Ad selection logic

Adfox automatically selects which ad campaign and banner to serve for a specific request based on campaign types, settings, delivery progress, and available traffic.

This is an automated system that helps:

• Fulfill campaign commitments.

• Pace impressions evenly over time.

• Prioritize behind-schedule campaigns.

• Ensure effective delivery even with limited traffic.

Overview of the process

Each time an ad request is made, the system performs these steps:

1. Process the request to identify the target site, section, or placement.

2. Create a list of all campaigns running on that placement.

3. Select campaigns and banners that meet the targeting criteria and caps.

4. Group campaigns by level and priority.

5. Sequentially select campaign levels for ad serving.

6. Optimize campaign selection within the chosen level.

7. Select a banner and serve it.

Selecting campaigns within the same level

For campaigns at the same level, Adfox optimizes delivery based on progress toward campaign goals. To learn how to set the level and priority, see Rotation methods.

Evaluating delivery progress

For each campaign, the system calculates the on-schedule indicator. It shows if a campaign is behind schedule, on track, or ahead of schedule, factoring in the campaign period, actual impression running speed, and caps.

Selection logic

The system optimizes delivery within each level and doesn't impact priority across levels:

1. Priority goes to underdelivering campaigns. If there are multiple underdelivering campaigns, the system selects the one that's further behind schedule.

2. If all campaigns are on track or ahead of schedule, each campaign has an equal chance of being served.

3. If no eligible campaigns are found, the system moves to the next priority level.

Delivery with limited traffic

If a specific level doesn't have enough traffic to fulfill all campaigns, the system will:

• Prioritize campaigns that are furthest behind schedule.

• Reallocate available impressions among behind-schedule campaigns.

• Ensure even delivery of available impressions.

This minimizes the risk of underdelivery and makes campaign fulfillment more predictable.

How the system selects campaigns

After Adfox creates a list of campaigns that match targeting criteria and caps, it selects ads for serving based on hierarchies of types, levels, and rotation settings.

The system evaluates campaigns sequentially, from top to bottom, until it finds an eligible campaign to serve.

How campaign selection works

Commercial campaigns

The system evaluates commercial campaigns first.

Guarantee campaigns

1. The system selects campaigns with rotation by % of traffic first.

   How this method works:

   • You can set the traffic share for a campaign as a percentage.
   • You can use this method alongside the core campaign selection logic.
   • When the combined total exceeds 100%, these campaigns won't be served.
   • When the combined total is below 100%, the remaining traffic is allocated by priority.

2. If these campaigns are unavailable or don't meet the impression criteria, the system moves to priority-based campaigns running on levels 1 through 10.

   How this method works:

   • Campaigns are served in order of level and priority.

   • Higher-priority campaigns are served first.

   • When campaigns have equal priority, delivery is optimized automatically.

3. The system optimizes campaign delivery against goals within the selected level.

Dynamic Monetization campaigns

If there are no eligible Guarantee campaigns, the system moves to Dynamic Monetization campaigns running on level 11.

The system selects a commercial campaign from available candidates that match targeting criteria and caps. At this level, Yandex Advertising Network and other ad monetization platforms connected via Header Bidding also participate in the unified auction.

If a Yandex Advertising Network campaign wins the auction, Yandex Advertising Network runs internal bidding for an impression. Depending on the results, there are two possible options:

• If the system finds an eligible banner in Yandex Advertising Network, it passes the banner to the page viewed by the user.

• If the system doesn't find an eligible banner in Yandex Advertising Network, it selects a banner from other Dynamic Monetization campaigns or moves to Promo campaigns.

The system selects the campaign that offers the best delivery terms among available options.

Promo campaigns

When commercial campaigns are unavailable, the system evaluates Promo campaigns running on levels 12 through 20.

Overview of campaign types

Guarantee	Dynamic Monetization	Promo
Guarantee campaigns have priority over other campaign types. Use this type for campaigns with guaranteed sales where you have a commitment to run ads. Some campaigns can only be of the Guarantee type: Measuring campaigns. Campaigns with the by % of traffic rotation method. Session campaigns. Booking campaigns. For an active Guarantee campaign, you can build a performance forecast.	Dynamic Monetization campaigns have a lower serving priority than Guarantee campaigns. Dynamic Monetization enables the Yandex Advertising Network to compete for serving non-guaranteed campaigns, maximizing revenue for the site owner per impression. This approach bypasses priority during campaign selection. For these campaigns, set a payment model: CPC and CPV are converted to CPM using the formula CPM = CPC (CPV) × CTR (VTR) × 1000 and sorted by this metric. For an active Dynamic Monetization campaign, you can build a performance forecast.	Promo campaigns have a lower serving priority than Dynamic Monetization campaigns. Use this type to promote yourself.

Backup ads

If no campaign can be matched, the system checks for backup ads in this order:

• The backup ad selected for the placement.

• The backup ad selected for the banner type.

System placeholder

If no ad was matched in the previous steps, Adfox uses a system placeholder.

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