The Trade Desk Dimensions & Metrics: Complete Reference 2026

Understanding the full landscape of The Trade Desk dimensions and metrics is essential for anyone running programmatic campaigns through the world's largest independent demand-side platform. Whether you're building custom reports in the TTD platform, pulling data through the API, or analyzing performance across channels, knowing exactly what data is available — and what each field means — is the foundation of effective programmatic optimization.

This guide provides a complete reference of every dimension and metric available in The Trade Desk as of 2026. We've organized them by hierarchy level — campaigns, ad groups, and creatives — and included practical context on when and how to use each one. We also cover CTV, audio, and Unified ID 2.0 metrics that differentiate TTD from other DSPs.

What Are TTD Dimensions vs Metrics?

Before diving into the full reference, it's important to understand the difference between dimensions and metrics — two concepts that serve fundamentally different purposes in programmatic advertising data.

Dimensions are descriptive attributes that define what you're looking at. They are the labels, categories, and identifiers that let you organize and filter your data. Examples include campaign name, ad group ID, creative format, supply vendor, and device type. Dimensions answer the question: "How do I want to slice this data?"

Metrics are quantitative measurements that tell you how things performed. They are the numbers: impressions, clicks, spend, conversions, VCR, viewable rate. Metrics answer the question: "What happened with my programmatic campaigns?"

Breakdowns are cross-cutting dimensions you can apply to any metric to segment performance by criteria like device type, geo, supply vendor, data segment, or time of day.

How Is TTD Data Structured?

The Trade Desk uses a two-level campaign hierarchy: Campaign > Ad Group. Campaigns define the overall objective, budget, flight dates, and frequency caps. Ad groups control targeting, bidding, daily budgets, and creative assignments. Creatives are the ad assets assigned to ad groups. This is simpler than DV360's three-level hierarchy (Campaign > IO > Line Item) and maps more closely to how programmatic buyers think about campaign structure.

The Trade Desk differentiates itself from other DSPs through its omnichannel approach — a single platform for display, video, CTV, audio, native, and DOOH (digital out-of-home). Its Unified ID 2.0 framework and Koa AI engine add identity resolution and algorithmic optimization layers that produce unique metrics not available on other platforms.

Campaign Dimensions

Campaign-level dimensions define the top-level structure of your programmatic advertising. These fields identify the campaign and its core configuration — advertiser, objective, budget, flight dates, and frequency management.

Ad Group Dimensions

Ad groups are the primary execution layer in The Trade Desk — they control targeting, bidding, daily budgets, creative assignments, and supply selection. Each ad group defines what audience to reach, how much to bid, which creatives to show, and which inventory sources to use.

Creative Dimensions

Creative dimensions describe the actual ad assets served to users. The Trade Desk supports a wide range of creative formats — display banners, video pre-rolls, CTV spots, audio ads, native placements, and companion creatives. Understanding creative dimensions is critical for omnichannel creative analysis.

Core Performance Metrics

These are the fundamental metrics that measure how your programmatic ads are delivered and interacted with. Every Trade Desk buyer should understand these — they form the basis of all campaign analysis and optimization decisions.

Understanding TTD's cost structure: The Trade Desk is known for its transparent fee model. Unlike some DSPs that bundle fees into opaque CPMs, TTD breaks out media cost, data cost, and platform fees separately. This transparency is valuable for understanding true margins — but it means you must use total cost (not media cost) for accurate CPA and ROAS calculations. Media cost alone can understate your true investment by 20-40%.

Conversion Metrics

The Trade Desk tracks conversions through its proprietary attribution system. Conversions are categorized as post-click (user clicked then converted) or post-view (user saw the ad then converted within the attribution window). These metrics are essential for measuring campaign ROI and optimizing toward business outcomes.

Video & CTV Metrics

The Trade Desk is a leading platform for video and Connected TV advertising. Its video metrics track the full viewing experience from initial play through completion, while CTV-specific metrics provide household-level measurement unique to television environments. Understanding these metrics is essential for evaluating video creative performance and CTV campaign effectiveness.

