Optimized competition

Optimized competition lets you improve overall yield on inventory eligible for dynamic allocation across Ad Manager, through increased competition between direct and indirect sales in a fully automated manner.

Optimized competition provides more opportunities for Ad Manager remnant line items, Authorized Buyers, and Open Bidding buyers to compete against reservations when they are willing to pay high prices relative to the reservations.

Optimized competition is part of a suite of optimization features that includes dynamic allocation and First Look:

• Dynamic allocation optimizes for overall publisher revenue while protecting delivery of guaranteed line items. It is activated for all networks.
• First Look lets you unlock additional high-value Ad Exchange demand through granular pricing rules. We recommend activating both optimized competition and First Look to maximize your yield.
• Target CPM can earn you more revenue over time by adjusting floor prices to match more bids. Floor prices on individual bid requests can be either higher or lower than the target CPM you indicate. Average CPM for your inventory, however, is equal to or higher than the target CPM you specify.

Once activated, optimized competition operates automatically like dynamic allocation, and similar to First Look it allows for significant revenue gains by introducing greater competition for your inventory. As with First Look, this increased competition can result in auction buyers winning impressions that would have previously gone to a reservation line item, but the low fill rate (typically under 1%) results in limited impact to reservation delivery.

How optimized competition works

If dynamic allocation sets a very high temporary CPM to protect the delivery of an Ad Manager standard line item, this can restrict the ability of Ad Manager remnant line items, Authorized Buyers, and Open Bidding buyers to compete for the impression.

Optimized competition provides an opportunity for such demand to compete against the Ad Manager standard line item at a lower price than the temporary CPM set by dynamic allocation (that is, the standard line item will compete against non-guaranteed demand based on the price set by optimized competition instead of the temporary CPM set by dynamic allocation). The price that optimized competition sets is always at least as high as the CPM of the competing Ad Manager standard line item. Optimized competition does not change the price for sponsorship line items, or affect their delivery.

The optimized competition price is algorithmically determined per query, based on factors such as the CPM of the competing reservation line item and historical Ad Exchange bids on similar queries. Optimized competition’s objective in setting the price is to increase your overall revenue across Ad Manager at a low fill rate.

Optimized competition and First Look

Optimized competition can find opportunities to optimize and increase revenue when First Look is activated. If dynamic allocation sets a very high temporary CPM to protect the delivery of an Ad Manager standard line item, buyers activated for First Look can compete at whichever value is lower between the optimized competition price and the publisher-configured First Look floor price.

Optimized competition and First Look revenue

For publishers with First Look activated, some revenue previously attributed to First Look could be attributed to optimized competition instead.

While First Look revenue would decline, in most cases optimized competition revenue should more than offset the decline, and publishers should realize an overall revenue gain in Ad Manager.

Activate optimized competition

Activating optimized competition doesn't require any updates to your line item configurations or additional tags on your page.

To activate (or deactivate) optimized competition at the network level:

1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
2. Click Admin, then Global settings, and then Network settings.
3. Next to "Ad serving settings," activate  or deactivate  Optimized competition.

Report on optimized competition

1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
2. Click Reporting and then Reports.
3. Click New report. The "Historical" report type is selected by default.
4. Enter a meaningful name for the report.
5. Select the Optimization type dimension and any desired "Total" or "Ad Exchange" metrics.

   The "Optimization type" dimension breaks down data into the categories of "Optimized Competition," "First Look," and "All Other Traffic"—that is, all traffic not optimized through the dimensions mentioned.

6. Click Run or Save.