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changelog

Banners—Slot Reserve Prices for Manual Bidding

August 5, 2025

We’ve added slot-level reserve prices for banner campaigns, allowing marketplaces to set minimum CPM and CPC thresholds for individual banner slots. This granular control ensures optimal monetization while maintaining campaign performance standards.

Screenshot of reserve prices for listings.
Screenshot of reserve prices for listings.

Key Benefits

Granular Revenue Control

Set specific minimum bid thresholds for each banner slot based on placement value and performance

Intelligent Fallback Logic

Slots without specific reserve prices automatically inherit marketplace-level reserve settings

Campaign Validation

Manual bidding campaigns receive clear warnings when bids fall below slot reserve thresholds

Centralized Management

All slot reserve prices are stored and managed through central services for consistency

How It Works

Reserve Price Hierarchy

When evaluating banner campaigns, the system follows this priority order:

  1. Slot Reserve Price - If set, this takes precedence
  2. Marketplace Reserve Price - Used as fallback when no slot-specific price exists

Campaign Impact

  • Manual Bidding Campaigns: Must meet or exceed slot reserve prices to participate in auctions
  • Autobidding Campaigns: Bid amounts automatically adjust to meet minimum slot requirements
  • Exclusive Campaigns: Unaffected by reserve price restrictions

Setting Slot Reserve Prices

To set or update reserve prices for your banner slots, please follow these steps:

  1. Prepare a CSV File: Create a configuration file listing the slot_id and your desired minimum cpm_reserve_price and cpc_reserve_price reserve prices for each banner slot.

  2. Contact Your Representative: Share the CSV file with your Topsort account manager. Our team will handle the configuration and apply the new thresholds.

  3. Monitor Performance: After the changes are live, monitor your campaign participation and slot revenue to ensure the new reserve prices are meeting your goals.

Validation and Warnings

When creating or editing manual bidding campaigns, the system will:

  • Check bid amounts against relevant slot reserve prices
  • Display warnings like “Maximum [CPM/CPC] must be at least $[slot reserve price]” when thresholds aren’t met
  • Prevent campaign participation if bids remain below minimum requirements

Slot reserve prices for banner campaigns are available now. Contact your Topsort representative to optimize your slot pricing strategy and maximize banner ad revenue.