) whom you've identified as authorized. You have more control over who can sell advertisements on your site when you create your own ads.txt file, and it also helps to stop fake inventory from being shown to advertisers.

Ads.txt use is not required, although it is strongly advised. It can aid purchasers in spotting fake goods and increase the amount of advertising money that would have otherwise gone to the fake goods.

How do I resolve problems with my AdSense account's ads.txt?

You will get a warning in your AdSense account if there is a problem with the ads.txt file on your website. Follow the necessary measures listed below to resolve the problem in order to avoid any impact on your revenue.

Please take note that it can take a few days for your changes to appear in AdSense. It could take up to a month if your website doesn't receive many ad requests. You can check your ads.txt status for updates after making changes.

​How do I create an ads.txt file for my website?

You can make an ads.txt file if your website doesn't already have one. Your publisher ID must be present and properly formed for your ads.txt file to be accepted for verification. The procedures for creating an ads.txt file are listed below.

1. Use a plain text editor, such as Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac), to create a text (.txt) file.
2. Open your AdSense account and log in.
3. Click Fix now if there is an alert on your homepage. Alternatively, select Sites and then select the website that displays a "Unauthorized" ads.txt status.
4. Select Copy.
5. In each of your ads.txt files, paste the line. The following should now appear in your ads.txt file, where pub-0000000000000000 is your unique publisher ID:

google.com, pub-0000000000000000, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

6. Remember to include that network in your ads.txt file if you use another ad network. For their ads.txt information, get in touch with your ad network. 

7. Add your ads.txt file to your website's root directory. The directory or folder that comes after the top-level domain (example.com/ads.txt) is the root directory of a website.

Check that you can successfully view your file's content when you reach the ads.txt URL (https://example.com/ads.txt) in your web browser to ensure that you published your file correctly. If you can view the file in your web browser, there's a good chance AdSense will locate it.

How can I add my publisher ID to an ads.txt file?

You can copy your publisher ID from your account and add it to your ads.txt file if it's missing from your file. The procedures for adding your publisher ID to your ads.txt file are listed below.

1. Open your AdSense account and log in.
2. Click Fix now if there is an alert on your homepage. If not, click Sites and then select the website's ads.txt status of "Unauthorized".
3. Select Copy.
4. In each of your ads.txt files, paste the line.
The following should now appear in your ads.txt file, where pub-0000000000000000 is your unique publisher ID:

google.com, pub-0000000000000000, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Note: In order to be verified, your ads.txt file must follow the formatting guidelines provided by the IAB Tech Lab.

​How can I see if my ads.txt status has changed?

You can ask AdSense to recheck your ads.txt file if you've made changes to it but they haven't yet appeared in your account.

1. Open your AdSense account and log in.
2. Choose Sites.
3. To check for updates, click the website you want to visit.
4. Click Check for updates. Your "Sites" page's ads.txt status has been updated.