Ad Tech Glossary
A
A9
Amazon's server-to-server header bidding wrapper solution.
Ad Blockers
Software enabled through a person's web browser which can prevent ads from being displayed. For example, AdBlock Plus is one such extension/browser plug-in.
Ad Centric Measurement
Audience measurement derived from a third-party ad server's own server logs. It includes measurements like ad impressions, ad clicks and other ad specific metrics.
Ad Choices Icon
A small "i" that can be placed on ad creatives so that consumers can find out how the data collected about them is being used, and set various preferences. It's administered by Evidon and part of a consortium of trade groups as part of an industry self-regulation maneuver to keep Washington privacy advocates at bay.
Ad Exchange
Indicates the platform used for bidding the advertising inventory across multiple ad networks. The ad exchange is used by both advertisers as well as publishers since the platform provides a wide variety of advertising inventory. For example, Google AdX is an ad exchange.
Ad Network
An advertising network or ad network is a company that connects advertisers to web sites that want to host advertisements. The key function of an ad network is aggregation of ad space supply from publishers and matching it with advertiser demand.
Ad Pod
Ad Pods are a sequenced collection of ads, as described in the IAB VAST4.1 Specification.
Ad Server
A computer/web server that stores, maintains and serves digital advertising assets for one or more websites or mobile services. One of its primary functions is to manage the pacing of delivery for advertising campaigns based on rules, and provide reporting on campaign performance. A “homegrown server” is one built internally by a publisher; for example, Google Ad Manager, OAS, and so on.
Ad Serving
The delivery of ads by a server to an end user's computer on which the ads are then displayed by a browser and/or cached. Ad serving is normally performed either by a Web publisher or by a third-party ad server. Ads can be embedded in a page or served separately.
Ad Space/Ad Slot
The location on a page of a site in which an advertisement can be placed. Each space on a site is uniquely identified. Multiple ad spaces can exist on a single page.
Ad Tag/Ad Unit
An ad tag is a piece of HTML or JavaScript code that your webmaster or developer inserts into the source code of a web page. There is usually a separate ad tag for each ad that you want to display on your website.
Ad Unit ID
A unique identifier for an ad managed on the PubMatic platform. Ads are represented on the PubMatic platform by Ad Tags/Ad Units, and each Ad Tag/Ad Unit has a unique identifier for the ad associated with the Ad Tag/Ad Unit.
Addressable TV
Technology that enables audience-based TV ad targeting and delivery using first-, second- or third-party data segments. It includes both linear TV and video-on-demand (VOD), but excludes connected TV, smart TV, and over-the-top (OTT).
Advanced TV
An umbrella term that refers to television content that evolves beyond traditional, linear TV delivery models. Advanced TV targeting enables advertisers to serve one ad to one household as opposed to broadcasting the same ad to all households. Includes Addressable TV, Over the Top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV).
Algorithm
What RTB and programmatic trading are fueled by. At PubMatic, marketing technologists use proprietary algorithms to drive the speed and efficiency of the media selling operations.
Allowlist
For Advertisers: A list of websites that an advertiser will permit their ads to be placed on. For Publishers: A list of the advertisers that a publisher will permit to have access to see and bid on their inventory.
AMP
An acronym for Accelerated Mobile Pages, an open-source format that allows web pages to load almost instantly.
AP
An initialism for Automated Performance, AP is workflow automation. Ad Tag/Ad Unit deals campaign performance is guaranteed, rather than impressions. The two main performance metrics for these deals are Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Cost-Per-Install (CPI).
API
An abbreviation of Application Program Interface, API is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. The API specifies how software components should interact and APIs are used when programming Graphical User Interface (GUI) components.
APS
An initialism for Amazon Publisher Services. A suite of cloud-based tools developed by Amazon to facilitate server-side header bidding. Amazon's APS SDK is one of the tools that you can integrate with PubMatic's OpenWrap and OpenWrap SDK.
App ID
Unique identifier for a mobile application as registered in the mobile application store. In the case of iTunes apps, this is significant and identifies an app uniquely.
ATD
An initialism for Agency Trading Desk. ATDs are specialized media buying groups, most commonly working within (or for) an advertising agency. They use either proprietary technology or a Demand Side Platform (DSP) to buy and optimize media campaigns on ad exchanges, ad networks and other available inventory sources they are connected with.
Audience
In the context of programmatic advertising:
- For Publishers: This describes the characteristics of consumers of the content or service that is being provided.
- For Advertisers: This describes the target of an advertising campaign or a marketing effort.
Audience Extension
A process that takes a known audience segment and catalogs various shared characteristics that can be used to target people who bear similarities and are therefore likely to become customers. Also called “Lookalike Modeling.”
Audience Targeting
Audience Targeting is basically behavioral targeting with new clothes and broader capabilities and applications. The practice of using data to imply an audience, either by demography, life stage or some sort of intent like people who have searched for information on a car or new phone purchase. If I am looking to reach an "auto intender” I advertise to them wherever they are - not just on auto sites. Agencies are big believers in buying audience targeted impressions as it increases their efficiency and for many types of products, especially packaged goods, they are looking to reach broad audience segments like Adults 18 - 34 or Women 35 - 54 - much the way they buy in television.
