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Targeting channels

Channels are a convenient way of defining different content sections of a website and applying a separate set of delivery limitations for each channel. Channels are useful when advertisers want to target specific visitor interests, for example 'restaurants' or 'plumbers'.

There are two types of channel:

  • Global Channel: owned by a Manager account; all banners controlled by that Manager can use these channels.
  • Website Channel: owned by a Website; only banners linked to a zone in this website can use these channels.

To create a website channel:

  • Go to Inventory > Targeting Channels
  • Select Add new Targeting Channel from above the list of existing channels:

targeting_channels_1

To create a global channel:

  • Login as a Manager. Go to My Account > Targeting Channel Management >Add new Targeting Channel

In the Name field, enter a suitable name for the channel, for example 'entertainment'. You can also add Description and Comments for the channel.

See also: Zones - Invocation Code.

When you click Save Changes you will return to the main Targeting Channels page, where a notification message will provide a link to the Delivery Options page:

targeting_channels_2

Here you can set delivery limitations for the channel. First, select an option from the Add delivery limitation dropdown:

  • Client - IP address: allows the ad to be targeted to users coming from specific IPs (or blocks of IP addresses).
  • Client - Domain: target an ad to users coming from a specific domain. (NB: this domain is obtained by a reverse DNS lookup of the user's IP address).
  • Client - Useragent: this will enable you to target ads to matching strings, which includes information about the user's browser/operating system.
  • Site - Channel: you must first set up at least one channel to target by channel (or section) of a website.
  • Site - Page URL: this will result in the ad displaying on selected page(s) in your site only
  • Site - Referring Page: select this option to show an ad to on pages linked to from the selected page(s).
  • Site - Variable: targeting in this manner will result in an ad being delivered to any ad request containing a specific variable. These variables can be any value passed in the HTTP request, e.g. to limit by gender=male or by a numeric variable, such as age 18 and over.
  • Site - Source: The Site:Source targeting is similar to the Site - Variable, except it targets ads against the passed in "source=" value only

See here for an example of some advanced targeting rules

Then, choose your main delivery criteria from the Delivery Limitations panel:

targeting_channels_3

This allows you to limit delivery when:

  • Client IP address is equal to...
  • Client IP address is different to...
  • AND/OR
  • Client Domain is equal to/different from/Contains/Does not contain/Regex match/Regex does not match...

After you create a set of limitations for the channel it becomes available for selection when setting delivery limitations for banners that are linked to zones on the selected website. To apply the channel limitation to a banner, select the Site - Channel option in the delivery limitations section for the banner and select the channel from the list of those available. All limitations you set for the channel are then applied to the banner. When you are creating the tag for a zone to add to your web pages, enter the same value in the Source field as the name of the channel, e.g. 'entertainment'.

When you have finished setting your delivery limitations, click Save Changes.

<div class="home_box"> <p id="home_box_list_header">OpenX 2.8 User Guide</p> <ul> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/Advertisers">Advertisers</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/campaigns ">Campaigns</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/banners">Banners</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/websites">Websites</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/zones">Zones</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/channels">Channels</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/direct+selection">Direct selection</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/user+access">User access</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/account">My account</a></li> <li><a href="/docs/2.8/userguide/statistics">Statistics</a></li> </ul> </div>