Criteo Methodologies for Ad Measurement

MRC Accreditation

The Media Rating Council (MRC) accredits measurement systems that meet the standards set by the IAB/MRC Guidelines. Criteo's MRC accreditation certifies that its click and impression counting methodologies in Criteo Commerce Max comply with those guidelines — giving you confidence that your campaign data is measured accurately and that invalid traffic (IVT) is identified and excluded from your reporting and billing.

Currently, the certification covers onsite ad measurement only.

Why It Matters

• Validates that Criteo's measurement systems follow industry best practices.

• Ensures transparency and accountability in click and impression reporting.

• Confirms that invalid traffic is identified and excluded before it reaches your bills or reports.

Who Is It For?

Advertisers using Commerce Max for onsite campaigns.

When This Is Relevant to You

• When verifying click and impression billing accuracy.

• During audits, compliance checks, or agency reviews.

• When analyzing campaign performance quality using IVT data.

MRC Accreditation Scope

The MRC accreditation certifies Criteo's click and impression measurement systems for onsite campaigns in Commerce Max. You can view our certification letter attached to this article.

For more information on MRC standards, visit the IAB/MRC Guidelines.

Retailers Not Covered by MRC Accreditation

MRC accreditation applies to campaigns running on the vast majority of Criteo retailers. The retailers listed below are not yet covered. Campaigns on these retailers use Criteo's standard measurement methodology, but MRC IVT filtering does not apply.

Partner Qualification

Criteo maintains Supply Partner Guidelines and Advertiser Guidelines to ensure high-quality supply and demand networks. To serve ads through Commerce Max, your products must be listed on the retailer's site. Criteo conducts thorough integration and implementation tests before retailers go live on the platform.

Filtration Methodology

Invalid traffic (IVT) refers to clicks and impressions generated by illegitimate sources — such as bots or automated scripts — rather than real shoppers. Criteo uses multiple methods to identify and filter out this traffic, whether non-human (bots, automated scripts) or human (accidental or fraudulent clicks). We use data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) to detect non-human traffic. Criteo has also partnered with Double Verify, an MRC-accredited IVT detection service, to supplement pre-bid and post-bid filtration capabilities.

Criteo is independently TAG Certified Against Fraud (CAF) and TAG Certified Against Malware (CAM), and for TAG Brand Safety Certification (BSC), meaning Criteo has been granted TAG Platinum status, confirming its efforts against fraud and brand safety meet industry standards.

• You can find official press releases here and here and blogposts here and here.

• You can also find Criteo's latest certifications in the TAG registry. 

Criteo also blocks traffic from employee accounts, internal testing accounts, and internal IP addresses.

Filtering rules are reviewed quarterly and adjusted as needed. If a new type of invalid traffic is discovered, Criteo conducts a backward-looking analysis. If previously reported data was materially affected, you will be notified and steps will be taken to resolve any issues.

The filtration methods applied are:

• Decision rate. Criteo traffic receives significant information to apply a 100% IVT decision rate on activity.

• Multiple-click-per-impression. Criteo limits billable clicks to two clicks per ad impression. This includes a lookback window of 30 minutes after the initial impression. Any clicks outside this limit are excluded from billing.

• Click staleness. A click is considered invalid if the time between the ad impression and the click exceeds the impression-staleness window. These clicks are excluded from billing.

• User frequency capping. Criteo limits the frequency of ads served to specific users across all advertisers. The frequency caps are proprietary and not disclosed.

• Upfront filtration. Criteo uses industry-standard blocklists to detect and exclude traffic from endpoints deemed risky.

• IAB/ABCe International Spiders and Robots List. The IAB/ABCe International Spiders and Robots List is used to identify and remove community-known bots.

• Activity-based filtration. Criteo tracks user events and activity frequency to determine commercial intent. Traffic that fails to meet a minimum quality threshold is invalidated.

Click Measurement Methodology

Commerce Max uses the "In-Unit Click" reporting methodology. According to the IAB Measurement Guidelines, an in-unit click "represents measurement of user-initiated actions on advertisements, but, in contrast to a 'click' or 'click-through,' an in-unit click does not lead to a redirect from the publisher." Retail media clicks may take users to another page on the retailer's site but do not redirect to a different web location.

Impression Measurement Methodology

Criteo counts an impression when a placement or product is loaded and begins to render on the retailer's page.

Because Criteo ads are native and called by retailer sites for placement, Criteo relies on the retailer to implement the necessary beacons according to the appropriate guidelines. Criteo also conducts periodic testing to ensure guidelines are being met and maintains Supply Partner Guidelines to ensure our supply network adheres to applicable laws and regulations and industry standards, including traffic quality requirements.

Data Logging, Processing, and Reissuance

Each call to Criteo delivery servers generates a logging event. Criteo validates that all required information is contained in each logging event. This event is then processed through the data pipeline and stored in the Criteo data warehouse, where it becomes available in the Commerce Max reporting service.

If Criteo detects issues that impact your spend or data, we follow established investigative and escalation processes to determine the overall impact and potential credits or refunds. These are handled on a case-by-case basis and communicated by Criteo's customer service teams. When needed, data can be reprocessed to provide correct billing and reporting metrics.

MRC IVT Reporting Columns

You can view click and impression quality data in the Onsite Sponsored Products Activity and Onsite Display Activity reports in the Analytics tab of Commerce Max. The following columns can be added to these reports:

• Clicks (Gross). The total number of times your ads were clicked, including suspected invalid traffic.

• Clicks (Net). Clicks after invalid traffic has been excluded, per GIVT (General Invalid Traffic) requirements.

• Clicks (Invalid). Clicks identified as unintentional or fraudulent by Criteo's traffic monitoring.

• Impressions (Gross). The total number of times your ads were shown, including suspected invalid traffic.

• Impressions (Net). Impressions after invalid traffic has been excluded, per GIVT requirements.

• Impressions (Invalid). Impressions identified as unintentional or fraudulent by Criteo's traffic monitoring.

For more information on individual columns, see the tooltips on the report pages.

Cache-Busting Techniques

To minimize undercounting due to caching, Commerce Max uses expiry, unique string assignments, and cache-control headers.

Known Limitations

MRC accreditation for Commerce Max does not currently cover all campaign formats or retailers:

• Offsite and video campaigns are not included in the current certification scope. Impressions and clicks for these formats follow Criteo's standard measurement methodology, but MRC IVT filtering does not apply.

• Select retailers are not yet covered. See the Retailers Not Covered by MRC Accreditation section above for the full list.

For additional information on MRC standards, visit the IAB/MRC Guidelines.