AVOD (Ad-based or Ad supported Video on Demand)
An acronym for Ad-based (or Ad-supported) Video On Demand, which is a streaming video service that offers consumers access to a free catalog of on-demand content and contains advertisements. Examples: YouTube, Tubi, Crackle.
B
Banner
Also known as “Display Ads”, banner advertisements are a form of graphical ads embedded into a webpage, typically including a combination of static/animated images, text and/or video designed to convey a marketing message and/or cause the user to take an action. Banner dimensions are typically defined by width and height, represented in pixels.
Beacons / Pixels
A 1x1 pixel tag typically used by an advertiser or a third party ad server to track a unique user's activity over time. If someone was exposed to an ad on day one of the month, did not click on it but went to that company's website on day 30 and did a desired activity (bought shoes, and so on) the beacon would attribute that activity to the original ad impression (the action itself is called a view through).
Behavioral Targeting
Using previous user activity (for example, pages visited, content viewed, searches, clicks and purchases) to generate a segment which is used to match advertising creative to users (sometimes also called Behavioral Profiling, Interest-based Advertising, or Behavioral Advertising). Behavioral Targeting uses anonymous, Non-PII (personally identifiable information) data.
Blind Inventory
Publisher does not communicate any required information for targeting and monetization of a website / app at the time of ad serving over the ad request / set up.
Bot
A software that runs automatically without human intervention. Typically, a bot is endowed with the capability to react to different situations it may encounter. Two common types of bots are agents and spiders. Bots are used by companies like search engines to discover Websites for indexing. Short for “robot.”
Bounce Rate
Indicates the percentage of single-page visits as compared to the total number of visits. Single-page visits are those in which a user left the advertiser‟s site from the entrance page itself. Its value is calculated as follows: (Number of single-page visits) / (Total number of visits) x 100.
Brand Control
The goal of publishers and advertisers is to make sure their brands maintain their integrity. Brand protection tools automate the process of preventing objectionable content from appearing on publishers‟ sites and ensure that branded advertisements don‟t appear alongside objectionable content.
Brand Protection
Controls, which allow publishers to protect and maintain their brand value in the industry.
Branded Marketplace
A marketplace between buyers and sellers of media assets that leverages the knowledge from buying and selling dynamics in order to arbitrage and accelerate the liquidity of the market; also known as “exchanges” or “ad exchanges”.
BTF
An initialism for Below The Fold, BTF is a term derived from newspaper print advertising, this means that an ad is placed on a website below the scroll line as the page is viewed before any scrolling occurs; out of view before scrolling.
C
Cache
Memory used to temporarily store the most frequently requested content/files/pages in order to speed its delivery to the user. Caches can be local (that is, on a browser) or on a network. In the case of local cache, most computers have both memory (RAM), and disk (hard drive) cache.
Click Fraud
Click fraud is a type of internet crime that occurs in pay-per-click advertising when a person, automated script, or computer program imitates a legitimate user of a web browser clicking on an ad, for the purpose of generating a charge per click without having actual interest in the target of the ad's link. Click fraud is the subject of some controversy and increasing litigation due to the advertising networks being a key beneficiary of the fraud.
Click-through
The action of following a link within an advertisement or editorial content to another website or another page or frame within the website. Ad click-through should be tracked and reported as a 302 redirect at the ad server and should filter out robotic activity.
Click-within
Similar to click down or click. But more commonly, click-within are ads that allow the user to drill down and click, while remaining in the advertisement, not leaving the site on which they are residing.
Content Integration
Advertising woven into editorial content or placed in a contextual envelope. Also known as "Web Advertorial".
CDN
An initialism for Content Distribution Network, which is a service that hosts online assets and provides content management via servers located around the globe to reduce the latency of downloads to users.
CMP
An initialism for Content Management Platform, which is a platform that collects and stores data for which users have given their consent for use by online businesses. The CMP also defines in what ways each user's data can be used. CMPs play a critical role in helping businesses comply with Ad Tech Glossary#GDPR enforcement.
Content Marketing
A marketing technique that involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience. Often confused with “Native Advertising”.
Contextual Ads
Existing contextual ad engines deliver text and image ads to non-search content pages. Ads are matched to keywords extracted from content. Advertisers can leverage existing keyboard-based paid search campaigns and gain access to a larger audience.
Conversion
Indicates the process in which a user clicks an ad and then completes an action on the advertiser‟s site, such as buying something or requesting more information.
Conversion Rate
Indicates the ratio of number of conversions to the total number of clicks on an ad. Its value is calculated as follows: (Number of conversions received for an ad) / (Total number of clicks for the ad). This ratio helps the advertiser to analyze whether the ad is successful in getting potential customers or not.
