As a Marketplace Partner, you can diagnose issues and optimize your Marketplace Package performance across Index Marketplaces by troubleshooting the following areas:
Index Marketplaces: Troubleshoot how your own deals are set up.
Buyers: Work with your Buyers to troubleshoot and manage how their deals are set up with their DSPs.
Index Marketplaces: Troubleshooting your deal setup
Start with the basics
Before investigating further, verify the fundamentals of your deal configuration:
Check deal ID: Confirm that the deal is active and associated with the correct buyer seat ID.
Validate deal delivery: Use the Troubleshooting Tests on the deal's Activity tab to confirm that requests and impressions are being generated. For more information, see View how a specific deal is performing.
Check inventory targeting: Confirm that the deal's targeting (for example, format, geography, content type) aligns with the available supply.
Check Media Owner access: Confirm that the intended publishers, domains, or apps are included in the deal's supply targeting.
Review targeting and setup
If the basics look correct, review your targeting configuration for potential issues:
Avoid over-filtering: Excessive targeting (for example, geography, device, content, audience) can reduce available scale. Start with a basic setup, allocate deal avails, and gradually add targeting. For more information, see Allocating deal avails to balance buying behavior across Media Owners (Beta).
Align formats: Check that the ad format matches the deal setup (for example, OLV versus Display).
Check segment eligibility: Confirm that the segments are eligible for the deal based on region, device, and other criteria.
Review content targeting: Content targeting is best suited for CTV and streaming environments. Avoid applying it to mobile or in-app display deals, where signals may be limited and reduce avails.
For additional guidance, see Targeting tips to improve Marketplace Package performance.
If you have tried the troubleshooting steps above and find that your deal delivery is still limited, contact your Index Representative for further investigation.
Common issues that affect deal targeting
The following table describes common issues and their possible causes:
| Issue | Possible causes |
|---|---|
Limited bid requests | Overly narrow targeting, limited segment scale on inventory, content targeting on non-streaming deals, restrictive performance goals, or non-competitive pricing. |
High bid block rate | Creative duplication, category mismatches, or creative constraints. This is more likely in deals involving sensitive categories such as gambling, tobacco, political, firearms, alcohol, and non-profit. |
Deal not serving | Deal is not live or not approved, or has the incorrect buyer seat ID. |
Summary
To resolve deal setup issues, follow these steps:
Verify deal setup: Review targeting, pricing, and supply configuration.
Review performance metrics: Use the Activity tab to assess bid requests, impressions, win rates, bid rates, and block rates.
Check for blocking conditions: If delivery is limited, contact your Index Representative to check whether publisher or category blocks are in effect.
Next steps: Share the deal ID in the Index Support Portal or with your Index Representative for further investigation.
Troubleshooting deals with your DSPs
You can work with buyers and their DSPs to diagnose issues and optimize deal performance. Sometimes, the way a DSP is set up can affect deal performance more than other settings, such as deal targeting. The following guidance outlines best practices and common troubleshooting steps to improve delivery and performance.
DSP platforms differ in how they prioritize and process deals, so results may vary.
Start with the basics
Before optimizing, confirm that DSP configuration is correctly set up:
Assign deals correctly: Keep Marketplace Packages and open exchange buys in separate line items.
Avoid targeting overlap: If targeting is applied in the Marketplace Package, avoid applying the same targeting in the DSP configuration.
Set proper priority: Some DSPs prioritize open exchange traffic. Try adjusting deal priority or bid multipliers as needed to compete effectively.
Validate creative settings: Make sure the creative type and size match the deal's available inventory.
Optimization tips
Use the following tips to improve deal performance:
Monitor bid rate and win rate: A low bid rate alone is not always an issue. If there are plenty of bid requests and a healthy win rate, the deal can still perform well. Issues usually occur when both bid rate and win rate are low, which may mean targeting is too restrictive or bids are too low. If a deal is not scaling, start by reviewing DSP settings and the bidding strategy before adjusting supply-side settings.
Low bid rate: Often indicates restrictive targeting, pacing controls, inclusion/exclusion lists, or performance filters applied on the DSP side. The deal may also be competing with other deals within the same line item, or facing prioritization issues in the DSP.
Low win rate: Typically indicates non-competitive bidding relative to auction dynamics. Lowering your Marketplace Owner Fee or encouraging buyers to increase their bids can help improve win rates.
Adjust bids for premium inventory: Marketplace Packages often include higher-quality supply, particularly live sports and tentpole events, which may require more competitive bids.
Review frequency caps: Low frequency caps can limit reach.
Evaluate dayparting and flight dates: Narrow schedules can restrict delivery opportunities.
Review performance metrics: Run a deal report to identify bottlenecks. Deal reports are available in Display and Video 360, The Trade Desk, and others.
If you have tried the troubleshooting steps above and find that your deal performance remains low, contact your Index Representative for further investigation.
Common performance constraints
The following table describes common performance constraints and their possible causes:
| Issue | Possible causes |
|---|---|
Limited delivery due to pacing | If pacing settings throttle early delivery, make sure settings align with your goals (for example, ramp-up, ramp-down, even, or ASAP). |
Creative or ad domain rejections | Make sure creatives meet Index or Media Owner requirements. |
Reduced scale due to targeting overlap | If the same audience, geography, or content targeting is applied in both the DSP and Marketplace Package, it can reduce eligible impressions. To maintain scale, apply targeting in one place and keep it complementary rather than identical. |
Summary
To resolve DSP-related performance issues, follow these steps:
Review logs: Analyze bid rate, win rate, and impressions.
Review performance metrics: Run a deal report to identify bottlenecks. Deal reports are available in Display and Video 360, The Trade Desk, and others.
Next steps: If performance remains low, share the deal ID in the Index Support Portal or with your Index Representative for further investigation..
