SSP Request Caps & Excess Inventory Fees: Take Control of Your Request Volume
Some SSPs now set request-volume limits for each publisher and can charge for traffic above them. DJAX Technologies finds where your extra requests come from, removes the waste, and gives you per-partner volume reporting and traffic controls, so you can act before a cap is reached instead of after a warning email.
SSPs now limit what they will accept.
Some SSPs set request-volume limits, which may be defined daily but assessed over a longer period. Traffic above a limit can carry an excess inventory fee, low-quality impressions can carry a separate fee, and repeated overages can lead to paused monetisation or blocked domains.
The same policies usually require one ad call per impression opportunity, ban repeat calls at lower floors, and limit refreshes per session. Many publishers learn about the cap only when the warning arrives, because there is no view of how close they are.
Check each partner's current policy and notice to confirm how its cap is measured. Policies differ between SSPs and change often.
Most excess volume starts in your own setup.
These are the usual sources, and the change that removes each one.
| Source | What happens | What we change |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate ad calls | More than one request is sent for the same impression, often from overlapping wrappers or tags. | One call per impression, checked across Prebid, the ad server and any extra tags. |
| Floor waterfalls | The same impression is offered again at lower floors after a no-bid. | A single auction with floors passed to bidders once. |
| Aggressive refresh | Slots refresh on timers whether or not anyone is viewing them. | Refresh tied to viewability and capped per session. |
| Every bidder on every slot | All partners receive all placements, including ones they rarely buy. | Bidders mapped per placement, format and geo. |
| Low-value inventory | Placements and pages that almost never sell still go out to every SSP. | Rules that hold back placements with little demand. |
| Invalid traffic | Bots and duplicate traffic reach SSPs and get flagged as low quality. | IVT scoring that filters before requests go out. |
| No volume visibility | There is no count of requests and impressions per partner. | Reporting per partner, daily and month to date, with alerts as you near a cap. |
Fewer wasted requests. More visibility. Your rules.
Most publishers start with the audit. The other parts are added when the audit shows they are needed.
Prebid and Wrapper Request Audit
A review of your Prebid.js, Prebid Server, Google Ad Manager and ad server setup that finds every source of extra requests, then fixes them with you.
What we deliver
- Duplicate calls and overlapping wrappers
- Floor waterfalls and repeat calls
- Refresh logic and refreshes per session
- Bidder-to-placement mapping and timeouts
- A prioritised fix list, then the fixes made with your team
For your tech team
A clear list of what sends extra traffic and the configuration change that removes it, ranked by how much volume it saves.
For the business
The fastest way to bring request volume down without losing the demand that actually buys.
Per-Partner Volume Reporting and Cap Alerts
Counts of requests, bids, wins and impressions for each demand partner, daily and month to date, by site and placement, with alerts before a cap is reached.
Talk to DJAX about volume reporting →What we deliver
- Requests, bids, wins and impressions per partner, daily and month to date
- Breakdown by site, placement, format and geo
- Your own cap per partner, on the same period the partner measures, with alerts as you approach it
- Trend views to spot sudden jumps
- CSV export for finance and partner reviews
For your tech team
Built from your ad server and Prebid Server logs, so the numbers come from your own stack rather than a partner dashboard.
For the business
See an overage coming and fix it before it turns into a fee or a paused account.
Per-Partner Traffic Rules and QPS Controls
Set how much traffic each demand partner receives, and which inventory it sees, from an admin panel instead of code.
Talk to DJAX about traffic rules →What we deliver
- QPS and volume limits per demand partner
- Rules by site, placement, format, device and geo
- Partner-specific allow and block lists for placements
- Changes made in the admin panel, with a change history
- Before-and-after reporting for every rule
For your tech team
Rules sit in your ad server or Prebid Server layer and apply before a request leaves your stack.
For the business
Each partner gets the traffic it buys, and revenue is protected because every rule is measured.
Traffic Shaping by Bid Rate
Send each partner the requests it is likely to bid on, based on its past bid rates for similar inventory.
