DV360 Optimization Tips for Better Performance

Optimization is a continual process of adjusting your campaigns to improve performance based on data insights.

Below are some tried-and-tested strategies for optimizing your DV360 campaigns:

1. Bid Strategy Optimization

Your bidding strategy directly impacts the success of your campaigns. DV360 offers a range of bid strategies, each tailored to specific campaign goals. Selecting the right bid strategy is crucial for maximizing results. Below are all the major bidding strategies available in DV360:

Target CPA (Cost per Acquisition): This is ideal for campaigns where the goal is to acquire conversions at a specific cost. DV360 will automatically adjust bids to ensure you meet your CPA target, but it’s important to have enough historical data for optimal performance.
Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): This strategy is great for campaigns aiming to maximize revenue. DV360 automatically adjusts bids to help achieve the target ROAS, ensuring you get the best return on your ad spend.
Maximize Conversions: This strategy automatically adjusts bids to get as many conversions as possible within the campaign budget. It’s best for campaigns that are focused purely on conversion volume.
Maximize Conversion Value: Similar to "Maximize Conversions," this strategy aims to maximize the total value of conversions rather than just the number of conversions. It’s useful if you’re optimizing for high-value conversions, such as purchases of premium products.
Enhanced CPC (Cost Per Click): This is a semi-automated bid strategy that adjusts manual bids based on the likelihood of a conversion. It’s helpful if you prefer a more hands-on approach but still want the benefit of automated adjustments.
Manual CPC: The manual option gives you the most control, as you manually set the bids for each auction. This strategy is best for campaigns where you have a deep understanding of your audience and can optimize based on detailed insights.

2. Creative Optimization

A well-designed ad creative can make a huge difference in engagement rates and conversions. DV360 provides creative testing tools like A/B testing and dynamic creative optimization (DCO) that automatically serve the most effective ad variations to the right audience.

A/B Testing: Run multiple ad creatives in parallel to test different headlines, visuals, and calls to action (CTAs).
Dynamic Creative Optimization: Use dynamic templates that change content based on the viewer’s behavior or characteristics. This can help deliver more relevant ads and improve user engagement.

3. Audience Targeting and Segmentation

The more granular you get with your targeting, the better your chances of reaching the right audience at the right time. Use audience insights from DV360’s first-party and third-party data sources to create segmented audiences based on:

Demographics (age, gender, etc.)
Behaviors (purchase intent, website activity)
Interests (sports, technology, etc.)
Custom Intent Audiences (based on past search history)

The more specific your audience, the higher your chances of driving relevant traffic and conversions.

4. Frequency Capping and Ad Delivery

When running a display campaign, it’s crucial not to overwhelm your audience with the same ad repeatedly. DV360’s frequency capping feature allows you to limit the number of times a user sees the same ad within a specified timeframe. This ensures your creative remains fresh and prevents ad fatigue.

Additionally, consider using ad delivery pacing to optimize when your ads are shown throughout the day to maximize impact.

5. Leverage Reporting & Insights

DV360 provides a wealth of performance data that can inform optimization efforts. Regularly monitor metrics such as:

Click-through rate (CTR)
Conversion rate
Cost per acquisition (CPA)
Return on ad spend (ROAS)

Use this data to identify underperforming areas of your campaign and optimize for better results.

Scaling Your DV360 Campaigns

Once you’ve optimized your campaigns and are seeing positive results, it’s time to think about scaling. Scaling allows you to reach a broader audience while maintaining or improving the performance of your ads. Here’s how to do it effectively in DV360:

1. Expand Your Audience & Inventory

To scale, you need to broaden your audience and increase inventory availability. DV360 gives you access to millions of publishers and audiences globally, so consider expanding your reach by:

Increasing targeting options: Expand your reach by including additional targeting criteria like interests, in-market segments, or geolocation.
Opening up inventory: Consider testing programmatic Guaranteed deals or Open Auction inventory for more scale.

2. Automate with Smart Bidding

As your campaign grows, managing bids manually can become tedious and inefficient. DV360 offers Smart Bidding, which leverages Google’s machine learning algorithms to optimize bids for each auction based on the likelihood of achieving your desired outcome (such as conversions or revenue).

Smart Bidding strategies like Target CPA, Target ROAS, or Maximize Conversions can significantly reduce the time you spend manually adjusting bids while still driving results.

3. Budget Allocation and Distribution

Scaling your campaign often involves increasing your budget. However, it’s essential to allocate your budget strategically. DV360 provides tools to ensure that your budget is spread across high-performing inventory and audiences. Consider the following:

Budget pacing: Ensure that your campaign isn’t overspending early in the campaign by pacing your budget throughout the day.

Dynamic budget allocation: Adjust budgets based on the performance of various channels, placements, and creatives.

4. Creative Diversification

As you scale, don’t rely on just one creative. Different audiences respond to different formats. Diversifying your creatives across display, video, native, and audio can help you engage users across a variety of platforms.

DV360’s Dynamic Creative Optimization can automatically test and serve the most relevant creative for each audience.

Underpacing vs. Overpacing: What to Watch Out For

When scaling campaigns in DV360, proper budget pacing is crucial. Here’s what you need to know about underpacing and overpacing your budget:

Underpacing: This occurs when your campaign spends less than the allocated budget due to factors like low demand, low bid adjustments, or insufficient reach. The main consequence of underpacing is that you may miss out on valuable impressions and opportunities to engage users.

Solution: If you notice underpacing, you can adjust your bid strategy (e.g., increase bids or switch to an automated bidding strategy like Maximize Conversions), or expand your targeting to reach a broader audience.

Overpacing: Overpacing happens when your campaign spends more of the budget than intended, potentially leading to overspending and underperforming towards the end of the campaign. Overpacing can be caused by overly aggressive bidding strategies or an imbalance in your budget distribution.

Solution: To avoid overpacing, set daily or lifetime budget caps and make sure that automatic pacing is enabled. Monitoring performance regularly and adjusting bids and budget allocation can prevent this issue.

Advanced Strategies for Long-Term Success

Once you’ve got the basics down, consider implementing some advanced strategies to continue growing your campaigns.

Predictive Analytics: DV360’s machine learning tools can help you predict the likelihood of certain actions, such as conversions, and adjust your campaigns accordingly.

Third-Party Data: Integrating third-party data from trusted sources can give you deeper insights into your target audience, helping you make more informed decisions as you scale.

Cross-Channel Integration: Sync DV360 with other Google platforms (such as Google Ads, YouTube, etc.) to create a holistic cross-channel marketing strategy. This ensures your message reaches users on multiple touchpoints, driving stronger results.

Conclusion

Scaling and optimizing your campaigns in DV360 is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires ongoing testing, tweaking, and adaptation. By following the tips above—whether it’s optimizing your bid strategies, diversifying creatives, or leveraging machine learning to automate bidding—you can achieve a balanced mix of efficiency and scale that drives better performance across your digital advertising efforts.

As you move forward with DV360, remember that scaling doesn’t mean simply increasing your budget—it means being strategic, leveraging data insights, and continually improving to ensure sustained success.

By implementing these optimization and scaling tips, you can unlock the full potential of DV360 and run campaigns that deliver impactful results.