What do you need to know about channels?
A great way to gauge the performance of your properties and ad units is through the use of channels. Read on to learn about channels, types of channels and setting up channels. If you are interested in reading about how channels are associated with blocking content to you ad units, check out the article on fitlers.

Channels:
Channels are a way to group URLs or ad units. A key benefit is that you can run a report on a specific channel, allowing you to monitor the performance of that group of URLs and ad units side by side. Creating channels is optional and they do not affect your revenue or how your ads display; however, they do allow you to obtain much more specific data in your reports. A channel or channels must be in place if you are using a competitive ad filter, because competitive ad filters won’t work unless they are associated with a channel.

There are two types of channels, and each has a different purpose: URL Channel and Custom Channel.

When to use a URL Channel?
You can use an URL channel for two purposes. 1) Use a URL channel to track the performance of specific URLS. 2) Use a URL Channel when you want to block ad units from being associated with specific URLs.

Here is an example. All ad unit impressions on a web site (e.g., contoso.com) or within a part of that web site (e.g., contoso.com/sports) can be tracked in a URL channel. You will want to organize and name your URL channel so you can track the performance of different parts of your web property.

When to use a Custom Channel?
You can use a custom channel for two purposes. 1) Use a custom channel to track the performance of specific ad units. 2) Use a custom channel when you want to block content from appearing in certain ad units.

A custom channel can contain ad units from as many properties as you want. Also, ad units can belong to different custom channels. There is no limit to how many custom channels an ad unit belongs to.

Custom channels are the most flexible type of channel, allowing you to group your ad units and adjust the settings you need for your reports.

Channel limits

pubCenter limits publishers to 200 channels per account.

How do you set up a URL Channel?
1. Navigate to Setup.

2. Click Channels --URL channels—Create a new URL channel.

3. Name your channel and enter the URLs you want to report on.

4. Make sure to associate the channel with competitive filters, if you are using your channel to block content from appearing in ad units on the specified URLs.

5. Click Save.

You can now run channel reports and the URL’s you selected will now be blocked, provided you have them associated with a filter.

How do you set up a Custom channel?
1. Navigate to Setup.

2. Click Channels --Custom channels—Create a new custom channel.

3. Name your channel and enter the ad units you want to report on.

4. Make sure to associate the channel with competitive ad filters, if you are using your channel to block content from appearing in ad units.

5. Click Save.

You can now run channel reports, and the ad units you selected will now be blocked, provided you have them associated with a competitive ad filter.

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