Talk to DJAX about traffic shaping →What we deliver
- Bid-rate history per partner and inventory type
- Rules that skip requests a partner rarely bids on
- Gradual rollout on a slice of traffic
- Revenue and fill monitored during rollout
- Optional machine-learning scoring later
For your tech team
Starts rule-based from your own bid history, so it is easy to inspect and roll back.
For the business
Lower request volume with the bids that matter kept in the auction.
Invalid Traffic Filtering Before the Auction
Score traffic for bots, duplicates and anomalies before requests reach your demand partners, using the DJAX IVT engine.
Talk to DJAX about IVT filtering →What we deliver
- Rules for IP reputation, bot user agents, velocity and duplicates
- Machine-learning anomaly scoring
- Clean, suspicious or blocked verdicts
- Thresholds tuned to your traffic
- Reporting on what was filtered and why
For your tech team
Uses data your ad server already has and is tuned by configuration, not code.
For the business
Fewer low-quality impressions reaching SSPs, and cleaner numbers for every partner.
More Demand, Less Dependence on One SSP
Spread revenue across more partners through Prebid, Prebid Server and direct OpenRTB connections, on infrastructure you control.
Talk to DJAX about adding demand →What we deliver
- Prebid Server set up and connected to your ad server
- New SSP and DSP partners added through Prebid or OpenRTB
- Unified auction with direct campaigns
- Deployable DJAX ad server or SSP when you want to own the stack
- Migration plan if you move from a hosted setup
For your tech team
Bidders, timeouts and partner settings managed in the admin panel, with logs of what each partner returned.
For the business
A cap at one partner matters less when demand is spread across several.
Start with an SSP Request Volume Review.
A fixed-scope review that turns a cap warning into a clear fix list.
Current setup
We review your ad server, Prebid.js or Prebid Server, bidders, refresh logic, floors and any partner notices you have received.
Policy check
We check one call per impression, repeat calls, refreshes per session and other common SSP rules.
Volume baseline
We measure requests, bids and impressions per partner from the data available, and show where data is missing.
Fix list and options
You get the wasted requests ranked by size, the configuration fixes, and whether reporting or traffic rules are worth adding.
Priced for the fix, not your revenue.
Fixed scope, quoted up front
The review is quoted before it starts. No open-ended hourly billing.
Not a revenue share
You pay for the work, not a percentage of your revenue.
Your stack, your data
Reports and rules run on your own ad server and Prebid setup. Nothing locks you in.
Start small
Most publishers start with configuration fixes. Infrastructure comes only when the numbers justify it.
Running Revive Adserver?
Ready-made plugins for header bidding, RTB pricing intelligence and IVT detection are available with published prices in our Revive plugin store. Visit the Revive plugin store →
About SSP caps and fees
Caps, fees and traffic policies are set by each SSP under its own terms. DJAX does not set, negotiate or remove them, and is not affiliated with any SSP. We help you send compliant, efficient traffic and see your own volumes, so you can act before a limit is reached. Results depend on your traffic, demand partners and current setup.
Common questions
Will this remove SSP fees or caps?
No. Each SSP sets its own caps and fees. What we change is what you send and how clearly you can see it, so you stay within limits and keep the traffic that sells.
Do I need to replace my ad server?
Usually not. Most of the gains come from configuration changes in your existing Prebid and ad server setup. A new ad server or SSP is only an option if you want to own more of the stack.
Does sending fewer requests reduce revenue?
It can, if the wrong traffic is cut. That is why we rank changes by volume saved, roll them out gradually and measure revenue and fill before and after each one.
How can I tell how close I am to a cap?
Partners do not always publish caps, and some measure them over a longer period than a day. We count requests and impressions per partner from your own logs, daily and month to date, and set alerts at the limits in each partner's policy or notice.
Do you work with Prebid.js and Google Ad Manager?
Yes. We work with Prebid.js, Prebid Server, Google Ad Manager and the DJAX and Revive ad servers.
We received a warning from an SSP. Where do we start?
Send us the notice and a short description of your setup through the contact form. We will reply with what we would check first.
How is this priced?
The review has a fixed scope and quote agreed before work starts. Any follow-on work is quoted separately, and you pay for the work, not a share of revenue.
Got a cap warning, or want to avoid one?
Tell us about your setup and your demand partners. We will reply with what we would check first.