Results

Here's what happens when you see the full picture

Real findings from real audits. Client details are anonymized, but the numbers are exact. This is what independent analysis uncovers.

Case Study

Mid-sized Listings Publisher

500M monthly ad requests · Europe

€27,000 Annual revenue recovered

Problem Found

First Look take rate was set at 5.5%—significantly above the 4% best practice threshold. This meant Google was capturing more margin than necessary on preferred deals, reducing net revenue to the publisher.

Root Cause

The original GAM setup was done by the publisher's ad network, who had no incentive to optimize First Look settings. The configuration had remained unchanged for 3+ years despite multiple account reviews.

Action Taken

  • Adjusted First Look floor pricing to reduce take rate to 3.8%
  • Added two missing Open Bidding partners that competed well in this vertical
  • Rebalanced timeout settings to give additional bidders adequate response time

Result

€27,000 in annual revenue recovered through pricing optimization alone. Additional uplift from new demand partners tracked at 4% overall revenue increase.

Case Study

News & Entertainment Network

1.2Bn monthly ad requests · Multi-property

15% Fill rate increase
8% CPM improvement

Problem Found

Header bidding timeouts were configured too aggressively at 1,000ms, causing bid abandonment from slower (but often higher-paying) demand partners. Server-side bidding wasn't enabled, forcing all auction activity to the client.

Root Cause

Original timeout settings were optimized for Core Web Vitals during a period of aggressive Google ranking signals. The pendulum had swung too far toward speed, sacrificing revenue. No one had revisited the tradeoff.

Action Taken

  • Rebalanced client-side timeout to 1,500ms with failsafe at 2,000ms
  • Implemented Prebid Server for slower demand partners
  • Added bid caching for returning visitors
  • Tuned per-bidder timeouts based on historical response data

Result

Fill rate increased 15% with minimal Core Web Vitals impact. Average winning bid CPM improved 8% as more demand competed in each auction.

Case Study

Regional Media Group

€50M+ annual revenue · Multiple properties

3 Hidden margin issues found
€180K Annual margin recovered

Problem Found

Three demand partners were taking undisclosed margin that wasn't reflected in original contracts. Revenue reports showed one number; actual payouts were consistently 8-12% lower.

Root Cause

Contract terms had been renegotiated by the partners' account managers without updating the internal documentation. Finance reconciled against reports, not contracts. No one was checking the delta.

Action Taken

  • Conducted line-by-line revenue reconciliation for trailing 12 months
  • Documented all contractual vs. actual margin discrepancies
  • Supported renegotiation discussions with specific evidence
  • Recommended contract review process for ongoing monitoring

Result

Renegotiated terms with all three partners, recovering €180K in annual margin. Established quarterly reconciliation process to prevent recurrence.

Case Study

E-commerce Publisher

200M monthly ad requests · GDPR zone

€0 Compliance risk exposure

Problem Found

Consent Management Platform was misconfigured—TCF consent strings were being passed to demand partners before user interaction, defaulting to "consent granted." This exposed the publisher to significant GDPR liability.

Root Cause

CMP had been implemented by a third-party developer who followed vendor documentation but didn't understand TCF requirements. No one had tested the consent flow end-to-end.

Action Taken

  • Reconfigured CMP to require explicit user consent before ad loading
  • Fixed TCF string generation to accurately reflect user choices
  • Implemented consent signal validation in Prebid.js
  • Added monitoring for consent rate tracking

Result

Fixed compliance gap before any regulatory action. Consent rates settled at 72% (industry standard for the region). Short-term revenue dip of ~5% recovered within 6 weeks through improved targeting quality.

Testimonials

What Clients Say

"He found problems we didn't know we had. The audit paid for itself in the first month."

CEO, Digital Media Company

"Finally, someone who explains what's actually happening with our ads—without trying to sell us something."

Head of Monetization, News Publisher

"The level of detail in the audit was exceptional. We implemented 12 of 15 recommendations within a month."

CTO, E-commerce Platform

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