DSP uses machine learning and strategic partnerships to help marketers avoid fraudulent impressions and clicks
As the quality of programmatic advertising has been called into question recently by some of the industry’s top buyers, we approached AcuityAds, a leading self-serve programmatic marketing platform, on how it fights ad fraud and ensures marketers' budgets are going to quality ad placements and not fraudsters' pockets.
What steps do you take to ensure your advertisers are protected from ad fraud?
AcuityAds prioritizes the prevention of advertising fraud at every stage of a digital campaign. Considering our proprietary machine learning technology, we feature an industry leading data refresh rate of one minute, which eliminates fraudulent environments in an ongoing fashion by screening them out of the real-time bidding process faster than other providers.
Strategic partnerships assist our technology in identifying and eliminating bot fraud, human click farms and iFraming units. They also enable our system to log traffic and content scores that classify inventory sources based on the presence of any indicators of fraud. Suspicious IP addresses –those highly likely to be generating fraudulent traffic through bots, click farms, data centers, etc. – are filtered out in the pre-bid environment.
Finally, AcuityAds gives marketers access to ad verification tools that can be used throughout a campaign flight or post-campaign to monitor for the presence of ad fraud. They have the ability to create and maintain black and white lists of publishers and sellers for campaign execution.
How do you integrate data from your strategic partnerships to fight against ad fraud?
Using partner data, such as that from Fraudlogix, adds a layer of security to digital advertising. Fraudlogix data is integrated into the AcuityAds Programmatic Marketing Platform to help marketers avoid fraudulent clicks and impressions.
What metrics have improved due to your fraud-fighting efforts?
Avoiding advertising fraud provides more meaningful performance metrics overall. Marketers can be assured that they are executing campaigns that are reaching real audiences.
Can you estimate how much traffic you block due to ad fraud?
Our platform blocks approximately 27% of traffic that is flagged as fraudulent or otherwise low quality.
What are your clients’ views of ad fraud?
Buzz in the industry around the topic of ad fraud remains strong. This is proof that industry issues such as last years’ Methbot have provoked increased concern among advertisers, although most smart advertising platforms were only minimally impacted. As advertising fraud continues to evolve, digital marketing will continue to discuss new solutions and measures. Our clients rely on our technology to support their avoidance of advertising fraud.
Have you seen a shift in expectations regarding ad fraud and traffic quality among your clients recently?
We are seeing a lower tolerance level for fraudulent traffic. Marketers have an expectation that their technology provider(s) will act as a source of protection for their brand and their dollars regarding digital advertising efforts. This sentiment becomes less and less negotiable as technology and the digital advertising industry matures.
About AcuityAds
AcuityAds is a technology company that enables marketers to connect intelligently with their most meaningful audiences through digital media. A self-serve programmatic marketing platform, powered by machine learning technology, is at the core of its business. This is accompanied by its strategic digital advertising solutions that cater to social, mobile and video-specific needs. AcuityAds empowers marketers by offering transparency on costs and brand safety, and real-time reporting and analytics, bringing accountability to programmatic advertising to deliver business results.