Cookie-Sync
The mechanism by which an SSP cookie ID can be matched to a DSP cookie ID. The purpose is usually intended to improve the audience match.
Cost Per Click
Most ad buys are measured on some kind of immediate action, most likely a click-through to a website or custom landing page for a campaign. The advertiser only pays for ads clicked upon. Publishers dislike this metric as they say they are penalized for bad creative.
Cost Per Duration
When ad impressions are bought on a time metric rather than per 1,000 impressions. For example," I will buy placements in the Sports section for 3 days".
Cost Per Install
A popular mobile advertising pricing model used by app developers that requires developers to pay only when a user downloads their advertised app; also known as Cost Per Acquisition.
CPA
An initialism for Cost Per Acquisition, is the cost of advertising based on a visitor taking some specifically defined action in response to an ad. Examples of actions include completing a sales transaction or filling out a form.
CPP
An initialism for Cost Per Point, which is a pricing model based on the cost of a campaign divided by each full percentage rating point of a targeted demographic that the campaign successfully reaches.
Creative
It is a catch-all term for all Ad Tech Glossary#IAB standard ads that may be displayed on a publisher's site.
CTA
An initialism for Call To Action, as in, "include a CTA button on your ad to invite the user to learn more about your product."
CTV
An initialism for Connected TV, which is a television set that is connected to the Internet via CTV devices, Blu-ray players and gaming consoles or has built-in Internet capabilities (i.e., a Smart Television) and is able to access a variety of long-form and short-form web-based content.
D
DAA
An initialism for Digital Advertising Alliance, DAA is a group of trade organizations involved in who push for self-regulation including: AAAAs, AAF, ANA, DMA with support from the CBBB. The alliance includes over 5,000 companies. in the space.
DAAST
An acronym for Digital Audio Ad Serving Template , DAAST is a standard structure for delivering the details of an audio ad from an ad server to an audio player using an XML schema. Modeled directly after the widely adopted Video Ad Serving Template (VAST), this is the first formal approach to standardizing audio ad delivery and addresses ad execution scenarios and formats unique to audio like voice recognition, logo titles and video.
DAI
An initialism for Dynamic Ad Insertion, which is sometimes used interchangeably with SSAI, Dynamic ad insertion (DAI) is a technology that allows advertisers to swap out ad creatives in linear, live or video-on-demand content. DAI allows advertisers to serve different ads to each viewer based on insights on performance.
Daypart
Traditionally used for television buying; a block of time that divides the day into segments for purchase, scheduling and delivery (for example, primetime).
Deal ID
A piece of code containing the agreed-upon terms (negotiated pricing, for example) between an advertiser and a publisher that allows the advertiser to access the publisher‟s inventory. Deal IDs are instrumental in facilitating Private Marketplace deals.
Demand Partners
An entity, which buys inventory from the publishers to display their advertisements. Demand Partners include advertisers, ad agencies, Agency Trading Desks and marketers employed by the advertiser.
Destination URL / Landing Page URL
Indicates the address of the Web page to which a user is redirected after it clicks an ad. It could be either the main or some other Web page of the advertiser‟s website where a user lands after clicking on the ad. A destination URL is also known as a landing page.
DFP
An initialism for DoubleClick For Publishers, now rebranded as Google Ad Manager (see Ad Tech Glossary#GAM).
Display Advertising
A form of advertising where an advertiser„s message is shown on a destination web page, generally set off in a box at the top or bottom or to one side of the content of the page. It includes many different formats and contains items such as text, images, flash, video, and audio.
DMP
An initialism for Data Management Platform , DMPs are platforms that collect, manage, optimize, organize, segment, and share large amounts of data, making the data flexible and actionable to perform a range of services.
DSP
An initialism for Demand Side Platform, a DSP is a company that handles automated media buying from advertisers across multiple sources using unified targeting, data, RTB optimization, and reporting. Generally, DSPs connect directly to Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) to enable publishers to package and sell inventory themselves.
Dynamic Ad Insertion
The process by which an ad is inserted into a page in response to a user's request. Dynamic Ad Insertion allows alteration of specific ads placed on a page based on any data available to the placement program. At its simplest, dynamic ad insertion allows for multiple ads to be rotated through one or more spaces. In more sophisticated examples, the ad insertion could be affected by demographic data or usage history for the current user.
E
eCPM
An initialism for Effective Cost Per Mille, eCPM is a form of measurement that allows advertisers to gauge the cost differences between a CPC (Cost Per Click) and CPM (Cost Per Mille) campaign in order to determine which is more cost effective.
Engagement
Measures user interactions with an ad unit (creative) in a prescribed manner. Examples include clicking on the ad, filling in information such as email, making a call directly from the ad unit, watching a video, and so on. Engagement can also include the length of time a user interacted with a piece of content, including an ad. Examples include how long a user stayed on a landing page or watched a video. Engagement is usually measured through a metric such as click through rate, % of video watched, and so on.
F
Fill Rate
The ratio of ad requests that are successfully filled in relation to the total number of ad requests made, expressed in percentage.
