Supply-Chain Transparency
This track is where the Bidcliq Academy audit engine IS the lab. You do not simulate these concepts, you run them on real domains. Read an ads.txt line, join it to an SSP sellers.json, walk a schain, then read the quality-vs-quantity score the engine produces and reason about Supply Path Optimization. The fastest route to the product's headline use case.
What do L1–L5 mean?depth, beginner → expert
Each module carries a depth band. A range like L3–L4 means it spans two.
- Foundations
- Vocabulary and the big picture. No prior ad-tech assumed.
- Practitioner
- The hands-on basics you use day to day.
- Intermediate
- Real configuration and the trade-offs behind it.
- Advanced
- Optimization, edge cases, and running at scale.
- Expert
- Architecture and deep specialization.
This track is the live lab.
The Bidcliq Academy audit engine runs every concept here on real domains. You do not simulate ads.txt, sellers.json, schain, or the quality score. You run them.
Prereqs: A1
Objectives- Read an ads.txt line: <SSP domain>, <publisher account ID>, <DIRECT|RESELLER>, [cert authority ID].
- Explain its purpose and distinguish ads.txt (web) from app-ads.txt (apps).
- Know the variables OWNERDOMAIN, MANAGERDOMAIN, SUBDOMAIN, and CONTACT.
Key conceptsads.txt record formatDIRECT vs RESELLERCertification authority ID (TAG-ID)OWNERDOMAIN / MANAGERDOMAIN / SUBDOMAIN / CONTACT variablesRead the lesson →AssessmentParse 10 lines by hand and flag the malformed ones.
Prereqs: C1
Objectives- Read a sellers.json entry: seller_id, seller_type (PUBLISHER / INTERMEDIARY / BOTH), name, domain, is_confidential, is_passthrough.
- Explain reciprocity with ads.txt.
Key conceptssellers.json entry fieldsseller_type (PUBLISHER / INTERMEDIARY / BOTH)is_confidential and is_passthroughReciprocity: an ads.txt account ID must appear as a seller_idRead the lesson →AssessmentGiven an ads.txt line and the SSP's sellers.json, determine authorized vs unauthorized and whether the type agrees.
Prereqs: C2
Objectives- Explain the OpenRTB schain object: ordered nodes (asi, sid, hp) and the complete flag.
- Explain how schain plus sellers.json let a DSP audit the full path.
- Explain why more hops means more opacity and why ads.txt alone gives only a minimum depth.
Key conceptsschain nodes (asi, sid, hp)complete = 0 as a buy-side red flagHop depth and opacityads.txt gives a minimum hop count, schain is the runtime proofRead the lesson →AssessmentWalk a three-node schain back to each sellers.json entry and explain why complete=0 is a buy-side red flag.
Prereqs: C1, C2, C3
Objectives- Interpret quality vs quantity.
- Read the six quality components: authorized sellers, direct vs reseller, account-type integrity, transparency, declaration density, and supply-path simplicity, plus the quantity axis.
- Explain NEUTRAL-0.5 handling and penalties.
Key conceptsQuality vs quantity axesThe six quality componentsThe quantity / bloat axisNEUTRAL-0.5 handling and penaltiesRead the lesson →AssessmentGiven a raw metrics dump, predict the grade and quadrant and explain which lever most improves the score.
Prereqs: C4, A4
Objectives- Define SPO from both the buy side and the sell side.
- Explain path consolidation and why more SSPs, resellers, and hops is not strictly better.
- Reason about duplicate supply paths.
Key conceptsSupply Path Optimization (buy-side and sell-side)Path consolidationDuplicate supply pathsQuality vs quantity as a strategyRead the lesson →AssessmentBuild an SPO recommendation for a real publisher from its Bidcliq Academy audit: keep, prune, or investigate, each backed by the metric.
Complete this track
Five questions drawn from this track. Get 4 right to mark the whole track done.
1.A publisher’s ads.txt file declares…
2.In an ads.txt record, “DIRECT” means…
3.What does an SSP’s sellers.json let a buyer do?
4.An ads.txt line says RESELLER, but the SSP’s sellers.json lists that seller_id as a PUBLISHER. That is a…
5.Supply Path Optimization (SPO) means preferring…