How to optimize an ad campaign

Start by looking at all the targeting options in the media platform that you're running ads in. These options will be things like geo, interest, contextual categories, domains etc. Then, pull a report from the media platform with at least 7 days of data (preferably 30 days) to look at the results for each of the targeting options. For example, in one report you'll be looking at performance by geo location (state, city, zip - consider pulling one report for each). In another report, you'll look at performance by interest or contextual category.

It's difficult to predict what sub-segment of your audience will perform the best. So keeping targeting as open as possible in the beginning is a good idea. Then optimize down to the best performing sub-segments of your campaign as you go along.

Don't forget to look at creative performance! Creatives make a big difference in the performance of your campaign. Sometimes, there can be a 30% difference in CTR solely based on whether the click through button on a display ad was orange or blue! Testing small variations in creative, at least two versions at the same time, will give you the most straight-forward understanding of what works best.