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Target inventory on the Microsoft Advertising Exchange

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Note

This form of targeting is only available to Standard Line Items. For an overview of which targeting options are available to Standard versus Augmented Line items, see Buy-Side Targeting.

This page shows you how to target a campaign to run on Microsoft Advertising Exchange inventory using Microsoft Monetize Monetize. You can target:

  • All Microsoft Advertising web inventory
  • Specific Microsoft Advertising "bins" for MSN inventory
  • Specific domains for Microsoft Advertising web inventory in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, India and South-East Asia

Tip

For details on how to target Outlook.com, see Buying Microsoft Outlook.com Inventory.

Step 1. Open your campaign

On the Campaigns screen, select the campaign that you want to run on Microsoft Advertising inventory and click the Edit icon.

This will open the Edit Campaign screen.

Step 2. Confirm the buying strategy

Microsoft Advertising is an external supply partner. Therefore, in the Basic Settings section under Buying Strategies, you should be sure to select Buy Third-Party Inventory and set a strategy. For detailed information about the strategies open to you, see Buying Strategies.

Step 3. Turn off inventory quality filtering

Under Inventory Quality, the default settings allow only platform-reviewed inventory. Since some Microsoft Advertising inventory might not be platform-reviewed, the surest way to reach all the Microsoft Advertising inventory that you want to target is to allow your campaign to service on any inventory.

To do this, under Inventory Quality, select the Serve on any inventory radio button.

Step 4. Confirm that universal categories and custom categories are not targeted

(Note that this only applies to non Microsoft Ads in Apps Inventory.)

Microsoft Advertising inventory cannot be targeted based on content category by most buyers. If you target any particular category, you will be excluding Microsoft Advertising inventory. Therefore, you should make sure that your campaign allows all categories.

Under Inventory, click the Edit button to open the Inventory Targeting dialog, then click Universal Categories and make sure it is set to Any Universal Category and Custom Categories is set to Any Custom Category.

Step 5. Target Microsoft Advertising inventory

If you target all third-party inventory, your targeting will include all Microsoft Advertising inventory. However, if you want to focus on Microsoft Advertising, you must set more specific targets. This step walks you through the following options:

Option 1. Target all Microsoft Advertising web inventory

In the Inventory Targeting dialog, under 3rd Party Inventory > Sellers, search for "Microsoft Advertising Exchange" seller. Include the seller "Microsoft Advertising Exchange (280)" by clicking on the green checkmark icon.

Option 2. Target specific Microsoft Advertising MSN "bins"

To target specific Microsoft Advertising bins, follow the steps in Option 1, and then click on Seller: Microsoft Advertising Exchange (280) to expose a list of bins - named "Content Categories" on the Microsoft Advertising platform. You can then either Include the specific bins that you want to target or Exclude the specific bins that you do not want to target.

Important

For a complete list of MS Ad Exchange bins with descriptions, see Microsoft Advertising Exchange Inventory.

Tip

Targeting Microsoft Advertising and Other Third-Party Inventory

  • If you want to target specific Microsoft Advertising bins and all other third-party inventory, the best method is to Exclude the specific Microsoft Advertising Exchange bins that you do not want to target (shown below).
  • If you want to target specific Microsoft Advertising bins and some other third-party inventory, the best method is to Include the specific Microsoft Advertising Exchange bins you want to target and Include other inventory at the Seller or Custom Categories level.

Option 3. Target specific domains for Microsoft Advertising web inventory in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, India and South-East Asia

To target these domains, under Targeting in the Inventory Targeting section, click the Edit button. This opens the Inventory Targeting dialog. Select Specific Domains, enter the domains you want to target, click the Add Domains button, then use the Include or Exclude buttons as appropriate.

Step 6. Set additional targeting options

In the Targeting section, you can target users based on geography, segment, frequency, daypart, system, page properties, and demographics. In general, demographic and tag targeting are not recommended when targeting Microsoft Advertising, as they could inadvertently restrict your reach. For more information, see Buy-Side Targeting.

Important

Combining Inventory Bin Targeting and Geography Targeting

Bins concern the location of the inventory, whereas geography targeting concerns the location of the user, based on information from the user's browser. For example, if you target a bin for Canadian inventory, and you target users in the Unites States, your campaign will serve only to US users who happen to be looking at that Canadian inventory.

Step 7. Review and save your campaign

Once you have finished adjusting your campaign targeting, confirm that the details are correct and then click the Save button to save your changes.

Important

For additional details regarding targeting 24/7 inventory for MAX, see Setting Up 24/7 Media Inventory Through the Microsoft Ad Exchange.