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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryAdtech & ProgrammaticFill Rate

Adtech & Programmatic

Fill Rate

The percentage of ad requests that are filled with an ad.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Appears in Lesson 4 of Programmatic 101

Short answer

Fill rate is the percentage of ad requests that are successfully filled with an ad, calculated as filled impressions divided by total ad requests. A low fill rate means available inventory is going unsold. Publishers raise fill rates by adding demand partners, adjusting floor prices, or using backfill sources such as ad networks.