Source Optimizer

Applies to: Advertisers · Optional feature — available when your network has it switched on

Not every traffic source is worth the same. The Source Optimizer watches your traffic sources against rules you set — cost per conversion, click-through rate, bounce rate — and automatically blocks the ones that lose money or adjusts their bids, without you sitting over the reports.

What this is#

An optimizer is a saved set of rules that runs over your campaigns' traffic sources. For each source it compares recent performance against your thresholds and then does one of two things: block the source, or change its bid.

"Source" means whichever dimension you choose: an ad zone, an ISP, or a domain. One optimizer works on one of those dimensions.

Optimizers need conversion data to work on, so set up conversion tracking first.

When you'll use this#

• You buy across many zones or domains and can't manually review them all.
• A handful of sources are burning budget with no conversions.
• You want good sources bid up and weak ones bid down automatically.
• You want to filter out traffic that clicks but immediately bounces.

Step by step#

Create a CPA optimizer#

1. Open Source Optimizer from the advertiser menu.
2. Click Add CPA Optimizer.
3. On the General tab:
   • Name — what this optimizer is for ("Block zones over $3 CPA").
   • Filter type — the dimension to optimize: ad zone, ISP or domain. This cannot be changed after saving, so pick carefully.
   • Minimum spendings — how much a source must have spent before it's judged. Below this, it's left alone.
   • Max days for statistics — how far back to look when scoring a source.
   • Start date — the earliest date to consider.
4. Under Target CPA per conversion type, tick each conversion type you want to optimize on and set its target CPA (and optionally a minimum margin %).
5. Choose the CPA action — block the source, or change its bid.
6. If you chose to change bids, set how much to raise or lower them and the cap on how often that may happen.
7. Optionally add CTR and Bounce Rate rules on their tabs (below).
8. Save. The optimizer starts applying on its next run.

Add a CTR rule#

On the CTR Optimizer tab, set a minimum CTR and the minimum impressions a source needs before that rule counts — plus, optionally, a maximum CTR and its impression floor. Sources outside the band are acted on.

CTR rules only make sense on clickable ad formats. The dialog says so, and a CTR rule on a non-clickable format will do nothing useful.

Add a bounce-rate rule#

On the Bounce Rate tab:

1. Pick the conversion pixel that records a real visit (or Don't use this to skip bounce checking).
2. Set minimum hits — how many visits before the rule applies.
3. Set maximum bounce rate % — above this, the source is acted on.
4. Choose the bounce check type — auto, views, or clicks.

Manage existing optimizers#

From the list you can edit, delete, or select several and delete them together. Deleting an optimizer stops future action; it doesn't un-block sources it already blocked — leave Keep spots blocked off if you want blocks released when the rule no longer applies.

Options reference#

General#

Field	What it does
Name	Your label for the optimizer.
Filter type	The dimension optimized: ad zone, ISP, or domain. Fixed after saving.
Minimum spendings	A source is only judged once it has spent at least this much — protects new sources from being cut on one bad click.
Max days for statistics	The lookback window used to score sources.
Start date	The earliest date included in that window.
Optimize with	Whether to rank on conversion count or conversion earnings.
Target CPA per conversion type	Your maximum acceptable cost per conversion, set separately for each conversion type you tick.
Margin %	An optional minimum margin a source must keep, per conversion type.

Actions#

Action	What happens to a failing source
Block	The source stops receiving your ads.
Change bid	The bid on that source is raised or lowered rather than cutting it off.

Bid option	What it does
Increase bids / Increase with	Raise the bid on sources that beat your target, by the chosen percentage.
Decrease bids / Decrease with	Lower the bid on sources that miss it.
Bid cap (hours)	The minimum number of hours between two adjustments of the same source, so bids don't oscillate.
Keep spots blocked	Leave blocked sources blocked even after they'd otherwise qualify again.

CTR rules#

Field	What it does
Minimum CTR	Sources below this click-through rate are acted on.
Minimum impressions	Impressions a source needs before the minimum-CTR rule applies.
Maximum CTR	An upper band — unusually high CTR is often invalid traffic.
Maximum impressions	Impressions needed before the maximum-CTR rule applies.

Bounce-rate rules#

Field	What it does
Conversion pixel	The pixel that marks a genuine visit. Don't use this disables bounce checking.
Minimum hits	Visits needed before the rule applies.
Maximum bounce rate %	Above this, the source is acted on.
Bounce check type	Whether bounce rate is measured against views, clicks, or chosen automatically.

Example#

Cutting the zones that don't pay back. Sam runs a CPA offer at $4 payout and doesn't want to pay more than $3 per conversion.

1. He creates a CPA optimizer named "Zones over $3 CPA".
2. Filter type: ad zone. Minimum spendings: $15 — a zone must have had a real chance before it's judged.
3. Max days for statistics: 14, so recent behaviour decides rather than ancient history.
4. He ticks his Sale conversion type and sets target CPA $3.00.
5. CPA action: block.
6. On the CTR tab he adds a maximum CTR band with a 2,000-impression floor, to catch zones whose click rate is implausibly high.
7. After a week, the worst zones are blocked automatically and his blended CPA falls — and he checks advertiser statistics grouped by ad zone to confirm the right ones were cut.

Tips#

• Set a realistic minimum spend. Judging a zone on $0.30 of spend blocks good inventory on noise.
• Start with block, not bid changes. Blocking is easy to reason about; bid automation on top of a rule you haven't validated is hard to debug.
• Use a lookback window that matches your conversion delay. If conversions take three days to report, a 2-day window will condemn sources that were actually fine.
• Check the maximum CTR band. A source with a 30% click rate is almost never good news.
• Review what got blocked in your statistics before widening the rules — an optimizer that blocks nearly everything is set too tight.
• The filter type can't be changed. If you need the same rules on a different dimension, create a second optimizer.

Troubleshooting#

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
The optimizer never does anything	No conversion data, or no source has reached the minimum spend	Confirm conversion tracking is reporting, then lower the minimum spendings
It blocked almost every source	Target CPA is below what your traffic can deliver, or the lookback is too short	Raise the target, widen the window, and raise the minimum spend
Blocked sources stay blocked after I fixed the rule	Keep spots blocked is on	Switch it off, or edit the rule and let the next run re-evaluate
CTR rules seem ignored	The campaign's format isn't clickable	Use CPA or bounce rules for those formats
I can't change the filter type	It's fixed once the optimizer is saved	Create a new optimizer with the right dimension
Bids keep jumping up and down	The bid cap is too short	Raise the bid-cap hours so adjustments settle

Related#

• Conversion Tracking & Retargeting — the conversion data optimizers act on
• Targeting & Filters — manual include/exclude lists for zones, domains and sub-IDs
• Advertiser Statistics — checking what an optimizer did
• Bid Rules — scheduled bid changes, as opposed to performance-driven ones