Create a direct deal

1. Enter your email address and password to log in to the Index UI at app.indexexchange.com.

2. If you have more than one account, select the account that you want to access.

3. Go to Private Market > Deals.
4. Click the Create Deal A private auction that allows publishers to offer specific inventory directly to selected buyers identified by a deal ID. Terms are negotiated and are agreed upon before the auction occurs. drop-down list and select Direct.
5. Under Deal type, select one of the following deal types and set a priority if applicable. For more information on deal types, see Comparing direct deal types.

Option	Description	Deal priority
Private auction deal	This deal type is configured to use a first-price auction and to compete with open market bids.	This deal type is automatically set to compete with open market bids and has no priority.
Preferred deal	This deal type does not compete with open market bids and can be configured to use either a first or fixed price For specific deals, a fixed price can be negotiated between a publisher and a buyer. If the advertisers bid at this fixed price or above, their bid responses are eligible to compete in the auction, and, if they win the auction, they only pay the fixed price regardless of what their bid amount was. auction. Make sure that your ad server A platform that manages, stores, and delivers advertisements to a publisher's site., such as Google Ad Manager, is also configured to prioritize this deal type.	In the Priority drop-down list, select a number between 1-10 to specify this deal's priority in the auction that takes place within Index.
Custom	This deal type allows for custom deal configuration settings.	In the Priority drop-down list, select one of the following options: If you want this deal to compete with open market bids, select Competes with open market (no priority). If you don't want this deal to compete with open market bids, select a number between 1-10 to specify this deal's priority in the auction that takes place within Index.

Note: Setting a deal priority of 1-10 allows you to prioritize the deals that you've created, and specify the ones you prefer to win. For example, if you prefer this deal to win over another deal you've created, set the priority of this deal to 10 and the priority of the other deal to a lower number. This priority does not impact the deal priority in your ad server (such as Google Ad Manager).

6. In the Deal name field, enter a name for the new deal you are creating.
7. In the Deal ID field, enter a unique deal identifier by selecting one of the following options:
   • Enter a new deal ID into this field manually. Deal IDs can only contain letters, numbers, and dashes. The deal ID cannot start with a zero or contain spaces.
   • Click GENERATE if you want our system to generate a deal ID for you automatically.
8. In the 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. drop-down list, select the corresponding DSP for this deal.
9. Optionally, in the Buyer seat ID field, enter a Buyer Seat ID, also known as a Trading Desk A buyer in the RTB exchange. Trading desks integrate with DSPs to participate in the auctions that occur each time an impression is served. A single trading desk may be connected to one or more DSPs. The pairing of a single trading desk with a single DSP represents an advertiser user in our system. ID, if a buyer has provided you with one. It must correspond with the DSP selected in the DSP field.
10. In the Start date and End date fields, specify the duration of the deal.
11. In the Rate field, specify the minimum gross CPM Cost Per Thousand (CPM). A pricing structure for buying impressions and is the cost of serving an advertisement 1,000 times. Also known as Cost Per Mille (where M represents 1,000 in Roman numerals) or Cents Per Mille. rate that DSPs can bid for impressions.
12. In the Auction type The RTB auction type and can be either a first price auction (an auction where the highest bid wins, and the winner pays the highest bid amount in full) or a fixed price auction (an auction that has priority over all other auction bid types and the bid must meet or exceed the pre-determined fixed price). drop-down list, choose the type of auction that the deal will participate in. Refer to the following table for more information about each auction type.

    Option	Description
    First	The highest bid wins and the winning bidder owes the winning bid price.
    Fixed	The winning bidder only owes the negotiated fixed price amount defined in the Rate field. If the winning bid is higher than the fixed rate, the bid is reduced to the fixed rate.

    Note: The second price auction type is deprecated and no longer supported.

13. In the Post-Auction Discount A discount applied after the auction, awarded for high-volume purchasing. Applied by assigning a discount value to a deal. The discount is applied post-auction to avoid affecting win rate. field, choose one of the following:
    • To set a discount percentage negotiated with the buyer, enter a discount percentage, such as 10.5. Index recommends setting a maximum discount of 50%, but discounts up to 99.9% are supported.
    • If you do not want to set a discount, leave this field empty.
14. For the Apply blocks checkbox, choose one of the following:
    • To apply blocks to this deal, select the checkbox.
    • To bypass blocks in this deal, deselect the checkbox.

Note: For more information about blocks, see Blocking content from appearing on your site.

