How Experian’s Digital Graph improved attribution accuracy for a DSP

by Lucy.Simmonds@experian.com 5 min read October 1, 2025

At A Glance

With Experian’s Digital Graph, a leading DSP resolved 84% of IDs and increased match rates across digital channels such as CTV and display. The result: stronger attribution, clearer ROI proof, and renewed client confidence.

Demand-side platforms (DSPs) are more than just technology providers, they’re strategic partners, helping marketers answer the key question: “How should I spend my media budget?”

A leading DSP struggled to attribute consumer actions across digital channels such as connected TV (CTV) and display. Without connecting impressions to conversions, they risked losing client trust and ROI proof. With Experian’s Digital Graph, they resolved 84% of IDs and increased match rates, strengthening attribution and client confidence.

The challenge

two people in front of a graph

A leading DSP had trouble showing which ads drove results across CTV, display, and digital. Without linking ad views to conversions, they couldn’t prove ROI.

The missing piece was attribution. They needed to show which channels drove conversions, but without strong identity resolution, it was hard to connect CTV ads to website activity.

What is Experian’s Digital Graph?

Built from trillions of real-time data points and updated weekly, Experian’s Digital Graph connects billions of identifiers across devices and households, such as cookies, mobile ad IDs (MAIDs), CTV IDs, IP addresses, universal IDs, and more. It gives DSPs a reliable foundation by linking these identifiers back to households and individuals, improving DSPs’ ability to offer attribution by better connecting impressions to conversions.

What makes the Digital Graph unique is its scale and freshness. It ingests trillions of signals in real time and delivers updates weekly. That consistency matters: it gives DSPs confidence that they’re working with the most accurate view of digital identity.

AI and machine learning (ML) are core to how we maintain that level of accuracy. Our models use sophisticated clustering algorithms to analyze device connections at both household and individual levels. By evaluating data points such as timestamps, IP addresses, user agents, cookie IDs, and device identifiers, these algorithms create precise device groupings that enhance targeting and measurement accuracy. The models are continuously refined, ensuring our clients can better understand consumer behaviors within households and activate more effective, personalized marketing.

Think of it like connecting puzzle pieces scattered across devices and channels. On their own, each piece doesn’t say much. Together, they reveal the full picture of who saw an ad, engaged, and converted, and which ads performed best.

The solution

By syncing its cookies with the Digital Graph, the DSP gained access to related identifiers, including:

– MAIDs
– CTV IDs
– IP addresses
– Experian cookies

This expanded identity universe gave the DSP a unified view of individuals and households, making it possible to connect impressions to conversions across devices and channels. With each weekly refresh, attribution models stayed accurate and up to date, turning fragmented signals into proof of performance.

Results

Within weeks, the DSP saw measurable improvements:

– 84% of IDs synced
– 9% increase in match rates

With a stronger foundation of digital identifiers, the DSP matched more MAIDs, CTV IDs, and IP addresses to conversions. This allowed them to show clients exactly which ads and channels drove ROI, transforming impression reports into actionable proof of performance and strengthening client trust.

Why attribution matters now

women pointing upwards

Attribution has never been more critical. With signals fading and marketing budgets under pressure, DSPs need reliable data to prove performance.

Experian’s Digital Graph takes a multi-ID, always-on approach, refreshed weekly with trillions of signals. This delivers consistency and accuracy that single-point, stale-ID solutions can’t match.

For this DSP, that meant transforming attribution from guesswork into clear proof, strengthening client trust, and proving ROI across channels.

Connect with us today to see how our Digital Graph can help you maximize advertiser trust and ROI.

Ready to strengthen your approach to attribution?

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FAQs

Experian’s Digital Graph is a privacy-conscious identity resolution solution built from trillions of real-time data points, refreshed weekly, that links identifiers like cookies, MAIDs, CTV IDs, Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2), ID5 IDs and IP addresses to households and individuals.

Experian’s Digital Graph improves attribution by connecting impressions to conversions across devices and channels, giving DSPs a clearer view of which ads and channels drove results.

While many platforms rely on single, static IDs, Experian’s Digital Graph uses a multi-ID, always-on approach with weekly refreshed, ensuring accuracy even as signals shift.

