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Knowledge Base

Audience Segments And CDP Integration

Topsort’s audience targeting capabilities enable precise campaign targeting by leveraging your first-party data and behavioral insights to reach the right users at the right moment.

Audience Creation Methods

1. CDP Integration

Customer Data Platform (CDP) integration is the most powerful method for leveraging your existing audience infrastructure.

Key Benefits

  1. Precision Targeting and Audience Segmentation: Create detailed audience segments based on customer behavior, preferences, purchase history, and engagement patterns.

    High-Value Segment Examples:

    • New Customer Acquisition: First-time buyers, site visitors who haven’t purchased
    • Customer Retention: Lapsed users (30+ days since last visit), repeat purchasers
    • Category Affinity: Buyers from specific categories (healthcare, electronics, beauty)
    • Behavioral Segments: Cart abandoners, high-value customers, seasonal shoppers
    • Competitive Conquest: Users who purchased from competitor brands
  2. Automatic Synchronization: CDP segments sync automatically with Topsort daily, ensuring your campaigns always target the most current audience data without manual intervention.

  3. Real-Time Data Activation: Audience segments are immediately available for campaign targeting, enabling dynamic and responsive advertising strategies.

2. Custom Audience Building

Upload a CSV file with users that have belong to an audience segment. The CSV should have the following columns:

  • opaque_user_id: is the customer id that the user has on your side.
  • email: email of the user.
  • hashed_email: email of the user hashed using SHA256.
  • idfa: Apple ID of the device of the user.
  • hashed_idfa: Apple ID of the device of the user hashed using SHA256.
  • gaid: Android ID of the device of the user.
  • hashed_gaid: Android ID of the device of the user hashed using SHA256.

For the same identifier, the user can share either the raw version or the hashed version but not both. When uploading a CSV with raw data (email, idfa, or gaid), Topsort hashed the identifiers to comply with privacy and security requirements.

These audiences can be created using the Audience Tab in the UI or the APIs.

Implementation Guide

  1. Data Preparation

    For CDP Integration:

    • Coordinate with your CDP provider to grant API access to audience segments
    • Map your existing segments to Topsort’s taxonomy
    • Set up automated daily synchronization schedules

    For Custom Audiences:

    • Define your targeting criteria and business objectives
    • Gather necessary data points (user IDs, emails, etc.)
    • Sync that Data To Topsort
  2. Technical Integration

    Integrate audience data through our comprehensive Segments API. The Segments API handles userID hashing and connects with our Audience Builder to process both CDP data and behavioral data from your platform.

    Reference: Complete Integration Guide

  3. Campaign Configuration

    During campaign creation using the Campaign API, you can select specific audience segments (up to 5 per campaign) to define your target audience.

    Configure audience combination logic using AND/OR operators for maximum precision.

    Campaign targeting interface showing audience segment selection options
  4. Auction Integration

    Include the opaqueUserId in auction requests to enable real-time audience matching. The Auction API connects with our User Store to match users against configured segments:

    {
    "auctions": [
    {
    "type": "banners",
    "slots": 1,
    "slotId": "homepage_banner",
    "device": "mobile",
    "opaqueUserId": "0000488787_0681bb44-8553-41f3-a912-ca526afab323"
    }
    ]
    }

Audience Activation Methods

Topsort provides two powerful methods for applying audience targeting to your campaigns:

Boosting Strategy

Dynamically adjust bid values based on audience membership to prioritize high-value users.

Smart Bid Optimization Example Scenario: Premium beauty brand

targeting high-value customers Configuration: Apply 1.5x boost for “Premium Beauty Buyers” segment Results: - Base bid: $2.00 - High-value customer: Final bid = $2.00 × 1.5 = $3.00 - Standard user: Final bid = $2.00 Outcome: Premium customers see ads more frequently while maintaining cost efficiency for broader reach.

Filtering Strategy

Apply hard exclusions to ensure ads only reach your precisely defined target audience.

Precision Targeting Example Scenario: New product launch targeting

electronics enthusiasts Filter Configuration: Only show ads to “Electronics Buyers” + “Early Adopters” segments Result: Campaign reaches exclusively high-intent users, maximizing conversion rates and minimizing wasted impressions.

How the System Works

Topsort’s audience targeting system processes data through several key components:

  • Segments API: Ingests audience data from CDPs and processes userID hashing for privacy
  • Audience Builder: Combines first-party CDP data with real-time behavioral data
  • User Store: Maintains user segment memberships with online updates
  • Campaign API: Enables audience selection during campaign creation
  • Auction API: Performs real-time audience matching during bid requests

This architecture ensures that audience data remains current while enabling real-time targeting decisions during auctions.

Offsite Activation

Topsort can sync audiences directly to offsite channel like Google Ads, Meta Ads, and DSPs. These audiences can then be used on offsite campaign created via API or the UI.

Audience Administration & Governance

Access Control

Manage which advertisers can access premium audience segments:

  • Open Access: Available to all campaign creators
  • Restricted Access: Limited to specific advertiser accounts
  • Premium Tiers: Reserved for high-spending or strategic partners

Performance Monitoring

Track audience performance across campaigns:

  • Conversion rates by segment
  • Segment size

Data Privacy & Compliance

Ensure responsible data usage:

  • Anonymized user identifiers through hashing
  • GDPR and privacy regulation compliance
  • Secure data transmission and storage
  • Audience data retention policies

Best Practices

Audience Sizing

  • Minimum viable size: 1,000+ users for stable performance
  • Optimal range: 10,000-100,000 users for most campaigns
  • Premium segments: Smaller, high-value audiences (1,000-5,000) acceptable for luxury/niche products

Campaign Optimization

  • A/B testing: Compare broad vs. targeted approaches
  • Seasonal adjustment: Update segments based on shopping cycles
  • Cross-campaign coordination: Avoid audience fatigue through frequency capping
  • Performance monitoring: Track ROAS improvements from targeted campaigns

Revenue Optimization

  • Tiered pricing: Charge premium rates for exclusive audience access
  • Package deals: Bundle complementary audience segments
  • Performance guarantees: Offer ROAS commitments for premium targeting

Getting Started

Ready to implement Topsort’s audience targeting capabilities? Start with these steps:

  1. Audit existing data: Identify your most valuable customer segments
  2. Choose integration method: CDP sync or custom audience building
  3. Pilot with key advertisers: Test premium targeting with strategic partners
  4. Measure and optimize: Track performance improvements and expand successful segments
  5. Scale strategically: Add governance controls and premium audience tiers

Advanced audience targeting enables precise campaign targeting that drives both advertiser success and platform revenue growth.