Definition:
A site ID is the unique identifier assigned to a publisher serving an ad, the specific website or app where that ad is displayed. Ad networks allocate a unique site ID to each publisher, making it possible to trace exactly where your ad appeared and how that placement performed.
What is a Site ID?
In programmatic ad tech, every ad placement has an origin. A site ID is how that origin gets labeled. When an ad network serves an impression, the site ID tells you which publisher, which website or app, actually displayed it.
This identifier is passed to Tenjin via the site_id parameter in the attribution link. From there, it flows through Tenjin's dashboards, reporting tools, and postbacks, giving you a clear, granular view of exactly where your campaigns are running.
Without site IDs, your spend becomes a black box. With them, every placement is accountable.
Why Site IDs Matter for Mobile Marketers
Site IDs are the foundation of transparent, trustworthy campaign reporting. They matter for three core reasons:
Publisher Clarity
Site IDs tell you precisely which publisher served your ad — not just the network, but the specific app or website. That level of granularity is essential for understanding where your budget is actually going.
Performance Analysis
When you can see performance broken down by site ID, you can identify which placements are driving real results and which ones are draining budget without delivering value.
Fraud Detection and Blocking
Site IDs are a critical tool in identifying and eliminating fraudulent traffic. When a placement behaves suspiciously such as high installs, low retention, unusual conversion patterns, then the site ID is what lets you pinpoint and act on it.
Site ID Optimization: Block at the Placement Level
Tenjin's site ID optimization feature gives you direct control over which publishers your budget reaches. If a site ID is underperforming or showing signs of fraudulent activity, you can block it at the placement level, this offers precision and doesn’t affect the rest of your campaign.
This is particularly powerful for tackling ID injection, a form of mobile ad fraud where a fraudulent publisher injects a fake site ID into the attribution link to claim credit for an install they had nothing to do with. By monitoring site ID-level data closely, you can spot these patterns early and cut off bad actors before they do real damage.
Site ID optimization puts that control in your hands, no dependency on your ad network to act, no waiting, no guesswork.
Site IDs and Fraud Blocking
Fraud blocking at the site ID level is one of the most effective defenses available to mobile marketers. Rather than flagging fraud after the fact, site ID data allows you to:
- Identify publishers with suspicious traffic patterns
- Cross-reference install quality against placement source
- Block fraudulent site IDs before they consume more budget
- Maintain a cleaner, more reliable data set for optimization
Tenjin uses site ID data to help identify and eliminate fraudulent publishers and problematic traffic clusters to keep your attribution clean and your spend protected.
How Site IDs Work in Tenjin
The site ID must be passed to Tenjin in the attribution link. This is not optional because without it, publisher-level transparency breaks down entirely.
Once passed, the site ID:
- Appears across Tenjin's dashboards and reporting tools
- Is included in postback data for downstream analysis
- Powers site ID optimization and fraud blocking workflows
- Provides a clear record of which publisher served each ad
It only ever reflects the ID of the publisher that actually served the ad: no intermediaries, no ambiguity.