The 42matters IAB Categories file dumps now support the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Content Taxonomy 3.0.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) recently launched Content Taxonomy 3.0, the third iteration of their cross-platform app classification methodology, facilitating granular app categorization for improved ad targeting.

So, today, we at 42matters are pleased to announce that our new IAB Categories file dumps officially support Content Taxonomy 3.0!

Here’s what we cover in this blog post (click the links below to jump to the corresponding section):

• What Is the IAB Content Taxonomy?
• What Are 42matters’ IAB Categories File Dumps?
• How Can Ad Networks Benefit From Our IAB Categories File Dumps?
  

What Is the IAB Content Taxonomy?

The IAB created the Content Taxonomy to provide a universal approach to app categorization. It’s composed of categories and subcategories that provide a “common language” for describing app content across platforms.

Drilling down a bit further, consider that mobile and connected TV (CTV) app stores like Google Play and the Roku Channel Store have slightly different app categories. Where Google has Education, Food & Home, and Health & Fitness; Roku has Educational, Food & Drink, and Health & Wellness. The differences are slight, but they complicate things like contextual targeting and brand safety. To address this, the IAB’s taxonomy offers standardized categories for all app stores.

In addition, app stores don’t typically have that many categories — Google Play has 49, the Apple App Store has 26, the Roku Channel Store has 109, etc. The IAB Content Taxonomy, meanwhile, has hundreds. This means it’s far more granular than the standard app store taxonomies, enabling more advanced app segmentation.

What Are 42matters’ IAB Categories File Dumps?

The new-and-improved IAB Categories file dumps provide IAB category insights for apps on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

The file dumps reflect version 3.0 of the Content Taxonomy, with new categories and reworked IDs. In addition, we used a  more sophisticated app classification technology, enabling us to provide more coverage and more precise app categorization for apps.

As with all of our file dumps, the data comes in gzip files with line delimited JSON with the following characteristics:

• Each line is a valid JSON object
• UTF-8 encoding
• Line separator is '\n'
  

If you’d like to play around with a data sample, reach out to our team!

How Can Ad Networks Benefit From Our IAB Categories File Dumps?

IAB categories are a useful tool for ad tech companies and ad networks looking to create more effective and targeted ad campaigns. Since they’re more precise than standard app store-provided categories, they enable superior app segmentation and targeting, which can be leveraged to ensure that ads are shown to the right audiences in the right contexts. In other words, by providing more tailored ad experiences, IAB categories assure ad relevance, performance, and return.