First Look
The ability of a publisher through an SSP to enable a specific advertiser to bid on impressions at a premium for that chance to have the first option on them. PubMatic's Private Marketplace has First Look functionality built into it.
First-Party Data
User information captured from registrations or stored data on a user within retail sites, social media, site newsletters, forums and subscriptions for content on websites.
Flat-Rate Pricing
A pricing model that uses a fixed rate for the media instead of being based on a CPM (Cost Per Impression) or CPC (Cost Per Click). Flat-Rate Pricing is generally used by sites for large sponsorship programs, or by sites that sell listings or small presence in directories. In addition, flat rates are found on smaller sites with limited pages and ad impressions or those that use fixed ad units (instead of dynamically served ads).
Floating Ads
A piece of code containing the agreed-upon terms (negotiated pricing, for example) between an advertiser and a publisher that allows the advertiser to access the publisher‟s inventory.
Floor Price or Price Floors
A fixed CPM (Cost Per Impression) a publisher sets that is the minimum for which they are willing to sell their inventory. This option is only really relevant for auction based transactions.
Floodlight Tag
A special tag feature (part of Google's Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager) that is placed on the advertiser‟s page to track and report actions or conversions of users who visit a website after clicking on the advertiser‟s ad.
Frequency
The number of times an ad is delivered to the same browser in a single session or time period. A site can use cookies in order to manage ad frequency.
Frequency Capping
Indicates the process in which the frequency of an ad is limited by a publisher to prevent the same ad from continuously capturing the ad space on its website and earn more revenue by selling the same ad space to different advertisers. In this method, the publisher can restrict an ad from appearing for a fixed number of times to a unique visitor for a given period. For example, if an ad is capped to five views per visitor per day, then on the sixth visit from the same visitor on the same day, this same ad will not be displayed and will be replaced with another ad. For Frequency Capping, cookies are used by publishers to track the number of times a particular ad is displayed to a visitor in a given period (instead of dynamically served ads).
G
GAM
An initialism for Google Ad Manager. GAM is an ad server platform that delivers online ads to websites, mobile devices, games, and so on. GAM was formerly called DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP).
GAM Ad Unit ID
A unique identifier for an ad managed on Google's Ad Tech Glossary#GAM ad server platform. Online ads are represented within inventories of Ad Units, each of which has a unique identifier for the ad it represents.
GDPR
An initialism for General Data Protection Regulation, an EU initiative "designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy." To learn more, visit the EU GDPR Information Portal.
Geo-Fencing
Refers to a type of geographic targeting. Geo-Fencing is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area, which can be broad (state level) or hyper local (city block). Geo-Fences can be static or dynamically created. Locations for geo-fencing are determined by the user‟s Lat/Long (Latitude/Longitude) or GPS (Global Positioning Systems), the Wi-Fi‟s ISP (Internet Service Provider), cell tower triangulation, or registration data. Geo-Fencing targeting programs will trigger an action, such as an SMS or email to be sent when a user‟s device crosses (enters or exits) the defined geographic area.
Geo-Targeting
Targeting based on the user's location or using location as a means of finding appropriate audiences for an ad campaign. The most common geo-targeting techniques for digital campaigns are zip codes (data collected from the user, usually during a registration process), content-based (what the user selects for specific content such as weather or maps) and IP address (based on the address of the user‟s ISP (internet service provider)). Each of these types of Geo-Targeting have pro‟s and con‟s. The most common for ad delivery is based on the location of the ISP. Generally, as targeting gets more refined or granular, the quality of the ad targeting declines.
Google Ad Manager
See Ad Tech Glossary#GAM.
Google Mobile Ads SDK
A Ad Tech Glossary#SDK that lets mobile app developers integrate Google Ad Manager into their mobile apps for Android and iOS.
Google Publisher Tag
An ad tagging library for Google Ad Manager for building ad requests.
GPT
An initialism for Google Publisher Tag.
Gross Impressions
The total number of exposures to an advertisement or message.
GRP
An initialism for Gross Rating Point, which is used to measure the size of an audience reached by a specific media vehicle or schedule. It is used to measure the exposure to one or more programs or commercials, without regard to multiple exposures of the same advertising to individuals. It represents a percentage of the target audience reached by an advertisement using the formula: GRP = frequency X % of each. For example, an advertisement that is aired/served 5 times reaching 50% of the target audience each time it is aired would have a GRP of 250 (5 x 50%). GRP values are typically used by media buyers to compare the advertising strength of various media vehicles.
Guaranteed Inventory
Within programmatic media, a type of transaction that mirrors a digital direct sale where the deal is negotiated directly between buyer and seller, and the inventory and pricing are guaranteed. The campaign runs at the same priority as other direct deals in the ad server. Within programmatic, this guarantee of sold inventory is automated through the technology platform (SSP), from the RFP and through the campaign trafficking process.
I
IAB
An initialism for Interactive Advertising Bureau, IAB is a non-profit trade association devoted exclusively to maximizing the use and effectiveness of interactive advertising and marketing.
