An inventory group is a collection of inventory sources. The collection is categorized based on specific criteria such as ad format, placement type, or other relevant attributes that each inventory source has in common. You’ll group inventory when you want to target or block the same set of inventory across multiple campaigns to streamline your operations and manage your campaigns effectively.

Create and target custom Open Exchange, PMP, or Contextual inventory groups; or take advantage of Curated inventory groups.

Open Exchange inventory is available to all bidders in a programmatic auction. This “raw” inventory is listed in the Inventory app for targeting individually, or for targeting via groups that you form based on shared characteristics.

When you create an Open Exchange inventory group, you specify criteria such as where you want the ads to be published (countries, device types), which SSPs you’d like to target inventory from, what device types you’d like to serve on, and more. Consolidate the inventory of your choice into a single collection, then target or block the group across multiple campaigns. Refer to Create or manage an inventory group (Link) for more details and step-by-step instructions.

Private Marketplace (PMP) deals are used to purchase ad inventory through a private, invitation-only auction. Unlike Open Exchange inventory, PMP deals provide more control and premium inventory.

PMP groups consolidate the PMP deals of your choice into a single collection. Target or block this same group of PMP deals across multiple campaigns. Refer to Create or manage an inventory group for more details and step-by-step instructions.

Contextual inventory groups rely on contextual signals to target ads based on the content of a webpage or a given URL. Delivering ads alongside relevant content helps ensure alignment with users’ interest and intent, and can lead to higher engagement.

When you create a contextual inventory group, you specify the specific keywords and/or URLs that you’d like to target, then add the group to a campaign. Refer to Create or manage an inventory group for more details and step-by-step instructions.

Unlike custom Open Exchange, PMP, and Contextual inventory groups, Curated inventory groups are readily available. They include collections of inventory that are grouped based on device type and content-subject-matter categories.

Refer to Curated inventory groups overview for more information, including how to access and target these groups.

You’ll apply search terms and filters to narrow a list of inventory by the criteria of your choice. These filters differ based on the type of inventory group that you’re creating, and each inventory group’s supported filters are located in that group’s left-hand side panel.

There are three ways to identify whether an existing inventory group includes Open Exchange, PMP, or Contextual inventory.