What Is The Trade Desk?

The Trade Desk is a demand-side platform (DSP) that allows advertisers to programmatically purchase digital advertising across various channels. It provides advanced audience targeting, real-time bidding, and robust data integrations to help marketers reach the right users at the right time. The platform is designed for transparency and control, offering detailed reporting, custom algorithm tools, and support for first-party data. With integrations into a wide range of inventory sources and identity solutions, The Trade Desk helps advertisers maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their ad spend.

Product Type: Advertising

Integration Type: Starter Kit & ID Sync

Event Source Type: Web & Mobile

Event Scope: Conversion Events

Capabilities

Tracks events like page views, product views, add-to-cart, purchases, etc
Sends event data server-to-server via the Realtime Conversion API
ID Sync (cookie sync) captures the Trade Desk ID (ttd_id) for conversion attribution
Allows custom event mapping for key e-commerce events
Includes location data, referrer URL, IP address, and user agent for better attribution

Considerations

This integration is built for conversion tracking via The Trade Desk’s Realtime Conversion API—be sure to map the events you plan to track as conversions in-platform (e.g., purchases, add-to-cart).

Identity Sync

Sync Available: Yes
Required for Starter Kit: Highly Recommended
Prerequisites: None
Documentation: The Trade Desk Sync

Sync Details

The Trade Desk cookie sync captures the Trade Desk ID (ttd_id) using a fetch request to the Match API.
The ttd_id is required for conversion attribution and is automatically included in all server-side events once synced.
The ID is stored in first-party storage for up to 365 days by default.
A temporary failure flag is stored for 1 day if the sync request fails.

Starter Kit Setup Guide

1. Deploy the The Trade Desk Sync

To collect the sync value (ttd_id), you must implement The Trade Desk ID sync. Refer to the following documentation to complete the setup: The Trade Desk - ID Sync Guide.

2. Gather Credentials

Contact your Trade Desk representative to obtain the following IDs:

Advertiser ID – Required for non-merchants; identifies the advertiser associated with the tracking call.
Merchant ID – Required for merchants; assigned during the onboarding process.
Pixel ID – Required for all setups; identifies the event tracker or universal pixel tied to the conversion event.

3. Add The Trade Desk - Conversions Integration

From the integration library, add a The Trade Desk - Conversions integration. Then, fill out the Connection Parameters:

Connection Parameter	Description
`ADVERTISER_ID`	The Trade Desk Advertiser ID. Required for non-merchants. Provided by your Trade Desk representative. *Optional field. Leave blank if you don’t have this ID.**
`MERCHANT_ID`	The Trade Desk Merchant ID. Required for merchants. Provided during onboarding. *Optional field. Leave blank if you don’t have this ID.**
`PIXEL_ID`	The Trade Desk Pixel ID used for tracking conversions. *Required for all setups.*

*You must provide either an advertiser ID or a merchant ID, depending on your use case and The Trade Desk account setup.

3. Configure Event Mapping

MetaRouter provides all of the event mappings that The Trade Desk - Conversions integrations typically require. You may add custom events, parameters or mappings in accordance with The Trade Desk’s API documentation. Please see below for details on event mapping.

4. Deploy to Pipeline

In the Pipelines tab, add your The Trade Desk - Conversions integration.
Select the correct integration revision
Click Add Integration to finalize deployment.

Event Mappings

Global

Global mappings will be applied to all events. If your parameter names do not match the Expected Inputs provided, you will need to overwrite the Inputs provided with your own.

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`pixel_id` Required	String: Trade Desk pixel ID.	Enrichment – `$$PIXEL_ID$$`
`merchant_id` Required*	String: Merchant account ID.	Enrichment – `$$MERCHANT_ID$$`
`adv` Required*	String: Advertiser ID.	Enrichment – `$$ADVERTISER_ID$$`
`tdid` Highly Recommended	String: The Trade Desk universal ID.	`context.providers.theTradeDesk.ttd_id`
`daid`	String: Device advertising ID (iOS or Android)	`context.device.advertisingId`
`client_ip`	String: IP address of the user.	`context.ip`
`referrer_url`	String: Referrer URL.	`context.page.url`
`city`	String: User’s city from address.	Expression – from `traits.address.city`
`region`	String: User’s state/region.	Expression – from `traits.address.state`
`zip`	String: Zip or postal code.	Expression – from `traits.address.postalCode`
`country`	String: Country code.	Expression – from `traits.address.country`
`data_processing_option`	Object: Compliance field.	Enrichment – `{ policies = [""], region = "" }`
Expression Output	Dynamically assigns `idfa` or `aaid` based on device type and sets `adid`/`adid_type` using theTradeDesk ID.	Expression – auto-generates device and ad identifiers

* You must provide either an advertiser ID or a merchant ID, depending on your use case and The Trade Desk account setup.

Event Specific

Page

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'sitevisit'`

Screen

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'sitevisit'`

Products Searched

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'searchcategory'`

Product Viewed

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'viewitem'`
`items`	Array: Product information.	Expression – Map from `input.properties` to `item_code`, `name`, `qty`, `price`, `cat`. Only `item_code` is required.

Product Added

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'addtocart'`
`items`	Array: Product information.	Expression – Map from `input.properties` to `item_code`, `name`, `qty`, `price`, `cat`. Only `item_code` is required.

Cart Viewed

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'viewcart'`
`items`	Array: Cart contents.	Expression – Map from `input.properties.products` to `item_code`, `name`, `qty`, `price`, `cat`. Only `item_code` is required.

Checkout Started

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'startcheckout'`
`order_id`	String: Order ID.	`properties.order_id`
`items`	Array: Items in checkout.	Expression – Map from `input.properties.products` to `item_code`, `name`, `qty`, `price`, `cat`. Only `item_code` is required.

Order Completed

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'purchase'`
`order_id`	String: Order ID.	`properties.order_id`
`currency`	String: ISO currency code.	`properties.currency`
`value`	Float: Total transaction value.	Expression – from `properties.revenue or total`
`items`	Array: Items purchased.	Expression – Map from `input.properties.products` to `item_code`, `name`, `qty`, `price`, `cat`. Only `item_code` is required.

Product Added to Wishlist

Output Key	Description	Expected Input
`event_name`	String: Type of event.	Enrichment – `'wishlistitem'`
`items`	Array: Wishlist items.	Expression – Map from `input.properties` to `item_code`, `name`, `qty`, `price`, `cat`. Only `item_code` is required.

Required & Recommended Identifiers

These identifiers must be mapped to The Trade Desk - Conversions in order for successful user matching to occur. Without these IDs, any events sent to The Trade Desk may not be accurately reflected in reporting.

Attribute	Example	Sync Injector Required?
`ttd_id` Highly Recommended	abc-123-xyc	Yes
`daid` Recommended	AEBE52E7-03EE-455A-B3C4-E57283966239	No
`idfa` Recommended	AEBE52E7-03EE-455A-B3C4-E57283966239	No
`aaid` Recommended	38400000-8cf0-11bd-b23e-10b96e40000d	No

Integration Validation

After implementation, check your The Trade Desk Event Manager dashboard to confirm that the 1-day count and 7-day count columns are populating as events are received.
If you don’t have access to the Event Manager or are unable to verify events, please contact The Trade Desk Support for assistance.

Additional The Trade Desk Documentation