IAB Rising Stars Ad Units
Rising stars are effectively new formats designed to better engage with the users - usually larger than standard sizes and also very often with rich media components.
Impressions
Simply put, impressions are views of a given web page. The number of potential impressions is used to determine the cost of displaying an ad.
IMA
An initialism for Interactive Media Ads, an interactive video ad format created by Google as part of Google Ad Manager and supported by the IMA SDK.
IMU
An initialism for Interactive Marketing Unit , IMU is the standard ad unit size endorsed by Ad Tech Glossary#IAB.
In-stream
Refers to a video ad that plays in the context of a video streaming service such as YouTube. In-stream ads can appear within the main video stream at pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll locations. See also, Out-stream.
Interactive Advertising
Interactive advertising refers to promotional techniques that include an element of feedback from those to whom the advertisements are directed. This feedback gives the advertiser analytical data that can be used to improve the advertising methods being employed. Interactive advertising is usually used to refer to advertising, but can also be applied to offline advertising methods such as consumer surveys.
Internal Page Impressions
Website activity that is generated by individuals with IP addresses known to be affiliated with the website owner. Internal activity that is associated with administration and maintenance of the site should be excluded from the traffic or measurement report.
Interstitial Ads
These are ads that appear between two content pages. They are also known as Transition Ads, Intermercial Ads and Splash Pages.
Introstitial Ads
Like an Interstitial Ad, a full page ad served so that a user navigating to a home page or other web page, will see the ad prior to accessing the site's content.
In-unit click/Click-downs
The measurement of a user-initiated action of responding to an ad element which generally causes an intra-site redirect or content change. In-unit clicks are usually tracked via a 302 redirect.
Inventory
In the context of digital advertising, this is the space available on a publisher‟s property that is designated specifically for the placement of an ad.
IP Targeting
IP Targeting is targeting ads to users based on the user's IP address.
I/O
An initialism for Insertion Order, I/O is a purchase order for the trade and delivery of digital assets delivered by a publisher and made by a buyer, usually within an agency or by an advertiser directly.
L
Large Rectangle
The Ad Tech Glossary#IAB definition of a standard ad unit size measuring 336 x 280 pixels.
Latency
The problem when a page of content takes too long to load. Ad Operations experts often say that latency is caused by all of the pixel tags dropped on the ads. Tag management can help solve this problem.
Latitude/Longitude
A geographic coordinate system that, when used in the context of mobile advertising, refers to the location data that can be shared from a device to help identify characteristics of the user, environment or context. Latitude/Longitude is a critical metric that helps make advertising content more valuable to the publisher, advertiser, and consumer.
Linear Video Ad
Video ads that are displayed within streaming content (which may or may not be skipped). The sequence of these ad placements is before the content starts or pre-roll, during the content stream or mid-roll, and after the content completely plays or post-roll.
Lost Opportunities
Tools within Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) that help a publisher analyze what they sold at what price and whether choosing to automate some direct sold would have increased revenue. At PubMatic, this is the name of a specific report.
LUMA Landscape
Terrence Kawaja, a pundit and one of the venture capitalists backing a lot of companies in the marketing technology space came up with a logo-glutted map of the display ecosystem, called the LUMA Landscape(he's also created similar pieces for search and mobile). The industry views this map in two ways, either showing the innovation or dynamic nature of the market, or showing the chaos and complexity that is preventing publishers from making money and agencies from shifting spend from television to interactive.
M
Manifest File
A file that is sent to the video player containing information about the video to be played, such as the title, thumbnail, and location of the streaming files. In SSAI scenarios, the Stitcher manipulates the manifest file to combine content and ads for the video player to consume.
Marketing Automation
A software category that streamlines, automates and measures workflows to increase efficiency and grow revenue faster.
MAPP
An acronym for Marketing Automation Platform for Publishers , MAPP is a control panel for publishers that enables them to manage their sales, pricing, packaging, and go-to-market efforts strategically and at scale. A MAPP does this by automating the publisher‟s marketing value chain, including everything from identifying and qualifying new buyers, nurturing buyer relationships, and executing sales to identifying future opportunities to upsell and cross sell.
Media Analytics
The evaluation of how well an ad campaign is delivering on its objectives, reaching the target audience and getting the desired response. The result from conducting this analysis generally requires some optimization of the campaign media placement or creative.
Media Buyer/Media Planner
The individual responsible for planning and purchasing media space for their client. In traditional agencies, the media buyer reports to the planner. In digital agencies, many times the planner is responsible for both planning and buying functions.
MoPub
An online advertising platform owned by Twitter.
MoPub Ad Unit ID
A unique identifier for an ad managed on the Ad Tech Glossary#MoPub platform.
MRAID
An acronym for Mobile Rich-Media Ad Interface Definitions , MRAID defines website activity that is generated by individuals with IP addresses known to be affiliated with the website owner. Internal activity that is associated with administration and maintenance of the site should be excluded from the traffic or measurement report.
