Table of contents
Invalid Traffic Protection
Invalid Traffic Protection is a set of rules in place to protect our brands, retailers, and DSP partners from being billed for illegitimate traffic. Illegitimate traffic occurs when the user browsing a website is not who they claim to be (typically a bot or scammer).
With IVT rules, Criteo identifies and filters both general and sophisticated IVT through data-based identifiers, activities, and patterns. This includes non-human traffic and suspected traffic fraud.
Any traffic flagged as invalid by our rules will be discarded by our system and not counted for reporting or attribution purposes.
How Criteo detect invalid traffic?
At a high level, we detect invalid traffic when:
Traffic is from well-known IP addresses that correspond to search engine spiders, or other crawlers (usually comes with a dedicated user agent as well).
Traffic with non-human browsing patterns (too many actions in a given time range) on a given IP address.
Why is IVT important to you:
IVT protection is important for building trust. We want to assure brands and DSP partners that they can fully trust our platform and technology. With IVT protection, Criteo is trying to ensure every dollar of your retail media budget is used to reach real shoppers across the globe.
RMP is also now certified by the Trustworthy Accountability Group to ensure that RMP is compliant with the highest industry standards to monitor, detect, and block invalid traffic.
Thank you for your time and partnership.
Criteo's Tag Compliance
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is a global certification program aimed at combatting criminal activity and increasing trust in the digital advertising industry. It was created by leading trade organizations in the industry, including the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). TAG focuses on eliminating fraudulent traffic, combating malware, preventing Internet piracy, and promoting greater transparency in digital advertising.
Through its certifications, TAG recognizes companies that adhere to its guidelines and demonstrates their commitment to creating a safe and transparent advertising ecosystem. TAG's certifications include the Certified Against Fraud Seal and the Brand Safety Certified Seal, among others.
Criteo is one of the companies that has achieved multiple TAG certifications, emphasizing its dedication to combatting fraud and ensuring a brand-safe digital environment for advertisers.
Criteo has implemented both internal and external efforts to protect its clients from Invalid Traffic (IVT).
Internally, Criteo has dedicated teams working on detecting and filtering out invalid bid requests, impressions, and clicks. They have developed advanced engine detection and filtration systems to ensure that advertisers are not billed for invalid traffic.
Externally, Criteo leverages industry-compliant blocklists provided by organizations such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Trustworthy Action Group (TAG) to filter out known sources of invalid traffic. They also collaborate with leading third-party IVT detection companies and external consultants to constantly assess and enhance their tools and processes for detecting and preventing invalid and non-human traffic.
To further strengthen their capabilities, Criteo partners with industry-recognized and MRC-accredited services, such as Pixalate, to supplement their pre-bid and post-bid detection and filtration capabilities for IVT.
Criteo has undergone independent audits and received TAG Certification Against Fraud (CAF) and Brand Safety Certification (BSC) to ensure their efforts against fraud and brand safety meet industry standards.
The product and R&D teams at Criteo actively participate in various anti-fraud industry forums, ensuring they stay up to date with the latest information and advancements in IVT detection.
Additional IVT Support
Criteo has implemented both internal and external efforts to protect its clients from Invalid Traffic (IVT).
Internally, Criteo has dedicated teams working on detecting and filtering out invalid bid requests, impressions, and clicks. They have developed advanced engine detection and filtration systems to ensure that advertisers are not billed for invalid traffic.
Externally, Criteo leverages industry-compliant blocklists provided by organizations such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Trustworthy Action Group (TAG) to filter out known sources of invalid traffic. They also collaborate with leading third-party IVT detection companies and external consultants to constantly assess and enhance their tools and processes for detecting and preventing invalid and non-human traffic.
To further strengthen Commerce Max's capabilities, Criteo partners with industry-recognized and MRC-accredited services, such as Pixalate, to supplement their pre-bid and post-bid detection and filtration capabilities for IVT.
Criteo has undergone independent audits and received TAG Certification Against Fraud (CAF) and Brand Safety Certification (BSC) to ensure their efforts against fraud and brand safety meet industry standards.
The product and R&D teams at Criteo actively participate in various anti-fraud industry forums, ensuring they stay up to date with the latest information and advancements in IVT detection.