This article describes the process of widget optimization in the MGID Ads system.
Advantages Of Widget Optimization
How Does Widget Optimization Work?
How To Exclude Publishers in Bulk?
Introduction
Widget Optimization meets pricing transparency standards. This is the most favorable method for optimizing a campaign based on traffic sources.
It allows you to set different CPCs for various traffic sources based on their effectiveness within a campaign.
Terminology
- Traffic Source: websites, browser plug-ins.
- Partner (Publisher): the owner of the website/site where our informer widgets are placed.
- Affiliate Network: a group of sites represented by an agency or publisher.
- Sites, site pages: examples of various traffic sources.
- Informer widgets: ads located on a site or several sites or pages.
- UID: a unique traffic source ID for MGID.
- SubID: a sub-source ID that is a prerequisite to UID and may be a subdomain or a separate domain of an Affiliate Network.
Partners may have a web resource with several informer widgets (e.g., UID 123456, UID 123457). However, for an Affiliate Network, there may also be a sub-source ID (SubID) applied.
Informer widgets (Ad units) are placed horizontally and vertically. See the green highlighted portions of the image below for an example. In addition, other native options are available.
An example of informer widgets can be found here.
UID can refer to either a partner with one or several sites or an Affiliate Network of sites.
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The Widget Optimization structure depends on the advertiser’s traffic sources and sub-sources seen in the Dashboard:
- Traffic sources (UID)
- Sub-source (SubID)
Traffic Sources (UID):
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Traffic Sub-sources (SubID):
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Advantages Of Widget Optimization
In the framework of an advertising campaign, Widget Optimization has several advantages.
- It enables you to attract more visitors from the most efficient platforms, thereby increasing conversion numbers.
- It allows you to adjust costs on platforms where conversion levels are slightly lower than expected. Therefore, coverage is increased without reducing ROI.
- It generally redistributes traffic between platforms within a campaign, increasing its profitability.
How Does Widget Optimization Work?
- Rate (coefficient): CPC multiplier for each UID, SubID
- CPC (cost per click): CPC in the teaser
Formula: CPC x Coefficient = CPC that will participate in the bidding process
Each traffic source (UID, SubID) where ads are displayed has a rate (by default 1) that you can adjust.
The price at which an ad participates in the bidding for a particular UID, SubID is multiplied by the rate (coefficient) set for the platform.
If you want to increase the amount of traffic from platform X, you will have to augment the default rate, e.g., adjust the rate to 1.3 or 2.
Thus, the price of all ads in this campaign will be multiplied by 1.3 or 2, respectively, when displayed on the site, which will raise the campaign’s teasers in the bidding process.
Important:
The adjusted rate is applied to all teasers in an advertising campaign. When applying the new coefficient for UID, SubID, it is important to remember that this will be set for all of the campaign’s ads.
How To Adjust The Rate?
1. Click a campaign name and navigate to the Widget optimization tab.
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2. Select one or more traffic sources and click the Optimize CPC with coefficient button — indicated as the shopping tag icon — to change the value to your desired ratio.
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How To Exclude Publishers in Bulk?
To exclude multiple publishers at once, you have two options.
1. Proceed to the Widget optimization interface. Select the publishers you want to exclude by checking the corresponding boxes in the left-hand column. Then, click the pause icon (this should appear once you have selected your desired publishers). This button will exclude the selected UIDs.
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2. Exclude in bulk using the Import — Blocklist option.
First, export your campaign-specified report from the dashboard to find the UIDs you want to exclude. Next, create a CSV file of the widget UIDs you wish to exclude. When completed, click the Widget Blocklist option (available once you select Import CSV). You can upload up to 1,000 widgets per import.
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- If you exclude too many publishers, it may limit your potential reach and harm your performance.
- If you choose to block a top-performing publisher, we recommend increasing your CPC to compensate for the lost traffic source.
- If you add more than 1,000 widgets to the CSV file, only the first 1,000 entries will be processed.
If you run into any errors or have questions regarding this feature, feel free to contact your account manager.
Examples Of Usage
Let’s use this hypothetical campaign as an example. In the campaign, the price for all teasers is 10 cents.
1. This campaign receives very good traffic from one platform, and you want to increase the campaign’s volume there. You are ready to pay 15 cents per click on this platform.
You set a rate of 1.5 for this traffic source. As a result, when organizing the bidding on this particular platform, the “value” for this campaign’s ads will be higher and, thus, will appear more often in the rotation of impressions. When the audience clicks on any of the campaign’s teasers on this platform, you will be charged 15 cents.
In this hypothetical, the price will remain 10 cents on all other platforms (UIDs).
2. The campaign receives traffic from a platform that does not meet the required ROI. Your first thought is to disable this traffic source. However, instead, you reduce the rate for it, lowering the price to the desired ROI level.
The lowest rate you can set is 0.1. This means that when setting the rate of 0.1 for this source, the campaign teasers will have a value that is 10 times lower for bidding. Subsequently, when the audience clicks on the creative, you are only charged 1 cent.
The ratio change works only for sources with high volumes. It usually does not work for small publishers, since the volume of traffic will not change considerably.
Raised rates should be as high as 2, 3, 4. Otherwise, the desired effect won't be reached.
FAQ
- Can I upload a blocklist before launching an advertising campaign?
Yes, you can upload a blocklist before launching a campaign by using the import script described above.
- Can I copy a blocklist from one campaign to another?
Yes, when copying an advertising campaign, you also have the opportunity to copy its blocklist.
In addition, you can download the blocklist from the current campaign and import this file (your blocklist) into your new campaign in the Widget Optimization interface.
Note: When copying a blocklist, coefficients relative to UIDs are not copied.
- Can I see all UIDs that are currently blocked?
Yes, by utilizing the blocked filter — and filtering by UIDs — in Widget Optimization, you can see the list of all blocked sites.