Every conversion operation today functions as a precise traffic management system which selects winners based on clean traffic quality rather than total volume. The main financial tool which maintains campaign profitability depends on blacklists and whitelists.
The following guide explains how to obtain and maintain correct blacklist and whitelist usage to prevent unnecessary expenses from junk traffic while generating profits from effective traffic sources.
What are they?
A whitelist (WL) contains platforms (zones and sites and publishers) which have proven to deliver successful traffic results through their high click-through rates and stable conversion rates and positive return on investment.
A blacklist (BL) contains platforms which generate fraudulent traffic and produce clicks without conversions and expensive impressions and junk traffic.
A whitelist maintains working platforms while a blacklist removes non-performing platforms from your budget.
Why are they needed
They save money.
Your budget will suffer significantly when you spend money on 10% of websites that produce low-quality traffic. The blacklist function enables you to stop funding unproductive traffic sources right away.
The return on investment (ROI) will rise.
The use of whitelisted platforms leads to better campaign performance because it reduces accidental clicks and produces more targeted user actions.
The process of optimization becomes more efficient.
Your ability to maintain traffic origin records through your own lists eliminates the need for new budget-consuming tests.
How to compile your lists
1. Start with tests
Your initial campaign expenses will be used to test different platforms before you activate any filters. Your main goal at this stage is to analyze Zone ID statistics.
After 2–3 days you can obtain the report to remove zones which show no conversions and high click-through rates because they likely contain bots or untargeted traffic.
The analysis should focus on three types of websites:
- zones with 0 conversions and high CTR — these are often bots or irrelevant traffic;
- zones with low CTR — no clicks, meaning no interest;
- sites with CR but poor ROI — you can leave them and watch for a couple more days.
2. Create a WL and BL database
The WL includes all platforms which achieve both high conversion rates and more than 100% return on investment.
The BL contains all platforms which show negative or suspicious behavior through excessive clicks and unusual IP addresses and duplicate user activity.
Maintain separate databases for each vertical market and geographic region because successful traffic patterns in Indonesia might not work in Brazil.
3. Automate the process
Youtarget allows users to establish automatic rules which enable the system to add websites between whitelists and blacklists.
The system will perform two functions based on specific conditions.
The system will add platforms to the whitelist when conversion rates exceed 1.5% and return on investment reaches 50% or higher.
The system will add platforms to the blacklist when conversion rates reach zero after processing 500 clicks.
The system operates in real-time to eliminate waste from traffic while you focus on other tasks because manual analysis becomes unnecessary when running multiple campaigns with numerous creatives.
How often to update lists
There is no such thing as an evergreen WL and BL.
The market together with its sources and audience segments experience continuous transformations. A region which used to generate 200 FTD per month will now produce negative results after six months.
The best time to perform list updates occurs every 2–3 weeks.
The update frequency for aggressive verticals including gambling and betting and dating should occur more frequently.
Subtleties that are often overlooked
1. BL does not mean “forever”
A platform will experience traffic source changes or experience a complete traffic failure which requires testing again after a month.
The system will restore platform operation when performance metrics return to normal levels.
2. Don’t copy other people’s WL
Each offer and each GEO is unique. The WL from your colleagues serves as a starting point but requires individual testing to become useful.
3. Combine with microbidding
A platform fails to generate profits because the current bid price exceeds its value.
You should decrease the bid price by 20-30% instead of blacklisting it because this might restore positive ROI.New advertisers can obtain WL and BL through Youtarget
The managers at Youtarget offer pre-made lists which organize content by verticals and geographic locations for gambling and nutra and dating and finance industries. The lists contain websites which have proven effectiveness through actual testing of marketing campaigns.
You can enhance these lists through continuous site additions and removals based on your specific requirements.
Blacklists and whitelists function best when used with additional optimization tools.
The system achieves better results when you use blacklists and whitelists together with auto-rules and anti-fraud tools and zone and device analysis.
Your strategy requires blacklists and whitelists as its fundamental elements. The system enables you to maintain traffic quality while expanding profitable areas and eliminating unproductive zones before they consume your budget.
The dynamic nature of WL and BL requires you to update them regularly while using microbidding and performance tracking without delays.
Through your Youtarget personal account you can access all necessary parameters for management either automatic or manual control.
You can develop your own lists and use manager-provided lists to create performance-driven campaigns that optimize each zone’s performance.