N
Native Advertising
Advertising that is contextualized to appear as a part of the content experience and developed by brands, specific publishers, or media platforms. The intention is to create relevance between the advertising message and the environment in an effort to improve advertising effectiveness for the consumer and for the advertiser.
Non-Guaranteed Inventory
Content that is sold by publishers through ad networks and using ad exchanges/branded marketplaces. Often the publisher is willing to be more flexible on the pricing of this inventory, as the delivery is equally flexible for the advertiser.
Non-Linear Video Ad
Video ads that appear along with the video content. (for example, Overlays, which cover part of the video as it plays.)
Non-Premium
It is the proverbial “long tail” of publishing. When seen in the context of your favorite site or service, these are the pages that are not prominently featured or are deep into the site. However these pages still retain a value for the advertiser.
Non-Qualifying Page Impressions
Page impressions which should be excluded from traffic or measurement reports, such as unsuccessful transfers of requested documents, successful transfers of requested documents to a robot or spider, and/or pages in a frame set are called non- qualifying page impressions.
O
OM SDK
See Open Measurement Software Development Kit.
OpenWrap SDK
A software development kit (Ad Tech Glossary#SDK) that lets mobile app developers on Android/iOS monetize their apps by integrating Ad Tech Glossary#OpenWrap-powered header bidding ads.
Open Exchange
An open digital advertising marketplace that aggregates inventory from multiple partners. Buyers bid manually or programmatically on ad impressions. Open exchange gives all buyers the opportunity to purchase the same inventory. Alternatively, most open exchanges now offer the option to purchase ad inventory from private marketplace, which are more controlled and provide buyers with specifics on where ads will be placed.
Open Measurement Software Development Kit
Software development tools from the Ad Tech Glossary#IAB that expose verification measurement for ads served to mobile apps. The goal of OM Ad Tech Glossary#SDK is to alleviate the need to install individual SDK's from multiple Measurement Providers within a single app.
Open RTB
A standard for the Real-Time Bidding Interface intended to set the requirements bar and simplify the connection between suppliers of publisher inventory (exchanges/branded marketplaces, SSPs, and so on) and competitor buyers of that inventory (bidders, DSPs, and so on).
OpenWrap
A transparent enterprise wrapper solution for Prebid that lets publishers evaluate programmatic bids from multiple sources concurrently for every impression. OpenWrap also lets ad servers utilize real-time bid returns instead of the static bids that are used in yield tags.
OTT
An initialism for Over-the-Top, which is the delivery of video content via the internet or “over the top” of infrastructure providers, i.e. without the use of a traditional cable or satellite TV service. OTT video refers to the content or service (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.) while OTT devices connect to a TV to facilitate the delivery of internet-based video content (streaming boxes, Smart TVs, gaming consoles).
Outstream
Refers to a video ad that plays without any video content before or after it, such as within paragraphs, social media, or video games. There are multiple out-stream units: In-Article, In-Feed, In-Banner Video (IBV), Native Video, Interstitial/Slider/Floating (IAB reference). Most publishers and agencies use the term "outstream" when they are referring to the In-Article unit. See also, In-stream .
Overlay Ads
Advertising format being used with some video channels. Overlay Ads are small graphical ads which are positioned over the video content. If clicked they generally pause the primary video and then present the advertiser‟s content in the video window. Once the advertising video is completed, the primary video will again take over the video window, playing from the point where in was paused.
P
Page Impression
A measurement of responses from a web server to a page request from the user„s browser, which is filtered from robotic activity and error codes, and is recorded at a point as close as possible to the opportunity to see the page by the user.
Paid Listings
The ad‟s search engines sell to advertisers through paid placement or paid inclusion programs.
Paid Media
Purchased “traditional” digital media designed to generate leads through display ads, mobile and video ads, paid search, social network ads, and sponsorships.
Pixel Tagging
Also known as Pixel Tracking, refers to a tactic used by marketers to track who is clicking through ads and trafficking to landing pages by placing an object on the page that retains information and delivers the information about this device to the website host.
Platform
The type of computer or operating system on which a software application runs, for example, Windows, Macintosh or Unix.
PMP
An initialism for Private Marketplace , PMP is a customized, invitation-only marketplace that provide publishers with the ability (through an SSP) to designate certain inventory and sell it to a select buyer or group of buyers with an emphasis on margin improvement for the seller. Unlike a direct buy, which can be quite labor-intensive, buyers in a Private Marketplace use programmatic methods to purchase from publishers.
Post-Click Activity
The tracking and measurement of what users do after clicking on an ad unit, such as completing a transaction or some other activity.
Pre-Caching
Storing advertising or content in a computer's RAM or hard drive memory before it is displayed on the user's screen, rather than at the time that it plays, to reduce delays in rendering.
Premium Inventory
In programmatic media, these are the ad impressions sold directly by the publishers‟ sales force. Other premium inventory are impressions served that yield higher performance and therefore higher CPMs, such as on the home page or above the fold.
