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What is Sponsored Product Monetization?

Onsite Sponsored Product campaign types strive to boost sales and increase category share and visibility with native product ads. Powered by the strongest machine learning technology for retail, Onsite sponsored product campaigns deliver the right product to the right shopper at the right time on relevant search, category, and product detail pages. This allows advertisers to increase their share of the digital shelf and sales. 

Ad Serving & Relevant Product Selection

Where do Onsite Sponsored Product ads appear on your site?   
  • Search Pages: Utilize Criteo’s Keyword Model. 

  • Other Page Types: Employ algorithms known as reco sources to determine product relevancy based on page context and taxonomy. 

How do we determine relevant products?

When Criteo receives an ad call from your site, it evaluates several factors to select relevant products for Sponsored Products ads: 

  • Page Context: Includes keywords on Search pages, categories on Browse pages, and page type (e.g., Homepage vs. Search). 

  • Targeting Configurations: Algorithms are used to match products to the page context. These algorithms include Exact Match, Broad Match, and SKU Similarity. During setup, you'll collaborate with our team to select the most suitable algorithms. 

  • Additional Filters: Products may be filtered based on stock availability, shopper location, and other criteria. 

Understanding Criteo Artificial Intelligence

Criteo’s algorithm leverages over a decade of data to create unique associations for each retailer, enhancing product relevancy:

  1. First, the Criteo engine will ensure that the products shown on the page are contextually relevant using signals from the page’s context, organic shopper browsing behavior, the retailer’s product feed, and/or an individual shopper’s history.

  2. Then the Criteo engine will use shopper intent signals and browsing data to predict the probability of a click and/or conversion for each eligible product sent to auction. These predicted values will be used to optimize the input CPC bids, set by demand-side campaign manager, and therefore allow for the best product (i.e. most likely to drive engagement/sale) to be displayed in the ad.

  3. Finally, the Criteo Engine will run a 1st price auction in which all eligible SKUs will be ranked and the top SKUs will be served onsite in the available ad slots.

Automatic Keyword Model

Keywords are automatically linked to SKUs based on shopper activity. This automation reduces manual effort and improves accuracy in keyword targeting. 

Benefits: 
  • Efficiency: Advertisers save time on keyword research. 

  • Optimized Budget Distribution: Budgets are allocated to top-performing keyword-SKU combinations. 

  • Increased Revenue: More inventory is eligible for ads. 

  • Enhanced Shopper Experience: Ensures product relevancy and a premium shopping experience. 

Relevancy Attribution:

You have control over the relevancy level for each ad placement, which influences SKU eligibility and ad fill rates. Here are the options: 

  • Exact Match Only: Ads must match the page context precisely. 

  • Within Same Level 2 Category: Ads must be within the same second-level category. 

  • Within Same Level 1 Category: Ads must be within the same first-level category. 

  • Run of Site: Any SKU from your website is eligible. 

Additionally, you can manually block specific keywords or taxonomies at the SKU level to fine-tune ad relevancy. 

What does this mean for you?

At Criteo, we are committed to enhancing the customer experience on your retail site while helping you drive revenue growth, all while ensuring you maintain optimal control.

Brands and advertisers are eager to showcase their products to shoppers, and they have the budgets to support these efforts. By partnering with Criteo and making your inventory and data available in Commerce Max, brands can efficiently plan, manage, and report on their media campaigns across retail platforms, resulting in direct revenue gains for you.

Through the Criteo Retail Media Network, brands can utilize your first-party data insights to effectively reach their target audiences. In return, you benefit from two new monetization strategies: additional revenue streams and increased visibility for your brand. With Commerce Yield, you have a comprehensive platform to plan, manage, and capitalize on the opportunity of selling media.