Third-party data taxonomy design

IMPORTANT: This page explains how to create a "flat" taxonomy where the path hierarchy is defined within the display name of each segment. If you need to build a taxonomy with an explicit structure defined by individually created segments, consult with your Technical Account Manager and use Third-party data legacy taxonomy design. Before reading, be sure to familiarize yourself with the taxonomy types, data rates, and how they affect your taxonomy design.

Overview

Data taxonomy design is an integral part of the third-party data integration process. Here's what you need to know about taxonomy design to complete your third-party data integration steps successfully.

Understanding taxonomy structure

When designing a "flat" taxonomy, it's important to understand how the display name of each segment defines the path hierarchy and taxonomy structure. Here's what you need to know:

• A taxonomy design typically results in a hierarchical diagram that helps visualize the full path of a segment.
• The location of a segment in a taxonomy defines its full path, which always starts at the root level.
• The taxonomy hierarchy always starts with the ROOT element.
• The ROOT element is created for you and will not appear in the data marketplace (DMP) for advertisers in the platform. For example, Interest > Technology > Computers will appear as Computers.

Recommended taxonomy design

The Trade Desk recommends designing and building a flat taxonomy, where all segments exist as children under the ROOT node, with segment names representing the full path.

If preferred, you can create any custom nodes under ROOT to be used for organization. For example, a node for your "Branded" taxonomy and a node for your "Custom Segments" taxonomy, both children under the ROOT node. This is an example of a bona fide hierarchical taxonomy.

Integration and display behavior

To help advertisers find and understand your data, follow these guidelines and best practices:

• During integration, you will use the full path of each segment to create display names that determine how advertisers can find your segments in The Trade Desk DMP.
• In the DMP, only the end of the branch in the segment hierarchy (the text following the last greater-than symbol >) will be displayed as the segment name. For example, a segment with the display name Interest > Technology > Computers will appear as Computers as illustrated in the following example.
• To increase relevance and help advertisers better understand your segments, use clear and descriptive names. Do not use random letters or numbers, or generic labels like PROVIDER_NAME or Custom Segment 1234. For details, see Display name guidelines.
• The Trade Desk may reject data segments if the DisplayName and Description properties contain terms from sensitive categories such as pharmaceuticals, medical health, and alcohol-related topics.

Process considerations

Before creating your segments, consider the following to optimize your workflow and improve segment relevance:

• The design process is the same for both syndicated and custom taxonomies. See also Third-party data taxonomies.
• Build smaller, more targeted segments. For example, instead of having a segment called NY Restaurant Goers, divide it into more specific groups like NY Italian Restaurant Goers and NY Thai Restaurant Goers.
• You don't have to complete your taxonomy design before sending your segment data, but you must have it ready before you start creating data elements for your segments. For details, see Third-party audience data integration.

Taxonomy design example

The following diagram provides a visual representation of a taxonomy. It can help you define the full path that you will use as a value for the DisplayName property of each segment. The boxes with a fill color represent the data elements that you would create for this taxonomy and show the segment names that will appear in the UI.

IMPORTANT: The Trade Desk may reject data segments if the DisplayName and Description properties contain terms from sensitive categories such as pharmaceuticals, medical health, and alcohol-related topics. For details, see the Sensitive categories.

When you implement your taxonomy in the DMP, you will organize your segments in a condensed structure (sometimes referred to as a "flat taxonomy"), with the hierarchy defined in the display name of each data element. The following diagram illustrates the display names (full paths), provider element IDs, and hybrid data rates for each element from the preceding diagram. The data elements located higher in the hierarchy have a purple fill color, while the lower level segments have a blue fill color.

The following table summarizes all data element property values that define the taxonomy shown in the diagram. Each node is parented to the ROOT node that The Trade Desk creates for you.

TIP: Whether you create a visual representation of your taxonomy or a spreadsheet similar to this table, having all your segments defined in one place will come in handy when creating segments as described in Third-party audience data segments and rates.

After you design your taxonomy, you can implement it by creating data elements and assigning rates to them. For details, see either of the following guides that relate to the data you want to onboard:

• Audience data segments and rates
• Geo data segments and rates

FAQs

The following are frequently asked questions about data element taxonomies.

Do I need to create a diagram for my taxonomy?

No. We include diagrams only for visual representation of the hierarchical relationships between the segments.

Do I have to create separate segments for each box representing a segment in a diagram?

No. You need to create only the segments shown as filled, colored boxes, which represent the buyable segments at the end of each branch (path) in a diagram. Only in some taxonomies, such as those for commerce data, you might have a use case where you need to create a structured taxonomy with individual segments. Be sure to consult with your Technical Account Manager before using the Rate inheritance in taxonomies docs.

Do I need to create container elements that define the full path for my segments in a taxonomy?

No. We recommend creating taxonomies with the in-name hierarchy, where the full path is defined in the name of each segment. If you need to create a taxonomy with an explicit hierarchy, with each parent segment defined individually, see Rate inheritance in taxonomies.

As a geo data provider, do I have to design a taxonomy before onboarding my data?

Yes. You must design your taxonomy and receive approval from your Technical Account Manager before you can onboard your data.