Know Your Customer
Verification processes used to confirm the identity and legitimacy of advertisers, increasingly required by platforms and regulations.
What Know Your Customer means
Know Your Customer (KYC) processes in advertising involve verifying the identity, legitimacy, and compliance status of advertisers before allowing them to access advertising services. This concept, borrowed from financial services regulation, has become increasingly important in digital advertising as platforms face regulatory pressure to prevent misuse of their ad systems. Google's advertiser verification program, Meta's business verification, and EU DSA requirements for advertiser identity transparency all represent KYC implementations. KYC processes typically involve government ID verification, business registration validation, website ownership confirmation, and in some cases, industry-specific certification (e.g., LegitScript for healthcare advertisers). Incomplete or failed KYC verification can prevent advertisers from running certain ad types or operating in specific regions.
Related terms
Advertiser Identity Verification
The process by which ad platforms verify the identity and legitimacy of advertisers before allowing them to run ads.
Digital Services Act
An EU regulation imposing transparency, content moderation, and advertising rules on online platforms and search engines.
Business Manager
A platform's centralized hub for managing ad accounts, pages, users, and business assets with permissions and security controls.