Brandwave

Digital ad buying platforms:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, The Trade Desk was the most searched among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, with an estimated 62K branded searches and 63.4% estimated Share of Search within this set. Worldwide · English terms: these are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. The Trade Desk63.4%
  2. StackAdapt23.1%
  3. AdRoll5.9%
  4. Quantcast5.6%
  5. Basis Technologies2%

Follow digital ad buying platforms and get free monthly updates on what changed

By continuing you'll get index updates and occasional product news from Brandwave. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy

Track your brand in this set →

Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare platforms for planning, buying, and optimizing programmatic digital advertising. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for The Trade Desk, StackAdapt, AdRoll, Quantcast, Basis Technologies. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthThe Trade DeskStackAdaptAdRollQuantcastBasis Technologies
Oct 202556.8%21%9.5%7.6%5.1%
Nov 202557.8%21.3%9.7%7.7%3.4%
Dec 202558%21.3%9.6%7.7%3.5%
Jan 202660.4%22.3%8.2%6.6%2.4%
Feb 202662.9%18.9%8.7%6.8%2.5%
Mar 202665.2%19.5%7.4%5.8%2.2%
Apr 202657.1%25.1%7.7%7.4%2.8%
May 202658.7%25.2%6.4%7.4%2.2%
Jun 202658.8%25.2%6.4%7.5%2.2%
Jul 202658%24.5%7.7%7.3%2.6%
Aug 202663.4%23.1%5.9%5.6%2%
Sep 2026—————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.The Trade Desk

    63.4%

    held 1st · 62K estimated branded searches · +41.4% vs prior month · +5.4 points

  2. 2.StackAdapt

    23.1%

    held 2nd · 22.6K estimated branded searches · +22.2% vs prior month · -1.3 points

  3. 3.AdRoll

    5.9%

    held 3rd · 5.8K estimated branded searches · -0.86% vs prior month · -1.8 points

  4. 4.Quantcast

    5.6%

    held 4th · 5.5K estimated branded searches · -0.73% vs prior month · -1.7 points

  5. 5.Basis Technologies

    2%

    held 5th · 2K estimated branded searches · +1% vs prior month · -0.6 points

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, The Trade Desk was the most searched among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, with an estimated 62K branded searches and 63.4% estimated Share of Search within this set. StackAdapt is in 2nd place, 40.3 percentage points behind at 23.1% Share of Search.

Global digital ad buying platforms, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
The Trade Desk56.8% → 63.4%65.2%Mar 202656.8%Oct 20251st
StackAdapt21% → 23.1%25.2%May 202618.9%Feb 20262nd
AdRoll9.5% → 5.9%9.7%Nov 20255.9%Aug 20263rd
Quantcast7.6% → 5.6%7.7%Nov 20255.6%Aug 20264th
Basis Technologies5.1% → 2%5.1%Oct 20252%Aug 20265th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, The Trade Desk’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide increased from 56.8% to 63.4%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, StackAdapt’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide increased from 21% to 23.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, AdRoll’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide decreased from 9.5% to 5.9%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Quantcast’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide decreased from 7.6% to 5.6%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Basis Technologies’ estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide decreased from 5.1% to 2%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, The Trade Desk’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide peaked at 65.2% in March 2026 and was lowest at 56.8% in October 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, StackAdapt’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide peaked at 25.2% in May 2026 and was lowest at 18.9% in February 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, AdRoll’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide peaked at 9.7% in November 2025 and was lowest at 5.9% in August 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Quantcast’s estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide peaked at 7.7% in November 2025 and was lowest at 5.6% in August 2026.

How did search popularity change for digital ad buying platforms worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, The Trade Desk gained estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, from 58% to 63.4%.

  2. In August 2026, AdRoll lost estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, from 7.7% to 5.9%.

  3. In August 2026, Quantcast lost estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, from 7.3% to 5.6%.

  4. In August 2026, StackAdapt lost estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, from 24.5% to 23.1%.

  5. In August 2026, Basis Technologies lost estimated Share of Search among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, from 2.6% to 2%.

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Creator with pink hair and a pink jacket

See your own brand in this picture

Brandwave tracks your branded demand next to your campaigns, spend and outcomes, so you can see what moved your numbers, not just that they moved.

Start your marketing record