What the Onsite Display Forecaster Does
The Onsite Display Forecaster estimates the inventory available on a retailer's site for a period up to 120 days ahead. It uses booked inventory and seasonal data to produce an estimated budget, impression volume, and average CPM for the inventory you select, so you can plan and scope a campaign before you book it.
Use it to:
Estimate how many impressions and placements are available on a retailer's site, up to 120 days ahead.
Get an estimated total budget and average CPM based on your parameters, the retailer's rates, and your page types.
Align a campaign with seasonal traffic patterns using historical impression data.
Compare expected performance across durations, placements, and targeting before you submit a proposal.
What the Forecast Is Based On
The Forecaster weighs the following when it generates an estimate:
Budget
Flight dates
Page types
Ad formats
Frequency capping
Retailer CPMs (a retailer may have more than one for the categories you select)
Historical impression data for the selected timeframe
Create a Forecast
Go to the Campaigns tab in the top navigation bar and select Forecast from the dropdown.
On the Forecast dashboard, click Create Forecast to open a pane on the right.
Select the retailer. Forecasts are retailer-specific, like line items, so you choose one at a time. You can pick any retailer in your region that has Onsite Display capabilities and that we can forecast for.
Choose your Buy Type: Auction or Preferred Deals.
Select the Start and End dates. You can forecast up to 120 days ahead.
Set your frequency capping (optional).
Select your Page Type Targeting. Some page types need more detail:
- On Search pages, enter the search terms you want to forecast. The tool includes stemmed versions, so plurals are covered.
- On Category and Product Detail pages, where available, select pages from the retailer's site. Selecting a category includes all of its child categories, so choose the most specific level that applies.Narrow the forecast to specific Ad Formats for your selected page types, if you want.
Set your Bid (CPM). This appears only when your Buy Type is Auction.
Click Create Forecast.
Read Your Forecast
The Forecast page shows your Estimated Total Budget, Estimated Average CPM, and Estimated Total Available Impressions, with a day-over-day chart of available impressions broken out by page. Any fees on your account are applied to the estimated budget and CPM.
To adjust your view:
Click Edit Forecast at the top right to change the retailer, dates, and inventory.
Use the dropdown on the Pages over Time graph to switch between estimated impressions and estimated budget.
Read the data table below the graph for a breakdown by page, placement, date, and format. Click a page name to show its formats, then click a format to see data by day.
Use the dropdown above the table to filter by a specific format.
Download the report as Excel or CSV using the icon at the top right.
Understand Available Auction Inventory
An Auction forecast shows Available Auction Inventory; a Preferred Deals forecast shows Available Preferred Deals Inventory. This is the percentage of inventory still eligible for auction under your current targeting.
The value is fixed. It does not change with your bid or with auction behavior.
A higher percentage means more inventory is open for your campaign to compete for.
For example, 30% available auction inventory means 70% is already reserved by other campaigns running through Preferred Deals or Sponsorships, leaving 30% for your campaign to compete for. 0% means all inventory is booked through Preferred Deals and Sponsorships, so none is left to auction.
When available auction inventory is low or at 0%, consider:
Moving budget to other campaigns or time periods with more available inventory.
Adjusting targeting to reach less saturated inventory.
Raising your bid once auctionable inventory opens up, to stay competitive.
Reviewing whether the current setup can realistically deliver, given the available inventory.