Verification
Part of Demand-side advertising platforms compared
Checking DSP reporting and data export capabilities
Validate DSP report fields, export routes, permissions, freshness and retention before relying on campaign data.
Check DSP reporting against a report your team actually needs. Specify the fields and delivery route, then request a sample.
A dashboard view alone does not show whether the buyer can download the same breakdown, automate it or reconcile it with another system.
Use the same test for each DSP: confirm the report type, fields, access, format and delivery route, then run a sample and check it against the intended campaign decision. Treat an unspecified requirement as unresolved, not as a capability confirmed.
Define the report first
For each decision, write down the metric, dimensions and timing. A pacing check might need daily spend by campaign and line item. A supply review might need publisher, placement or deal.
Finance needs the cost definition and currency. State the time zone and whether the result must be available in the interface, as a file or through an API.
Request a data dictionary and a sample showing column names, identifiers, missing values and totals. If a required field is unavailable, record the supported alternative and whether it still answers the question.
Set the pass condition before testing: required fields and breakdowns must be present, totals must reconcile within a tolerance approved by your team, and delivery must meet the agreed reporting window. Record the observed variance and delivery time; without an agreed tolerance or window, the test is not yet accepted.
Check each export route
Display & Video 360: Google's Bid Manager API can generate downloadable reports using compatible filters, dimensions and metrics, subject to user permissions. A Query resource represents a report in the Display & Video 360 interface; running it generates a Report resource with a download URL. Queries can specify CSV, and the report type must be compatible with the selected filters, dimensions and metrics. Check the exact report type, fields and date range before relying on an archive process.
For Display & Video 360, test access with the account that will run or download the report. Bid Manager API access requires OAuth 2.0 and a Display & Video 360 user with access to the relevant partner or advertiser and one of these roles: Report only, Read, Standard, Admin, or Report only - restricted, which is limited to reports that can be shared with clients. Check applicable API request limits and report usage quotas; the route details do not give their figures.
Amazon DSP: Amazon describes programmatic reporting through its Ads API, which supports reporting activity and custom reporting dashboards. API access requires an application and approval process. Amazon Marketing Stream is a push-based messaging system that delivers hourly Amazon Ads campaign metrics and information on campaign changes in near real-time through the Amazon Ads API; it is available to agencies, tech providers and direct advertisers integrated with that API. Confirm the proposed report, permissions and market.
Amazon Marketing Stream provides regularly scheduled reports through its push model without needing an API call, but that does not establish a downloadable file format or destination. The route details do not name Amazon DSP console report types, file formats or delivery targets. If the campaign workflow needs a downloadable or bulk file, ask Amazon to identify the exact report, format and delivery method, and test it with a sample.
The Trade Desk: Its measurement and optimisation page describes campaign performance measurement, but does not name a reporting API or feed, schema, granularity, retention or delivery mechanism. Treat each of these as an open capability check: request the exact route and specification for the proposed report, including schema, granularity and retention, then ask for a sample before relying on it.
Do not infer retention, row limits, freshness or backfill and restatement behaviour from a route name. Ask for documented limits and timing for each proposed report or feed, and confirm whether scheduled or bulk file delivery is supported if your workflow requires it.
Run an acceptance check
- Have the account owner produce a small report in the interface and through the required export route.
- Compare field names, IDs, metric definitions, currency, time zone and date boundaries.
- Group the export to the dashboard's level before comparing totals; record any differences.
- Check when data appears and whether it can change later.
- Confirm who can rerun the report and how the buyer can obtain historical files at the end of the engagement.
For each proposed route, run a sample for the agreed date range and compare its fields, breakdowns and totals with the corresponding interface report. Confirm that the account intended to use the route can run and download or receive the output, and that the file or feed can be opened and processed as expected.
Record the sample's generation or arrival time, row count, missing fields and total variance. Compare these with the agreed acceptance conditions and the provider's documented freshness, volume and retention limits; if any required limit or behaviour is unspecified, leave that check open.
If a field is unavailable because of platform or privacy limits, decide whether an aggregate view still supports the intended decision.
