Alpha limitations and notes: To see the widget, you must be participating in the Buying Guidance alpha.
The Buying Guidance widget provides real-time insights into the inventory and pricing that your deal
A private auction that allows media owners to offer specific inventory directly to selected buyers identified by a deal ID. Terms are negotiated and are agreed upon before the auction occurs. is likely to receive before you finalize it. As you adjust your targeting, the widget returns key metrics calculated from the last seven days of Index Exchange (Index) auction data.
| Metric | What it means | How it's calculated |
|---|---|---|
Daily impression opportunities | The approximate number of ad requests per day that match your targeting. | A 5-day average of historical slot requests, extrapolated from a sampled dataset. |
The typical cost that buyers paid for those requests in USD. | Historical ad spend ÷ impressions over the same 5-day window. |
Using this insight, Marketplace Partners The owner of an Index Marketplace that curates their media solutions within the Index Marketplace and packages these offerings to bring incremental demand to media owners. For example, a Marketplace Partner could be a media agency, a data provider, or retail media network. can launch deals with optimal reach and pricing right from the start, eliminating the need for trial-and-error adjustments after the deal goes live.
To preview impressions and pricing while creating a Marketplace Package, complete the following steps:
Enter your email address and password to log in to the Index UI at app.indexexchange.com.
If you have more than one account, select the account that you want to access.
- Click Deals.
Click Create Deal and select Marketplace Package.
Enter the Name, Deal ID, DSP
Demand-Side Platform (DSP). A software platform that automates bidding decisions in real-time and efficiently connects buyers and audiences through an ad exchange or SSP. Also known as a buy-side platform., dates, and any other required deal details. For detailed instructions on how to create a Marketplace Package, see Create a Marketplace Package.In the Targeting section, select at least one of the supported targeting dimensions.
- The following targeting dimensions are not supported and won't be considered in the Buying Guidance estimates:
- Click-through rate (CTR) CTR measures the percentage of times an ad was clicked.
- Custom key values
- Deals with publishers
- Networks and channels
- Segments
- Video completion rate The percentage of video advertisements that play to completion. Also known as view through rate and video completion rate. (VCR)
- Video player width, height, and aspect ratios
- Zip and postal codes
- For domain targeting, only top-level domains (for example, website.com) are supported. If you add a sub-domain (for example, blog.website.com), the Buying Guidance estimates will show a zero. Domains that contain a URL path (for example, website.com/about-us) are not a supported targeting option in Marketplace Packages and will also show a zero in the Buying Guidance widget if added. For more information about domain targeting, see How domain targeting works.
When you are finished adding your targeting, in the Buying Guidance widget, review the estimated Daily impression opportunities, Price Guidance in CPM, and Avails by CPM chart.
Optionally, refine your targeting to update the numbers.
When you are satisfied with the estimated impression opportunities and average CPM, click CREATE to finalize the Marketplace Package.
Note:
How to interpret the Buying Guidance price curve
The Buying Guidance widget's Avails by CPM chart provides a visual estimation of how bid price affects the impression opportunities available when specific targeting keys are applied.
This chart kelps you estimate the CPM needed to achieve your desired level of scale.
| Axis | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
X | CPM (USD) | The bid price in USD. |
Y | % of total avails | The estimated percentage of impression opportunities available at that CPM. |
In the chart, each point on the curve represents the estimated impression opportunity availability at a specific bid price. In general, increasing bid price increases impression opportunity availability, and decreasing bid price reduces impression opportunity availability.
At each point on the curve, impressions are estimated as a percentage of Daily impression opportunities.
Estimated impressions = % of total avails * Daily impression opportunities
For example, if Daily impression opportunities is 1,000,000, and the percentage of available impression opportunities at a given CPM is 50%, then the estimated number of impressions is 500,000.
How sampling impacts Avails by CPM
The Buying Guidance widget uses sampled slot request An ad request for a potential impression. data to generate estimates. The impact of sampling depends on the volume of available inventory. At high volumes, the sampling impact is minimal and estimates are more stable. At low volumes, the sampling impact is higher and estimates show more variability.
Greater variability may occur when:
- Targeting is very specific, which leads to a smaller dataset.
- Targeting using high-cardinality dimensions (where there are many unique values within each field, for example, specific publishers or categories).
More granular targeting means less data, which leads to more variability in the estimates.
Note: Slot request data is sampled, but impression data used in pricing calculations is not sampled.
For more information, see How Index uses stratified sampling in reporting.
Tips for interpreting the numbers and troubleshooting
Analyze the chart: Using the Avails by CPM chart can help you understand how pricing changes affect potential delivery before finalizing your deal.
Seek a balance: A very low CPM with very high avails might indicate low-value inventory. Conversely, a very high CPM with very low avails could limit your scale.
Refine your filters: Begin with broad settings, then gradually add more specific dimensions to identify which filter has the most significant impact.
Reduce sampling variability: Since high-cardinality targeting options may increase variability, try limiting high-cardinality targeting in a deal.
Frequently asked questions
How up-to-date are the estimates?
Data is refreshed daily and represents the previous five calendar days.
Are the numbers guaranteed?
No. They are directional estimates with a target ±15 % accuracy margin. Actual delivery depends on live auction dynamics.
How accurate is the Avails by CPM chart?
The chart is based on historical data and is directional. Accuracy may vary depending on targeting specificity and sampling, particularly at lower volumes of available inventory.
Can I export the data?
Not from the widget. API access for programmatic use may be coming in the future.
Why don't I see the widget?
Contact your Index Representative to make sure you are part of the alpha program.
