What is a seat ID?
A seat ID is a unique identifier assigned to a buyer's account, or seat, on a demand-side platform or ad exchange. It tells sellers exactly which buyer is bidding. Publishers and SSPs use seat IDs to target private deals to specific buyers, so only that buyer can access the agreed inventory and pricing.
A seat is essentially your licensed access to a DSP. The seat ID is how the rest of the supply chain recognizes it.
How seat IDs work
Each DSP can host many buyers, such as agencies, brands and trading desks. Each buyer account gets its own identifier, and that ID travels with bids through the supply chain.
Buyer shares the seat ID: when negotiating a private marketplace or programmatic guaranteed deal, the buyer gives the publisher its DSP name and seat ID.
Seller creates the deal: in its SSP, the publisher sets up the deal and targets it to that DSP and seat.
Deal ID is issued: the SSP generates a deal ID, which the buyer adds to its campaign in the DSP.
Bids are matched: when an eligible impression comes up, the bid request carries the deal ID, and only bids from the targeted seat are accepted for that deal.
Seat IDs can have different names depending on the platform, such as buyer ID, member ID, partner ID or advertiser ID. What matters is giving the seller the identifier their SSP expects for your DSP.
Why seat IDs matter
Access to private deals: without a seat ID, a publisher cannot target a deal to you, so you cannot access PMP or guaranteed inventory.
Control and accountability: sellers know who is buying their inventory, which helps with pricing, brand rules and reporting.
Transparency: having your own seat, rather than buying through someone else's pooled account, gives you clearer data, pricing and ownership of campaign history.
Troubleshooting: many deal issues come down to the wrong seat ID being targeted. Checking it is one of the first steps when a deal does not deliver.
Seat ID vs deal ID
A seat ID identifies the buyer. A deal ID identifies the agreement. The seat ID says who is allowed to bid; the deal ID says which inventory, price and terms apply. A single seat can hold many deal IDs from different publishers, and a single publisher can target the same deal to several seats. Both are needed for most private deals: the seller targets the deal to your seat, and you target your campaign to the deal ID.
Seat IDs with AdGeeks
AdGeeks gives brands and agencies seat-level access to DV360, Amazon DSP and Adform, so publishers can target deals to a known seat and you get clear reporting. Our traders handle seat details, deal setup and troubleshooting with sellers as part of a managed service on any DSP we run. To get started, request access.
