What is sell-through rate for ad inventory?
How publishers measure sell-through rate, how it differs from fill rate, and what a low or very high sell-through rate tells your sales team.
Written by Samhub with the help of AI·Updated 13 Oct 2026·3 min readSell-through rate is the share of your available ad inventory that was actually sold in a period. For publishers it usually refers to direct-sold inventory, such as campaigns booked by your own sales team.
In retail, sell-through rate means the share of stock sold. For publishers the idea is the same, but the stock is ad impressions.
How to calculate sell-through rate
Sell-through rate = sold impressions ÷ available impressions × 100
Example: 6,000,000 ÷ 8,000,000 × 100 = 75%
Illustrative numbers. Use the same period and the same inventory for both figures.
Sell-through rate vs fill rate
| Sell-through rate | Fill rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Measures | Inventory sold, usually direct | Ad requests that returned an ad |
| Answers | How well did we sell our inventory? | How much demand reached each request? |
| Owned by | The sales team | Ad ops and programmatic |
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What the number tells you
Low sell-through
Inventory is left for the open auction at lower prices. Sales may need better audiences or packages to sell.
High sell-through
Good, but close to 100% for long periods can mean your prices are too low.
Uneven sell-through
Some sections or audiences sell out while others go unsold. Package the slow inventory with audiences buyers ask for.
How to raise sell-through
Sell audiences, not placements. When reps can show an advertiser who they will reach and prove the result afterwards, more inventory sells directly, and at a better price than the open auction.
More ad sales with data at Stampen Media, using Samhub.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single benchmark. Track it over time per section and format, and look at price at the same time. High sell-through at a low price is not a win.
No. Sell-through rate measures sold inventory, usually direct. Fill rate measures how many ad requests got an ad from any source.
Usually not. It goes to programmatic demand, often at a lower price, or to house ads.
Weekly for planning and monthly for reporting, and ahead of high-demand periods such as the fourth quarter.
Related terms
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