Premium Mobile
Mobile inventory that is enriched at the impression level with location data, rich media capabilities, device IDs and mobile application data.
Profile ID
A unique identifier for an OpenWrap profile. Publishers using PubMatic's Ad Tech Glossary#OpenWrap header bidding solution can create multiple profiles to manage their ad inventory. For example, a publisher may have a profile for mobile ad inventory, another for web-based ad inventory, another for video ad inventory, and so on, and each profile has a unique profile identifier.
Programmatic Advertising
The use of software to improve the buying and selling of advertising through workflow automation and algorithms. The innovations in this area have redirected human involvement to more strategic tasks and replaced some repetitive actions with more efficient and effective technologies to drive better targeting and campaign placement optimization.
Programmatic Direct
This is an umbrella term for all electronically facilitated deals between buyers and sellers across both guaranteed and Non-Guaranteed inventory utilizing Automated Guaranteed workflow, Private Marketplace, or RTB.
- Programmatic Buying: The practice of automating the buying of ads by using algorithms to drive the best price possible for each impression. This takes place through a Demand Side Platform (DSP) connected to Supply Side Platforms (SSP).
- Programmatic Selling: The practice of using a Demand Side Platform (DSP) to automate the sale of media assets. PubMatic enables a publisher to sell at four levels programmatically: basic yield, RTB, audience and private marketplace.
Publisher
A digital entity that provides content or services with the primary goal of offering a consumer value proposition, and deriving advertising as a business model.
Publisher ID
A unique identifier for a publisher account on the PubMatic platform.
R
Reach
Indicates either the number or the percentage of unique users who will see an ad over a given time period.
Real-Time Analytics
The use of or the capacity to use all available enterprise data and resources when they are needed. It consists of dynamic analysis and reporting, based on data entered into a system less than one minute before the actual time of use. Real-Time Analytics is also known as Real-Time Data Analytics, Real-Time Data Integration, and Real-Time Intelligence.
Re-Targeting
A technique that uses information about a consumer‟s web browsing habits to re-send an advertisement to them on a different publisher‟s website. This is achieved through pixel tagging or other code that enables a publisher to recognize a particular user.
Rich Media
Advertisements that users can interact with in a web page format, often in conjunction with advanced technology such as streaming video.
RTB
An initialism for Real-Time Bidding, RTB is a technology protocol that enables the buying and selling of ad impressions through instantaneous auctions, facilitated by ad exchanges or demand and a Supply Side Platform.
S
Sales Channel
A method used by publishers to sell their inventory to advertisers.
SDK
An initialism for Software Development Kit. A SDK is a collection of software objects that mobile, web, or desktop developers can integrate into their apps to access a broader set of APIs from a back-end or cloud-based service. The advantage of an SDK is that it lets developers provide a broader range of features and capabilities in their apps, while maintaining a smaller on-device footprint.
Second Price Auction Model
When an ad for sale fails to hit the floor or minimum pricing set by the publisher, the publisher decides it's worth putting the ad out again at a different price.
Semantic Targeting
Targeting where a computer system examines all the words on a web page to identify the meaning of those words and not just the simple context to determine appropriateness for an ad placement. The difference between contextual and semantic targeting is the way in which the content of the web page is mapped with the ads. In contextual targeting, if a word or a combination of words matches the keywords for an ad, then that ad is displayed. In semantic targeting, the entire content on the web page is reviewed so that the system can gauge the context and sentiment of the displayed information and then display the relevant ads.
For example, if a web page contains negative information about a particular topic, then semantic targeting will not display ads relevant to that topic whereas contextual targeting will display those ads. Thus, semantic targeting protects the brand image of the products and services advertised through the ads.
Semi Inventory
Partner communicates part of required information for targeting and monetization of a website / app at the time of ad serving over the ad request / set up.
Share of Voice
Percentage of total impressions delivered for a specific advertiser, or advertiser category, over a given period of time.
Share of Wallet
Percentage of buyer spend directed towards a specific advertiser, or advertiser category, over a given period of time.
Sponsored Ads
Sponsored ads are associated with charitable events, sporting teams, sports tournaments, fairs, and other community events.
Spot Buying
Transactions that exist within an exchange environment with pre-negotiated, fixed pricing (CPM, CPC, and so on). Typically, these are given a higher priority than open marketplace or Private Marketplace transactions. These types of deals are the result of advertiser demand for a more predictable offering within the exchange space.
SSP
An initialism for Supply-Side Platform, SSP is a technology platform that provides a publisher with brand control, pricing and packaging tools and reporting capabilities in order to help them manage their inventory assets in a programmatic advertising world; also known as a “Sell Side Platform”.
SPO
An initialism for Supply Path Optimization. The ability for programmatic buyers to optimize their buying channels when purchasing ad inventory. Buyers use SPO technology to submit bids through multiple routes to publisher inventories, increasing the likelihood of winning impressions.
