{"id":6562,"date":"2017-12-21T16:20:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T15:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yieldbird.com\/?p=6562\/"},"modified":"2024-07-22T19:27:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T17:27:15","slug":"is-apple-responsible-for-the-drop-in-ad-requests-and-publisher-revenue-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yieldbird.com\/research-hub\/is-apple-responsible-for-the-drop-in-ad-requests-and-publisher-revenue-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Apple Responsible for the Drop in Ad Requests and Publisher Revenue?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Designed as a safeguard for users, Apple’s ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention) became a threat to publishers.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), introduced by Apple in September, failed to meet publisher approval (to put it mildly). A default setting in Safari\u2019s update, it aimed to limit ad tracking by wiping out retargeting data in just 24 hours. Designed as a safeguard for users, ITP became a threat to publishers. Three months later, it\u2019s time to analyze its actual role in the ad ecosystem and ask one fundamental question: do the benefits outweigh the risks?<\/span><\/p>\n

Back to basics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The first Apple operating systems to contain Intelligent Tracking Prevention were iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, both released in mid-September. It\u2019s an intricate period in almost every publisher\u2019s calendar. That\u2019s because, at the end of the quarter, ad rates always tend to grow. So measuring the \u201cITP effect\u201d right away was difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

As of now, users updated 6 out of 10 iPhones and only 1 out of 4 Macs. For that reason, we will focus on mobile devices exclusively. It\u2019s an acceptable sample to verify whether publisher concerns were justified. Of course, there is no absolute explanation to this phenomenon, as it heavily depends on audience specifics. If most of your users use mobile devices, you are among the most vulnerable group.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ready or not, here comes ITP!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

To check the effect of ITP among our key publishers, we ran a DFP query (using Ad Exchange historical data) to compare monthly rCPMs. In the screenshot below, we\u2019ve demonstrated how to set the query to run properly. There is no need to add previous iOS updates because, <\/span>according to Apple<\/span><\/a>, it applies to less than 8% of devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Apple-Publishers-Revenue-DoubleClick-Report-DFP\"<\/p>\n

Choose all the metrics you consider important for your everyday reports and run the query. Now you\u2019ll see how ITP affects your performance and revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an example, below you\u2019ll find the rCPM comparison for a few websites we\u2019ve analysed:<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s a case of one of our publishers active mainly in the LATAM region.\n

<\/p>\n\"Apple-Publishers-Revenue-Report-LATAM-Ad-Request\"\"\"Similarly one of our European publishers and the results we have observed.\"Apple-Publishers-Revenue-Report-Europe-Ad-Request\"\"Apple-Publishers-Revenue-Report-Europe\"<\/strong><\/h2>\n

What can you do with this data?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

There are a couple of solutions. But before applying anything, publishers should carefully analyze their situation individually. If your performance dropped slightly, up to 10%, you likely don\u2019t have to change your strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the drop is strong enough to cause serious damage, e.g. up to 30-50%, you should definitely consider making a change. But what kind of change?<\/span><\/p>\n

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