- What's changing: Cost prioritization per reporting method
- Where's it changing: Aggregate data reports
- Publication date: February 4, 2020
- Who is affected: Advertisers, ad networks, and agencies
Before the change
Campaign costs--for a single media source on a given day--might be reported using more than one reporting method. This led to duplicate cost reporting.
After the change
Cost reported using the highest prioritization method is the cost shown in the dashboard.
Now, you can report cost using multiple methods, but the ad-cost prioritization mechanism ensures that duplicate costs are not reported.
- Change impacts aggregate data reports and dashboards.
- But, there is no change to click costs in the raw data.
Example
Scenario: An ad network reports cost per click, but you decide to enable the ad network's Cost API.
Result: Cost is reported by both click and Cost API. Since Cost API has priority, click costs are ignored.
Outcomes:
- Possible to implement multiple cost-reporting methods. The actual reported cost is affected by the cost method priority rules set out in the table below.
- Change affects agency-generated traffic in the same manner. This includes both transparent and non-transparent agencies.
- The change has retroactive impact. Historical aggregate cost data can change.
Method | Description |
---|---|
Cost API |
|
Ad Spend Ingestion |
|
Click |
Lowest priority |
Preparing for the change
- If possible, use the more precise Cost API.
- Remember, implementing the ad-cost prioritization mechanism can affect historical cost records.