CTV vs. standard video: CTV inventory (smart TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV) behaves differently from desktop and mobile video. CTV typically has much higher VCR (90%+ vs. 60-80% for web video) because viewers are more engaged and fewer ads are skippable. However, CTV does not support clicks — so click-based metrics (CTR, CPC) are meaningless for CTV. Evaluate CTV performance using VCR, CPCV, unique households, and brand lift studies.

Audio Metrics

The Trade Desk provides access to programmatic audio inventory across podcast platforms, streaming music services, and digital radio. Audio metrics measure whether listeners hear your full message — a critical consideration since audio ads cannot be visually skimmed.

Audio performance benchmarks: Audio completion rates are typically very high (90-98%) because most audio environments are non-skippable — listeners cannot fast-forward through podcast or streaming music ads. This makes audio one of the highest-attention media channels available. The key optimization lever for audio is not completion rate (which is naturally high) but reach efficiency, frequency management, and creative quality.

Viewability & Quality Metrics

Viewability and quality metrics ensure your ads are being seen by real users in brand-safe environments. The Trade Desk integrates with major verification vendors (IAS, DoubleVerify, MOAT) and provides native quality measurement for impression validation.

Quality optimization: The Trade Desk allows you to set viewability and quality thresholds at the ad group level — for example, only bidding on inventory with predicted viewability above 60%. Pre-bid quality filters reduce wasted spend but may limit scale. Find the right balance between quality thresholds and available reach for your campaign objectives.

Audience & Targeting Breakdowns

The Trade Desk offers extensive breakdown dimensions for segmenting performance by audience characteristics, inventory properties, and delivery context. These breakdowns are essential for optimizing targeting, supply selection, and budget allocation across the omnichannel programmatic landscape.

Using breakdowns for optimization: Start with supply vendor and environment breakdowns to understand where your budget is being spent and which supply paths deliver the best results. Use device type to compare performance across screen sizes — CTV commands higher CPMs but delivers stronger brand engagement. Data segment breakdowns reveal which audience targeting layers drive conversions, helping you allocate budget to the most valuable segments and eliminate underperforming data costs.

Unified ID 2.0 & Cross-Device Metrics

Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) is The Trade Desk's open-source identity framework that provides cookie-free audience identification using encrypted, hashed email addresses. As third-party cookies phase out, UID2 becomes increasingly important for accurate measurement and targeting across devices, browsers, and platforms.

Why UID2 metrics matter: Cookie-based reach dramatically overcounts unique users — one person using two browsers and three devices appears as five or more cookies but is just one person. UID2 reach corrects this by linking the same user's email-based identifier across all their devices. Similarly, cross-device conversions capture conversion paths that cookies miss entirely — like seeing a CTV ad on a smart TV and converting on a laptop. As cookie deprecation continues, campaigns with high UID2 match rates will have significantly more accurate measurement.

TTD Metric Benchmarks by Channel

Understanding what "good" looks like for TTD metrics depends on the channel and inventory type. Display, video, CTV, and audio each have fundamentally different performance characteristics. Here are typical benchmarks across channels.

Display benchmarks

Video benchmarks

CTV benchmarks

Audio benchmarks

Important benchmark context: These ranges represent approximate industry averages and vary significantly by vertical, geography, inventory quality, and targeting specificity. Premium inventory (direct deals, private marketplaces) typically commands higher CPMs but delivers better engagement and viewability. Narrow targeting with expensive third-party data segments increases effective CPM. Always benchmark against your own historical campaigns first.

TTD Reporting API and Data Access

The Trade Desk provides multiple data access methods suited to different reporting needs and technical capabilities.

TTD Platform reporting

The built-in reporting interface supports custom report creation with configurable dimensions, metrics, filters, and date ranges. Reports can be saved, scheduled, and exported as CSV or Excel. The platform also provides real-time campaign dashboards with performance snapshots and pacing alerts.

TTD API (v3)

The Trade Desk API v3 provides programmatic access to campaign management and reporting. The MyReports endpoints let you create, run, and download custom reports with full control over dimensions, metrics, and filters. The API supports real-time bid data, conversion uploads, and campaign configuration changes. It is the preferred method for integrating TTD data into external dashboards and data warehouses.

