Home / PIQ Platform / PIQ Methodology & Signals

How PIQ scores inventory quality.

Inventory quality measures whether an ad placement is likely to drive performance. PIQ reads 100+ signals on every placement, then values each impression sell-side in the bid stream to optimise towards your desired objective.

How PIQ works.

01Agent Crawl
AD
AD

Our PIQ Agent collects 100+ signal data by simulating human browsing across the open web, YouTube & CTV.

02Index & Score
82
Ad Experience
Publisher

100+ signals become two indexes, Ad Experience and Publisher Profile, and one PIQ Score.

03Granularity
Domainexample.com71
Section/sport82
PlacementPIQPID·447188

Scores resolve from domain to section to individual placement, refreshed daily.

04Activation
Activate
PMPs Segments Data feeds API

Use PIQ data however suits your stack: curated PMPs, segments, API feed or integrate with your systems.

PIQ collects more than
100+ quality signals.

  • All signals
  • Effective Reach
  • Video Views
  • Quality Traffic
  • Brand Lift

Ad Experience Signals

Low ad densitye.g. 17.5%

Share of the screen given to advertising.

Low layout shifte.g. 0.02

How much the page moves as it loads.

Low sticky inventorye.g. 1 unit

Persistent, in-view ad units per session.

High share of voicee.g. 62%

Your ad's share of on-screen ad space.

High prominencee.g. High

Size, fold position and time held in view.

Low refresh ratee.g. 1/view

How often ad slots auto-refresh per view.

Fast loading speede.g. 2.3s

How quickly the page becomes usable.

Ad positione.g. Above fold

Where the unit sits on the page.

Low infinite scrolle.g. None

Endless feeds that inflate impressions.

High average share of screene.g. 45%

Screen space the placement occupies.

Share of viewport ad-densitye.g. 80%

The ad's share of total ad area in view.

Path-of-Attention Scoree.g. 0.90

How central the unit is to the reading path.

Image-to-content ratioe.g. 0.70

Non-ad images competing for focus.

Average ad distancee.g. 1.25

Spacing between competing ad units.

Low viewport ad densitye.g. 30%

Ad area in view at any moment.

Low ad collision magnitudee.g. Low

Ads competing in the same eyeline.

Video integration behavioure.g. In-stream

How the player behaves in-session.

Average video player sizee.g. Large

Player area relative to the screen.

Pause out of viewe.g. Yes

Playback stops when scrolled away.

Low concurrent video adse.g. 1

Other video ads playing alongside.

Publisher Profile Signals

High publisher profilee.g. 84

Reputability from backlinks and their sources.

Domain authoritye.g. 67

Independent measure of a site's credibility.

Includes ads.txte.g. Verified

Authorised-seller declaration, present and valid.

Has HTTPSe.g. Yes

Secure, encrypted delivery across the site.

Established traffic footprinte.g. Steady

Consistent audience traffic over time.

High content qualitye.g. High

Depth and originality of the page’s content.

Quality isn't binary. It's a spectrum.

Every domain gets a PIQ Score from 0 to 100. Quality is a spectrum, not pass or fail, but most of the open web clusters low: we exclude anything under 30 as ad waste by default, then optimise spend up the scale depending on your campaign objective.

Open Web — domain distribution by PIQ score Share of domains
PIQ 30 · QUALITY FLOOR PIQ 50 · PREMIUM
PIQ 0–30
Where the waste hides

High ad density, weak publishers, made-for-advertising traits. Excluded by default.

PIQ 30–50
Good Quality

Sound user experience and vetted publishers. A balance of quality, cost and scale.

PIQ 50+
Premium by design

Low ad density, strong publishers, viewable and attention-rich. Ideal for brand.

Go deeper

However you buy.

PIQ scores pre-bid inventory quality across the open web. See how it maps to your objective and format: display, online video, CTV and YouTube.