Video supply-side ad platform Altitude Digital has reduced the level of bot/non-human traffic (NHT) to under 1% of its video ad inventory. The milestone is the result of a 6-month initiative to improve quality, using fraud filtering and reporting technology in partnership with Integral Ad Science. The objective was to proactively filter bot/NHT inventory before it is seen by advertisers.

In addition, Altitude has implemented a proprietary  “True URL” feature in its platform to eliminate non-transparent domains and reduce domain masking in its inventory. Altitude also reduced by 50% its mobile video ad inventory to improve ad quality.

One of the best explanations I’ve ever heard for why the bot/NHT problem in video advertising is so insidious came from Anne Hunter, comScore’s SVP, Global Marketing Strategy, at last December’s VideoSchmooze, in response to a question from Jesse Redniss, BRaVe Ventures’ co-founder. Anne broke down in detail exactly how bot/NHT traffic works and why it’s so harmful. I’ve embedded the video below, which occurs at the 21:05 mark of the session.

(Note: Altitude Digtial is a VideoNuze sponsor)