Data exports and integrations

TTD supports automated data exports to cloud storage (S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob). These exports can be configured for daily, hourly, or real-time delivery depending on the data type. Log-level data exports provide impression-level granularity for advanced attribution modeling and custom analysis. Many advertisers pipe TTD data into BigQuery, Snowflake, or Redshift for cross-platform analysis alongside data from Google, Meta, and e-commerce platforms.

Koa AI recommendations

The Trade Desk's Koa AI engine provides algorithmic optimization recommendations alongside standard reporting. Koa analyzes performance patterns and suggests bid adjustments, budget reallocations, and targeting changes. While Koa's recommendations appear in the UI and API, they are not separate metrics — they are AI-generated optimization suggestions based on the underlying metric data.

Key Differences: TTD vs Other DSPs

Understanding how The Trade Desk's metrics compare to other platforms helps you navigate multi-DSP campaigns and agency reporting.

TTD vs DV360

Both are DSPs, but they differ in structure and measurement. DV360 uses a three-level hierarchy (Campaign > IO > Line Item) while TTD uses two levels (Campaign > Ad Group). DV360's conversion tracking relies on Floodlight through CM360, while TTD uses its own pixel. DV360 has native integration with Google's ecosystem (BigQuery, GA4, YouTube), while TTD has broader exchange access and a more transparent fee structure. When running both DSPs, frequency management across platforms requires careful coordination.

TTD vs Meta Ads

Meta Ads is a walled garden with deterministic user identity (logged-in users). TTD is an open internet DSP with probabilistic identity (cookies, device IDs, UID2). Meta provides people-based reach metrics; TTD provides device/household-based reach. Conversion attribution methods differ entirely — Meta uses its own event tracking while TTD uses its proprietary pixel. Cost structures also differ: Meta uses auction-based pricing with automatic optimization, while TTD gives buyers explicit control over bid strategies and supply selection.

How to Use TTD Metrics for Campaign Optimization

Having access to dozens of metrics across multiple channels is powerful, but knowing which ones matter for your specific goals is what separates effective programmatic buyers from those drowning in data. Here's a practical framework.

For brand awareness campaigns

Focus on unique households (for CTV), UID2 reach, frequency, viewable rate, and VCR. Monitor frequency across devices to prevent ad fatigue — a user seeing your CTV ad 3x and your display ad 5x may be experiencing 8 total impressions. Use household-level frequency caps to manage true exposure.

For performance/conversion campaigns

Prioritize CPA, ROAS, conversion rate, and attributed revenue. Separate post-click from post-view conversions to assess attribution quality. Use supply vendor and data segment breakdowns to identify the most efficient paths to conversion and reallocate budget accordingly.

For video and CTV campaigns

Track VCR and CPCV as headline efficiency metrics. For CTV specifically, focus on unique households and CTV reach rather than click-based metrics (CTV does not support clicks). Use the quartile funnel (25% → 50% → 75% → 100%) to identify where viewers drop off and optimize creative accordingly.

For audio campaigns

Audio completion rate will naturally be high (90%+) because most audio is non-skippable. Focus instead on cost per completed listen, reach, and frequency. Use cross-device conversion metrics to measure whether audio exposure drives action on other devices — audio is an awareness channel that often converts elsewhere.

Common Mistakes When Analyzing TTD Data

Even experienced programmatic buyers make these mistakes when working with The Trade Desk data. Avoiding them will ensure accurate analysis and sound optimization.

1. Using media cost instead of total cost for ROI calculations

The Trade Desk's transparent pricing means media cost, data cost, and platform fees are broken out separately. This is great for transparency but creates a trap: using media cost for CPA or ROAS calculations systematically understates your true cost. Data costs alone can add 10-20% on top of media cost, and platform fees add another layer. Always use total cost for all efficiency metrics.

