Ad Quality in Ad Exchange

How can ad blocks affect the revenue I earn? 

Creating ad blocks gives you control over the types of ads that show on your site, and can improve the quality and and reader experience on the page. However, when creating ad blocks, make sure the block will not limit the demand you are eligible for beyond what is needed to achieve the results you're looking for. 

The following actions can potentially decrease your revenue, so be aware:

• Creating a large group block or adding a block to your entire account.

• Applying a large number of category blocks or attribute blocks

What kind of blocks can I create? 

When creating blocks at any level, these are the types. They can be created in any combination. For more details and definitions see Supported Ad Blocks in Ad Exchange.  

• IAB Category

• Specialty blocks

• Attribute blocks

• URL 

• Creative ID

• Brand

How do I create a block for all sites on my entire account? 

You can only create one "block" on the account level, however you can manage this block once created (add or remove what is included in the block). If you haven't created an account level block before:

• Login to the Sovrn Platform and navigate to Ad quality tab.

• Click + Block

• Under Account, click Get started

• Select the blocks you'd like to apply under each of the tabs presented.

• Click Review and save. 

• Review the blocks you've selected and click Save blocks. 

• You will now see a line entry in the table in Ad quality that shows blocks by type that have been applied on the account level. 

If you have created an account level block in the past, you'll see the account level block at the top of the table tab under Ad quality. Click the edit button on the Account row to add or remove the blocks that are already there, or the trash icon to remove all blocks entirely. 

Can I create blocks in bulk? 

Yes, you can upload a .csv file to create URL, Creative, or Brand blocks. Click the + Block button in the Ad Quality tab and create an Account, Group, or Site level block or, edit an existing block. You'll be able to upload a .csv by clicking into the tab for the desired block type.

• At the bottom of the page, find and download the .csv template. 

• Fill out the template with the blocks you need to place. 

• Upload the .csv file by clicking browse, selecting your file, and clicking upload blocks. 

Then review and save your blocks as you would normally. 

What is a group block and what are the best practices for creating one?

A group block can be thought of as a "blocklist." You'll create a group containing a list of your sites. Then, you can apply blocks on the group of sites to make them easier to manage. 

A good practice is to group your sites by the type of site while keeping in mind the type of blocks you'll need to place on them. For example, you might have a list of holistic health sites that you will need to block ads for smoking products, alcohol, etc. You can create this group and then place the needed blocks on all the sites in the list.

Here are the steps:  

• Login to the Sovrn Platform and navigate to Ad quality tab.

• Click + Block

• Under Group, in the Select a group dropdown, select a group you've already created or Create a new group. 

• Give the group a name that represents the type of sites it contains. To follow our example, we'd call it "My holistic health sites."

• Then, use the Assign sites to new group dropdown to pick the sites you'd like to add to the group. 

• Click Get started

• Select the blocks you'd like to apply under each of the tabs presented. These blocks will apply to every site in the group you just created. Note: you can upload a .csv template to add URL, Creative ID, or Brand blocks in bulk under their respective tabs. 

• Click Review and save. 

• Review the blocks you've selected and click Save blocks. 

You will now see a new group row entry in the table in Ad quality. You can add and remove the group and blocks applied by clicking the edit button or the trash can button. 

How do I create a block for just one site on my account?

Follow the steps below: 

• Login to the Sovrn Platform and navigate to Ad quality tab.

• Click + Block

• Under Site, select a site in your account that you'd like to create a block for. 

• Click Get Started.

• Select the blocks you'd like to apply under each of the tabs presented. Note: you can upload a .csv template to add URL, Creative ID, or Brand blocks in bulk under their respective tabs. 

• Keep in mind if you will be placing these same blocks on other sites in your account - it might make sense to create a group block in that case. 

• Click Review and save. 

• Review the blocks you've selected and click Save blocks. 

How do I block ads with a certain category, attribute, creative, or from a particular url or brand?

You can block an ad based on a variety of things: category, attribute, creative ID, URL, or brand.

See here for a complete definition and list of the types of blocks we support.  

