Glossary
Match Rate
The percentage of a first-party or third-party data list that a platform can successfully identify and match to its own user base.
Definition
The percentage of a first-party or third-party data list that a platform can successfully identify and match to its own user base.
Why it matters
Match rate determines how much of a data list is actually usable — a list of 1 million customers with a 20% match rate only activates against 200,000 real, addressable users.
Key consideration
Match rates vary significantly by platform and by data type (email vs. phone vs. device ID) — always ask for the match rate on the specific data type being used, not a generic platform-wide figure.
Related terms
Practitioner notes
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