2. Applying click-based metrics to CTV campaigns

CTV devices (smart TVs, Roku, Apple TV) do not support clicks. CTR and CPC are meaningless for CTV inventory — they will be zero or near-zero. Evaluate CTV performance using VCR, CPCV, unique households, and brand lift. If your reporting dashboard shows zero CTR for CTV campaigns, that is expected behavior, not a problem.

3. Ignoring frequency across devices

A frequency cap of 5 per week at the campaign level applies per device or cookie — not per person. A user with a phone, tablet, laptop, and CTV could see your ad up to 20 times despite a 5x frequency cap. Use UID2-based frequency management and household-level caps to control true per-person exposure. Without cross-device frequency management, you are almost certainly over-exposing your most active audiences.

4. Comparing post-view conversions across platforms without normalization

TTD, DV360, and Meta Ads all define attribution windows differently. A 30-day post-view window in TTD will produce dramatically more conversions than a 1-day view window in Meta. When comparing conversion performance across platforms, normalize to the same attribution windows or explicitly note the differences.

5. Overlooking data cost efficiency

Third-party data segments add per-impression costs that can significantly impact your effective CPM. A $3 CPM with $2 in data costs is effectively a $5 CPM — even before platform fees. Use the data segment breakdown to evaluate whether each targeting layer justifies its cost. Remove underperforming data segments that add cost without improving conversion rates.

6. Averaging VCR, CPA, or ROAS across ad groups

VCR, CPA, and ROAS are ratios. Averaging them across ad groups gives mathematically incorrect results because each ad group has different impression, conversion, and spend volumes. Instead, sum the components separately, then calculate the ratio from the totals. For VCR: total completions ÷ total starts. For CPA: total cost ÷ total conversions. For ROAS: total conversion value ÷ total cost.

7. Not accounting for supply path optimization

The same publisher inventory can be accessed through multiple SSPs and exchanges, each adding their own fees. If your ad group buys from five exchanges that all resell the same inventory, you may be bidding against yourself and paying inflated CPMs. Use the supply vendor breakdown to identify duplicate supply paths and configure supply path optimization (SPO) to buy through the most efficient route to each publisher.

What Changed in The Trade Desk in 2024-2026

The Trade Desk has made significant updates to its platform, metrics, and identity infrastructure. Understanding these changes is critical for leveraging new capabilities and adapting your reporting.

Unified ID 2.0 expansion

UID2 adoption has expanded significantly across publishers, advertisers, and data providers. The framework now supports more identifier types beyond email, including phone number-based identifiers. UID2 match rates have improved as more publishers implement authenticated traffic solutions. New metrics around UID2 coverage rate (percentage of impressions with UID2 identifiers) help advertisers understand the quality of their identity data.

Kokai platform upgrade

The Trade Desk's Kokai platform upgrade brought significant changes to the campaign management and reporting experience. The new interface provides better cross-channel analytics, improved pacing visualization, and more intuitive report building. Kokai also introduced enhanced AI-powered optimization through an upgraded version of the Koa engine, with more transparent recommendations and performance predictions.

CTV measurement enhancements

CTV measurement has been significantly improved with better household-level attribution, incremental reach measurement (CTV-only vs. CTV+digital), and integration with automatic content recognition (ACR) data for cross-screen frequency management. New CTV metrics include incremental household reach (households reached by CTV that were not reached by linear TV) and cross-screen frequency (combined CTV + digital impression frequency per household).

Retail data partnerships

TTD has expanded its retail data partnerships, enabling closed-loop measurement that connects ad impressions to in-store and online purchases through retailer data clean rooms. New metrics from these partnerships include in-store attributed sales, total attributed ROAS (online + offline), and new-to-brand customer acquisition. These retail measurement capabilities are available for CPG, retail, and e-commerce advertisers.

Privacy and identity evolution

As privacy regulations evolve globally, TTD has enhanced its consent management and privacy-preserving measurement capabilities. New features include aggregate reporting for privacy-restricted environments, differential privacy-based metrics, and consent-rate reporting that shows the percentage of impressions with valid consent for tracking. Advertisers should monitor consent rates by geography and exchange to understand data availability in different markets.