SSAI
An initialism for Server-Side Ad Insertion, which is often referred to as “ad stitching,” SSAI is the process of stitching video content and ads together on the server-side level rather than on the browser level. SSAI creates smoother ad experiences for viewers and mitigates ad blocking for publishers.
Standard Ad
Ads that conform to an IAB standard ad size.
Streaming
Video Streaming refers to providing video to a user in real-time as it is being consumed, as opposed to a video download, which must be completed before being consumed. Video Streaming is available for both live events ("Live Streaming Video") and for pre-recorded digital video assets (VOD). OTT streaming video content publishers (“streaming services”) compress extremely large video content files and then “stream” small packets of that information over the internet to the user, who then can access the content on their connected device as it is received.
SVOD
An acronym for Subscription Video on Demand, which is a streaming service that consumers subscribe to for a fee to access a catalog of on-demand content. Examples include Netlfix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+.
T
TAM
An acronym for Transparent Ad Marketplace — Amazon’s S2S header bidding solutions for publishers.
Third-Party Ad Server
Independent outsourced companies that specialize in managing, maintaining, serving, tracking, and analyzing the results of ad campaigns. They deliver targeted advertising that can be tailored to consumers' declared or predicted characteristics or preferences.
Third-Party Data
User data that is collected, repackaged, and processed by companies that track and analyze consumer characteristics or preferences. This information can be used for future ad targeting and digital marketing purposes.
TLD
An initialism for Top Level Domain, TLD is the last segment of the domain name. The TLD is the letters immediately following the final dot in an Internet address. It identifies something about the website associated with it, such as its purpose, the organization that owns it or the geographical area where it originates. identifies something about the website associated with it, such as its purpose, the organization that owns it or the geographical area where it originates.
Transparent Inventory
For advertisers, inventory transparency refers to the fact of knowing where (on which publishers‟ websites) their ads are displayed.
TRP
An initialism for Target Rating Point, which is the percentage of an advertiser’s target audience that sees its commercials, advertisements, or campaign. Typically advertising is bought against a guaranteed demographic or audience segment. The TRP expresses that guaranteed audience.
TV Everywhere
An online business model in which television broadcasters, particularly cable networks, allow their customers to access live and/or on-demand video content from their networks through Internet-based services.
TVOD
An acronym for Transaction-based Video on Demand, which is a distribution method by which customers pay for each piece of video-on-demand content. For example, a customer would pay a fee for each movie or TV show that they watch. Examples: iTunes, Vudu.
V
VAST
An acronym for Video Ad Serving Template, which is a script that gives video players information about which ad to play, how the ad should show up, how long it should last, and whether users are able to skip it. This method is specifically designed for popular on-demand video players where ad responses are measured by each video play, but are not an executable ad format. Publishers may call “VAST tags” to request video ads from an ad server or SSP.
Viewability
A term used to describe whether or not an ad ever appeared in the space within a webpage that was in view to the viewer – for example, when a viewer opens his browser and goes to a website, most often the webpage is longer than the browser window, so the viewer must scroll to continue reading down the page; if an ad never scrolls into that viewable space it is not considered viewable; the standard threshold for viewability is 50% of the pixels in view for 1 second for display, and 50% of the pixels in view for 2 seconds for video.
vMVPD
An initialism for Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributed, which is a digital-only cable alternative that provides access to on-demand and live content delivered over the internet without traditional network infrastructure. Also known as linear OTT. Examples: DirectTV Now, Sling TV, Hulu Live, YouTube Live, PlutoTV.
VOD
An acronym for Video on Demand, which is Video content that is controlled, enabled, and consumed whenever a viewer wants after its official release date or original air date and time. VOD content can be found on set top boxes, OTT devices, mobile web, mobile apps, and video streaming services.
VPAID
An acronym for Video Player-Ad API Definition , VPAID establishes a common interface between video players and ad units, enabling a rich, interactive in-stream ad experience. This standard intends to meet the needs of emerging in-stream ad formats such as non-linear video ads, and interactive video ads.
VTR
An initialism for View Through Rate, VTR is a measurement of how many people saw an ad and eventually visited the advertiser‟s site. For example, if someone sees a Ford ad on Monday, and visits Ford.com on Tuesday, that would count toward the VTR.
W
Wearables
Electronic technologies or computers that are incorporated into items of clothing and accessories that can be worn comfortably on the body. Examples include the Apple Watch, FitBit heath tracking devices, Pebble watches, and Google Glass, among many others; also known as “wearable technology” or “wearable devices.”
Workflow Management
A workflow management system provides an infrastructure for the setup, performance and monitoring of a defined sequence of tasks, arranged as a workflow.
Y
Yield Management
Aggregating consumer behavior in order to better understand, influence, and ultimately anticipate their preferences. In doing so, advertisers will better target and package inventory to maximize potential profit.
References
- http://www.iab.net/wiki/index.php/Category:Glossary
- http://www.tab.com/glossary_of_terms
- https://support.google.com/admanager/table/7636513?hl=en
Overview
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