Here's the steps to follow in the Ad Quality tab of your Sovrn account: 

• First, you'll need to identify what level you'll need the block for: your entire account, a group of sites, or a single site? 

• If you already have a block created at that level, you can find it in the table in Ad Quality (or by using the search bar). Click the edit button on the block to add a IAB Category block or a Specialty Block. 

• If you don't already have a block at the level you need, click + Block.

• Select the level where you'd like the block: Account, Group or Site.

• Follow the Get started steps to find and select the desired blocks - tabs will be provided under which you can choose from in any combination:

  • IAB category

  • Specialty blocks

  • Attributes

  • URL

  • Creative ID

  • Brand 

• Note: you can upload a .csv template to add URL, Creative ID, or Brand blocks in bulk under their respective tabs. 

• Click Review and save. 

• Review the blocks you've selected and click Save blocks.

What ads are already automatically blocked for all publishers? 

Some types of ads are automatically blocked on all Sovrn accounts. These are the blocks you do not need to apply, as they are already automatically blocked for you by Sovrn. This includes hate, profane, violent and illegal content. To see the full list, see the Global Blocks section in Supported Ad Blocks in Ad Exchange.  

How do I remove blocks? 

If you've previously created a block of any kind, you will be able to find it under Ad Quality in your Sovrn account. There will be a single table showing all the blocks you have. Or, you can use the search bar. Once you've located your block, you can click the trash can icon to remove it.

To remove all blocks, you can click the gear icon in the upper right corner. This will first download a backup of all your blocks in case you'd like to undo your block removal.  

How do I see and edit what blocks are existing on my account, site, or group? 

If you've previously created a block of any kind, you will be able to find it under Ad Quality in your Sovrn account. There will be a single table showing all the blocks you have. Or, you can use the search bar or filter for the type of block you're looking for at the top left corner of the page.

Once you've located your block, you can click the pencil icon to edit it. 

How do I edit the name of a group or the sites that are in a group? 

Find the group you'd like to edit in the table. Click the file folder icon to make your changes. 

How do I see where a specific block is applied on my account, site, or group? 

You can use the filters at the top of the Ad Quality page to see all blocks of that type (Category, Attribute, URL, Creative, or Brand) that have been applied. 

You can also download all blocks using the download icon in the upper right hand corner to download your blocks in .json format and search and review the downloaded file. 

Can I export the blocks in my account? 

You can download all blocks using the download icon in the upper right hand corner to download your blocks in .json format. 

I need to create or manage a blocklist. What should I do? 

A blocklist can be applied using a group block. You'll need to create a group of sites in your account, then you can apply your blocklist to it by creating the blocks with the group block feature. See this section for more information. 

I think blocks on my account are impacting my revenue. How can I troubleshoot? 

A troubleshooting method you can use is to make changes to your blocks and then monitor for improvement in your revenue. Here are a few tips to do so:

• Review existing blocks, especially account level blocks and large group blocks. Some opportunities you can look for are:

  • If you can convert account level blocks to be more specific to a group of sites using a group block, this may free up supply on some of your sites that can earn you revenue. 

  • If you have group blocks with large block lists applied to them, review your blocklists to make sure all the blocks are necessary. Also, can you segment your groups to be more specific? 

  • Review category blocks to make sure all are necessary. If you have an entire category blocked, can use a subcategory instead? Can you use a list of advertisers to block ads instead of blocking an entire category? 

• Export existing blocks. This is a way to document the state of your blocks before you started troubleshooting - you'll have a record of what was there in case you'd like to revert back to it. 

• Make your changes. 

• Monitor performance. If you start to see ads you don't want, consider reverting some of your changes, especially if your revenue is the same or has decreased. If you don't see an increase in revenue, you might consider reaching out to support for troubleshooting in other areas of your implementation. 

Can I create blocks that are zone (or ad tag) specific?

Unfortunately we do not support zone/ad tag level blocks. We recommend using a site-level block instead.

I still need help. 

If you still need help with Ad Quality or creating blocks, troubleshooting or anything else, please reach out to Sovrn Support.