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Getting Started

This walkthrough covers the full lifecycle of a Classify contextual campaign — from creating your first segment to optimizing it based on live performance data.

1. Create a segment​

A segment is a curated list of URLs grouped around a topic, interest, or intent. You create one by describing what you want to target.

Send a POST to /v1/clsfy/segment-requests with either a natural language prompt, a set of example URLs, or both:

curl -X POST "https://api.clsfy.me/v1/clsfy/segment-requests" \
  -H "X-API-Key: <your_api_key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Electric Vehicle Enthusiasts",
    "prompt": "Pages about electric vehicles, EV reviews, charging infrastructure, and battery technology"
  }'

The more specific your input, the more precise the segment. See Segments for guidance on writing effective prompts and choosing seed URLs.

2. Wait for the segment to build​

Segment creation is asynchronous. You'll receive an ID immediately, then poll for completion:

curl "https://api.clsfy.me/v1/clsfy/segment-requests/61" \
  -H "X-API-Key: <your_api_key>"

Status progresses from pending → processing → complete. Segments typically finish building in 1–2 hours. See Polling for completion for a Python helper.

3. Activate the segment​

Once your segment is complete, activate it by specifying which DSP and buyer seat to push it to:

curl -X POST "https://api.clsfy.me/v1/clsfy/activations" \
  -H "X-API-Key: <your_api_key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "segment_ids": [61],
    "dsp": "The Trade Desk",
    "buyer_seat": "seat-abc123"
  }'

Classify pushes the segment into the DSP's supply chain and returns a Deal ID — typically within a few hours. See Segment Activation for the full API reference.

4. Set up your campaign in your DSP​

Take the Deal ID from the activation response and add it as targeting in your DSP campaign. The exact steps vary by platform — see our DSP Deal ID Guides for walkthroughs:

Before launching, review the Best Practices page — particularly the guidance on keeping targeting lean and including cookieless users.

5. Add the Classify pixel​

Attach the Classify pixel to your creatives as an impression tracker. This gives you delivery transparency and post-campaign reporting.

  1. Register a pixel campaign to get a campaign ID
  2. Generate the pixel tag and add it as a tracking tag in your DSP

The pixel fires on every impression and captures the serving domain, URL, and any DSP macros you pass through.

6. Launch and monitor​

Once your campaign is live, pull performance reports to see how your segment is delivering:

curl -X POST "https://api.clsfy.me/v1/clsfy/reports" \
  -H "X-API-Key: <your_api_key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "segment_ids": [61],
    "start_date": "2026-03-01",
    "end_date": "2026-03-07",
    "dimensions": ["date", "domain"]
  }'

Key metrics to watch: impressions, CTR, eCPM, and domain breakdown. Domain-level data shows you which publishers are driving the strongest performance. See Segment Reporting for the full API reference and Performance & Reporting for interpretation guidance.

7. Optimize​

Use what you learn from reporting to refine your segment:

  • Expand — found domains or URLs that perform well? Add them to find similar content.
  • Block — seeing low-quality or irrelevant placements? Remove specific URLs, domains, or keywords.
curl -X POST "https://api.clsfy.me/v1/clsfy/optimizations" \
  -H "X-API-Key: <your_api_key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "segment_id": 61,
    "expand": {
      "domains": ["electrek.co", "insideevs.com"]
    },
    "block": {
      "domains": ["lowquality-mfa-site.com"]
    }
  }'

Changes propagate within 2–3 hours. See Segment Optimization for the full API and Optimization Guide for strategy.