15. In the Site IDs section, select one of the following options:

    Option	Steps
    Apply a preset	A targeting preset is a predefined list of site IDs that can quickly be applied to a deal like a template. If you have one already created that you want to use, choose the preset from the Apply Presets drop-down list. You can manually add more site IDs on top of the preset. For more information about presets, see Create a targeting preset.
    Target an existing inventory group	Click Use inventory groups. From the Inventory Groups list, search or select the inventory groups that you want to include in this deal.
    Target a new inventory group	Click Use inventory groups. Click CREATE INVENTORY GROUP. In the Inventory group name field, enter a name that describes the grouping of site IDs you are adding to the inventory group. Select the site IDs that you want to add to the inventory group. Click Create. From the Inventory Groups list, select the inventory group that you created in the previous steps, to include in this deal.
    Target site IDs	Click Add site IDs directly to deal. From the Site IDs list, search or select the site IDs that you want to include in this deal. Optionally, to save the list of site IDs as a preset to use in other deals, click SAVE AS PRESET.

    Note: For more information about the difference between inventory groups and targeting presets, see Managing targeting values.

16. To target URLs in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand URLs and configure the following options:

    Targeting option	Description
    URLs	Enter the partial URLs that you want this deal to target. For example, "xyz.com/all/" is a partial site match that means both “ww2.xyz.com/all/stories.html” and “ww3.xyz.com/all/editorial.html” would be eligible to serve impressions, but “ww2.xyz.com/sports" would not be included. Wildcards are supported.

17. To target device types, inventory channels, formats, interstitial A ad that covers the entire screen of the device/host app. ads, and rewarded An opt-in video ad experience, typically in mobile apps, in exchange for which the user receives some type of in-app or in-game currency. ads in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand General and configure the following options:

    Targeting option	Description
    Device types	Connected device (CTV Connected TV (CTV). A TV set that receives video content from the internet through a smart TV operating system, streaming device, or game console.): A connected device, such as Amazon Firestick, Xbox, PlayStation, or Apple TV. Connected TV Connected TV (CTV). A TV set that receives video content from the internet through a smart TV operating system, streaming device, or game console. (CTV): A TV that has built in connection to the internet, such as a Samsung smart TV. Personal computer: A computer, such as Macbook Pro. Phone: A smartphone, such as iPhone or Samsung.s Set-top box (CTV): A cable box, such as Comcast X1 Box. Tablet: A tablet device, such as iPad or Amazon Fire HD.
    Inventory channels	In-app: An ad that displays in an app. Web: An ad that displays in a browser environment.
    Formats and sizes	Banner: An ad that displays as a banner as a static image. You can target all banner sizes or select a specific size to target. Video: A video ad that displays video content. Note: If you want to target video placements, make sure that you have selected Video in this Formats field or you have not select any ad formats. Native: A native ad is a type of ad format The format of the ad space on the publisher's site. Banner and video are kinds of ad formats. that blends in with the visual design of the page that it lives in. For more information on native ads, see Selling native inventory through Index.
    Interstitial	Interstitial: A full-screen ad that covers the entire interface of the host app. Not interstitial: An ad that doesn't cover the entire interface of the host app or site, such as a banner or popup ad.
    Rewarded	Rewarded: A type of ad that the user receives a reward for viewing, such as if the user must watch a video ad before reading a news article. Not rewarded: A type of ad that isn't associated with a subsequent reward.

18. To target operating system and browsers in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand Environment and configure the following options:

    Targeting option	Description
    Operating systems	In the drop-down list, select the operating systems that you want to target in this deal.
    Browsers	In the drop-down list, select the browsers that you want to target in this deal.

19. To target app bundles in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand App Bundles (Beta) and configure the following option:

    Targeting option	Description
    App bundles	Select the app bundles that you want to target in this deal. Only app bundles that have been pre-registered will be listed. If you want to add an app bundle, contact your Index Representative.

20. To target countries in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand Countries and select the countries that you want to target in this deal.
21. To target specific performance metrics, in the Optional section, expand Performance Metrics and configure the following options:

    Option	Description
    Viewability A measure of how often an impression is actually seen by a user. For example, an ad that is served at the bottom of a page that requires a user to scroll to see it will likely have a lower viewability score than an ad that loads at the top of a page.	Select the minimum viewability probability percentage that you want to target in the deal. For more information, see What is viewability?.
    Video completion rate The percentage of video advertisements that play to completion. Also known as view through rate and video completion rate. (VCR)	Select the minimum VCR percentage that you want to target in the deal. For more information about what VCR is and how we predict it, see Targeting video completion rate (VCR) in a deal (Alpha). Note: VCR targeting is currently in alpha.
    Click-through rate (CTR) CTR measures the percentage of times an ad was clicked.	Select the minimum CTR percentage that you want to target in the deal. For more information about what CTR is and how we predict it, see Targeting click-through rate (CTR) in a deal (Alpha). Note: CTR targeting is currently in alpha.

