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Microsoft Monetize - Inventory targeting (ALI)

  • Article

If you selected Managed under Supply Strategy (in the Basic Setup section of the line item), you can target or exclude the following inventory:

  • Universal Categories (for more detail, see below)
  • Custom Categories (for more detail, see below)
  • Direct Inventory

To target specific inventory, open the Inventory & Brand Safety section. Then click Edit next to Managed Inventory. Use these settings to limit the inventory your line item will target.

Universal and custom categories

  • Universal: Universal categories are defined by Microsoft Advertising. When Microsoft Advertising reviews inventory, we apply these categories based on the inventory's content. For example, a car dealership placement group would be assigned to the "Autos & Vehicles" category. Sellers can apply universal categories when self-reviewing inventory as well.
  • Custom: Custom categories are defined by sellers. Sellers create these and apply them to slices of their inventory to package their inventory for specific buyers to target.

Target universal categories

By default, your line item will target all universal categories. However, you can narrow your targeting to include or exclude specific universal categories.

  1. On the Universal Categories tab, include or exclude custom categories.

    • The Categories lists shows all top-level universal categories defined by Microsoft Advertising. You can either include or exclude top-level categories or drill into a category to view its child categories.
    • The Sub-Categories list shows all child universal categories in the context of their parent categories. You can either include or exclude sub-categories. Note that when you exclude a top-level category, its sub-categories are not available for further inclusion or exclusion.

    Note

    When targeting more than one universal category, the categories have an OR relationship. For example, if you target the "News" and "Finance" categories, you will bid on inventory that is in either category. The inventory does not need to be in both categories.

  2. Click Add.

Target custom categories

By default, your line item will target all custom categories. However, you can narrow targeting to include or exclude specific custom categories that you have applied to your own placement groups and/or placements for direct buying as well as custom categories that other sellers have exposed to you for third-party buying.

  1. On the Custom Categories tab, include or exclude custom categories.

    Note

    When targeting more than one custom category, the categories have an OR relationship. For example, if you include "Custom Category 1" and "Custom Category 2", you will bid on inventory that is in either category. The inventory does not need to be in both categories.

  2. Click Add.