When you use Experian’s Digital Graph, you can expect higher match rates, more synced IDs, clearer attribution models, and stronger proof of ROI for your clients. Because Experian’s Digital Graph serves as the backbone of the industry, it also helps DSPs maximize the scale and reach they can deliver to advertisers.

Yes. Experian’s Digital Graph is designed with privacy in mind, ensuring compliance while still delivering accurate attribution insights.


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Closer to the source: Activating Experian Audiences in Google Ad Manager Curation

Buyers can now put Experian’s audience and contextual intelligence to work in Google Ad Manager Curation in two ways: through off-the-shelf solutions available directly in Google Ad Manager, or through Custom Curation packages that Experian builds using Google Ad Manager’s inventory supply. Together, these options bring Experian’s consumer data foundation closer to the Google supply agencies already buy, with the flexibility to choose between a ready-to-use solution and an Experian package tailored to specific campaign goals. Why targeting at the source matters Many audience strategies still apply targeting on the buy side, which means signals pass through multiple systems before an impression is evaluated. Each step can shrink the pool of requests where the audience is still recognizable, so a carefully built strategy can reach the auction at a fraction of the scale it started with. Google Ad Manager Curation moves segment evaluation closer to the ad request. When a request matches the selected Experian segment, Ad Manager sends the bid request with the associated Deal ID to the buyer’s DSP. This more direct path can support stronger match and deal-transaction rates, more accurate forecasting, and better access to the audience defined in the strategy. As AI shapes more media decisions, the quality and provenance of the data feeding those systems matter more. Evaluating audience or contextual criteria closer to the source helps preserve the connection between the strategy and the impression being considered. Two ways to get started The right entry point depends on how much customization the campaign requires. Buyers can access Experian solutions off-the-shelf directly in Google Ad Manager or work with Experian to build a Custom Curation package using Google Ad Manager inventory supply. Start off-the-shelf For buyers who want direct, self-service access to Experian audience and contextual solutions. Experian solutions are available off-the-shelf in Google Ad Manager, giving buyers a straightforward way to select the data or contextual strategy that fits their campaign and create packages through Google Ad Manager’s Curation capabilities. Experian Audiences Experian Audiences draw on a deterministic offline identity foundation that represents more than 250 million U.S. consumers and 126 million U.S. households. Buyers can choose from Experian’s Audiences spanning demographics, lifestyle, financial signals, media habits, and household characteristics. That depth adds real-world consumer context beyond digital behavior alone. Contextual Experian contextual solutions give buyers a way to reach relevant environments without relying on identity. Buyers can select contextual audiences aligned to specific interests, categories, and content to inform where media appears. Experian also offers Predictive Indexed, which uses Experian audiences to predict the contextual categories and pages to target based on the likelihood that consumers visiting those environments fall within the selected audience. This gives buyers an audience-informed way to approach contextual activation without requiring identity at the point of activation. Build a Custom Curation package For buyers who need a strategy tailored to specific audience, contextual, and inventory requirements. Experian can build Custom Curation packages using Google Ad Manager’s inventory supply based on the targeting criteria that matter for a campaign. Where off-the-shelf solutions draw on Experian data, custom packages can also incorporate partner audiences and a brand’s own first-party audiences. Packages can combine Experian audiences, partner audiences, a brand’s own first-party audiences, contextual signals, and inventory or site criteria. Experian applies those criteria against Google Ad Manager inventory supply and brings the data, targeting, and inventory together into a single curated deal. This gives buyers a way to combine audience and supply decisions rather than managing each component separately. The approach can be tailored to the campaign. A buyer might start with a defined audience and add contextual or inventory criteria, bring a brand’s established first-party audience into the strategy, or build around specific supply and audience-quality requirements. Choose the path that fits the campaign Both paths do the same underlying thing: they move the audience or contextual decision closer to the ad request, before signal loss builds across the path. Whether a campaign calls for something ready to use or a package built to spec, the result is a more direct line from strategy to impression. Ready to get started? Explore Experian solutions available off-the-shelf in Google Ad Manager or contact your Experian representative to request a Custom Curation package. Latest posts

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