22. To target specific video placements, skippability, playback methods, or ad duration in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand Video and configure the following options:
    

    Targeting option	Description
    Video placements	Instream A video ad that displays before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll), or after (post-roll) video content that the user is consuming. The video ad plays within video content, similar to watching TV with commercials.: Pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads that play before, during, or after the streaming video content requested by the user. Instream video is typically set to "sound on" by default when playback begins, or there is clear user intent to engage with the content. Although other elements may appear around the player, the video is the main focus of the user’s visit and serves as the primary content on the page. It is also the only in-view video player capable of playing audio. Accompanying content Pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads that are played before, during, or after streaming video content.It starts playback upon entering the viewport. It may convert to a floating/sticky player as it scrolls off the page.: Pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads that play before, during, or after streaming video content. The video player appears between or around paragraphs of text or graphics and begins playback only when it enters the viewport. Any accompanying content also plays only when visible. As the user scrolls, the player may transition into a floating or sticky format when it moves out of view. Interstitial: Video ads shown without accompanying video content. During playback, the ad must be the main focus of the page, occupy most of the viewport, and remain in view without being scrollable. Common placements include in-app video or slideshow formats. No content/standalone Video ads that are played without streaming video content. This can be in placements like slideshows, native feeds, in-content or sticky/floating.: Video ads that play independently of streaming video content. They may appear in placements such as slideshows, native feeds, in-content areas, or as sticky/floating units.
    Skippable	Non-skippable: A video ad that must be watched in its entirety and cannot be skipped by the viewer. Skippable: A video ad that can be skipped by the viewer after a certain amount of time. Undefined: A video ad that has not been defined as either skippable of non-skippable. If you include this option, the video ad can be either of these types, but would not be included in the targeting if you only choose non-skippable or skippable.
    Playback methods	Initiates on click with sound on: The video starts playing with the sound on after the user clicks the play button. Initiates on entering viewport with sound off by default: The video starts playing with the sound off once it becomes visible to the user on the page. Initiates on entering viewport with sound on: The video starts playing with the sound on once it becomes visible to the user on the page. Initiates on mouse-over with sound on: The video starts playing with the sound on after the user mouses over it. Initiates on page load with sound off by default: The video starts playing with the sound off as soon as the page loads. Initiates on page load with sound on: The video starts playing with the sound on as soon as the page loads. Undefined: A playback method has not been specified for the video.
    Aspect ratios	The aspect ratios to target. Fuzzy matching is used in aspect ratio targeting to minimize rounding errors. Video sizes that are close to the selected aspect ratio will still be included.
    Player width	The minimum video player width to target.
    Player height	The minimum video player height to target.
    Ad duration	Select the ad slot The location on a publisher's website where an advertisement is served. Also known as inventory. duration allowance for the video ad. Video ads that are least this length will be targeted in the deal.

23. To target content ratings, content livestream, content genres, or specific content languages in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand Content and configure the following options:

    Targeting option	Description
    Content ratings	You can either include or exclude specific content ratings in your instream or STV Streaming TV (STV). Video content that is shown across any device with an internet connection, for example a Connected TV (CTV). video content targeting. In the drop-down menu, select either Include or Exclude depending on the type of targeting you need. Select the content ratings. Note: You can either use the include or exclude option, but not both.
    Content livestream	Select from the following streaming options: Live content: Content that is real-time and streaming live. Not live: Content that was pre-recorded and not streaming live.
    Content genres	Select the video genres that you want to target or exclude from targeting in the deal.
    Content languages	Select the language of the video content that you want to target in the deal.
    Networks	Select the networks with the channels that you want to target in the deal. Before you can see or target content networks, they must be set up by Index. For more information, see Targeting content channel, content network, and content series in deals using inventory groups (Beta).
    Channels	Select the content channels that you want to target in the deal. Before you can see or target content channels, they must be set up by Index. For more information, see Targeting content channel, content network, and content series in deals using inventory groups (Beta).
    Series	You can either include or exclude specific content series in your instream or STV video content targeting. In the drop-down menu, select either Include or Exclude depending on the type of targeting you need. Select the content series. Before you can see or target content series, they must be set up by Index. For more information, see Targeting content channel, content network, and content series in deals using inventory groups (Beta).

24. To target inbound deal IDs in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand Inbound Deals IDs and either search for or select the inbound deal IDs that you want to target in this deal. An inbound deal ID refers to a deal that was not created in the Index UI The Index UI at app.indexexchange.com that allows you to manage integration settings, such as inventory, campaign, and deal settings. but may be present in inbound ad requests to Index. To add new inbound deal IDs to this list that you can target, contact your Index Representative.
    Note: This feature is currently in Beta. If you would like to participate in the Beta program to be able to target inbound deal IDs, contact your Index Representative.
    
25. To target custom key values in the deal, in the Targeting (optional) section, expand Custom Key Values and select the key and corresponding values that you want to target. Select is any of to include the value in targeting or select is none of to exclude the value from targeting.

Note: For more information about custom key values, see Targeting custom key values in deals using inventory groups (Beta).

26. To target segments in the deal, in the Segments section, expand Segments and select the segments to include and exclude. You can include up to four segment rule sets and exclude one segment rule set. For more information about how to set up segment targeting, see How segment targeting works.
27. Click CREATE.