What is the Zitcha Search API?

The Zitcha Search API is the ad delivery engine that powers onsite sponsored product listings and banner advertisements for retail media networks. It retrieves relevant ad and product results based on keywords, categories, and placement parameters, returning the identifiers needed to render ads and attribute performance across campaigns.

The Search API enables retailers to display sponsored ads dynamically across web, mobile, and app environments, while maintaining a direct connection between ad delivery and the metrics captured through the Collect API.

What the Search API Does

Retrieves Sponsored Product Ads

Fetch sponsored product ads by keyword or category, with optional filtering on product attributes, brand, price, and availability.
By default, the Search API returns only:

ad_id – the unique identifier used to report impressions and clicks.
sku – the product identifier linked to the ad.

These fields are all that’s required for ad rendering and accurate metric tracking.

Delivers Banner Advertisements

Retrieve banner ad creatives for specific placements (e.g., homepage, category pages) and channels (desktop, mobile, app).
Each banner placement corresponds to a media type placement defined during setup.

Supports the `includes` Parameter

Optionally, expand responses with the includes parameter to fetch detailed product and ad information.
For example, adding includes=product returns:

Brand and price details
Product descriptions and attributes
Variants and custom metadata (if supplied via Collect API product updates)

This allows flexible control between minimal performance responses and richer data for custom implementations.

Supports Advanced Filtering, Pagination, and Sorting

Filters – refine results by product attributes, category, or availability.
Pagination – retrieve up to 25 results per page.
Sorting – order results by price, relevance, or other custom parameters.

Optional Authentication

The Search API supports optional OAuth2 authentication depending on your organisation’s security requirements.
This enables secure data access while maintaining flexibility for public or low-risk endpoints.

Why It Matters

The Zitcha Search API is the core ad-serving layer of the platform, connecting the retailer’s digital experience with Zitcha’s ad decisioning logic and measurement ecosystem.

It enables retailers and advertisers to:

Serve relevant sponsored product ads and banners in real time.
Filter and customise ad delivery to match placement rules and design layouts.
Seamlessly integrate ads into web, app, and in-store digital environments.
Accurately attribute impressions, clicks, and conversions via the Collect API.
Optimise campaigns using closed-loop data between ad delivery and retail performance.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Keyword & Category Search	Retrieve sponsored product ads using search terms or category hierarchies.
Banner Retrieval	Fetch banner ad creatives for specific placements and channels.
Includes Parameter	Expand default results with detailed product and ad metadata.
Advanced Filtering	Filter results by attributes, brand, price, or availability.
Pagination & Sorting	Flexible controls for paginated or ordered result sets.
Optional Authentication	Use OAuth2 where required by organisational policy.
Regional Availability	Available in AU, EU, and UK regions with production and sandbox environments.
OpenAPI Specification	Fully documented schema for easy integration and testing.

Tip: Work with your Zitcha Solutions Architect to configure which parameters, filters, and authentication settings best suit your implementation. The Search API and Collect API work together to ensure seamless ad delivery, measurement, and reporting across your Retail Media Network.