Whether or not you have the time to invest in this kind of analysis is always tough—but it is something that someone needs to do. This fragmented landscape is getting bigger and more complicated (hello, AI and iROAS), and foundationally, you want to have the confidence that you’re on solid ground and know where the potholes are when you make those budget decisions.
For both onboarding to an SSP or replatforming to a new SSP, here are the questions you must ask your retailer, your SSP, or yourself right out of the gate.
What are the attribution window options, and is there time in data lag from retailer to SSP?
Each SSP has different default and flexibility levels set by the retailer. Your brand may use a different window of time for attribution with each SSP. For example, the assortment (how many SKUs you have at a retailer) may be different due to pack sizes (45 days) versus single sizes (14 days). So consumption windows may differ, and you want to ensure apples-to-apples comparison across retailers.
All SSPs offer several attribution methods in the platform, making it easy to select and compare.
Is in-store attribution an option, and how is it calculated?
This matters because some retailers are very heavily transacted in-store after an online interaction and may have a default attribution window as long as 30 days. That could inflate the value of the digital touch point to the in-store conversion and make metrics like ROAS seem much higher than they are.
What components determine ‘relevancy’ when it comes to a search result?
Relevancy is how closely a search result matches the user’s query and how useful that result is in the context of the search. All SSPs and retailers should have basic definitions and attributes to determine relevancy. Some SSPs allow the retailer to dictate the weight of a brand term, or even profit margin, as part of the calculation.
How is personalization defined: Session-based? Logged-in user? Current basket contents?
Personalization can mean different things in different scenarios. Some retailers offer product recommendations (as sponsored product carousels) based on what might already be in a shopper’s basket even if they’re not logged in, whereas others won’t unless the user is signed. Koddi—the historical SSP for many travel sites, which has now expanded to Kroger and Gopuff—has a dynamic capability that offers category and keyword targeting, along with audience and behavior insights that can get close to personalization without logged-in requirements.
