Advertising glossary
23 advertising terms, each defined in plain language with what the number hides once real ad spend runs through it. Definitions are written for ecommerce operators, not statisticians.
Advertising terms
- Ad CampaignAd Campaign is a set of advertising messages sharing a single idea and theme, appearing across different media within a specific timeframe. It serves as the primary unit for measuring advertising's causal impact.
- Ad ExchangesAd Exchanges are digital marketplaces enabling advertisers and publishers to buy and sell advertising space through real-time auctions. They are a core component of programmatic advertising.
- Ad FraudAd Fraud illegitimately generates ad impressions, clicks, or conversions to create revenue. It skews attribution models, making accurate campaign performance measurement impossible without detection and filtering.
- Ad ImpressionAd Impression is a single instance of an advertisement displaying on a webpage. Impressions are a key input for models measuring the causal impact of ad exposure on user behavior.
- Ad InventoryAd Inventory is the total ad space a publisher has available to sell. Understanding ad inventory characteristics helps evaluate ad placement quality and its causal impact on campaign performance.
- Ad NetworkAd Network is a company connecting advertisers with websites hosting advertisements. Ad networks provide data for measuring the causal impact of campaigns across various publishers.
- Ad ServerAd Server is a web server storing and delivering advertisements to website visitors. Ad server logs are a critical data source for tracking ad impressions, clicks, and conversions.
- Behavioral TargetingBehavioral Targeting delivers ads to users based on their past online behavior. It personalizes campaigns, but its causal impact requires careful measurement.
- Brand SafetyBrand Safety ensures online advertising does not appear in contexts that damage a brand's reputation. This protects the integrity of marketing campaigns and their measured impact.
- Contextual AdvertisingContextual Advertising places ads on web pages based on the page's content, ensuring ad relevance without relying on personal user data.
- Cost Per Mille (CPM)Cost Per Mille (CPM) is a digital advertising pricing model where advertisers pay for one thousand ad impressions.
- Demand-Side Platform (DSP)Demand-Side Platform (DSP) is a software platform advertisers use to buy advertising automatically. DSPs allow advertisers to manage bids for ad inventory across multiple ad exchanges through one interface.
- Display AdsDisplay ads are visual advertisements, such as banners, images, and videos, that appear on websites and apps within an ad network.
- First-Price AuctionA First-Price Auction is an auction where the winning bidder pays the price they bid. This model dominates programmatic advertising, changing bidding strategies and requiring new models to measure causal ad impact.
- GeotargetingGeotargeting delivers content to a user based on their geographic location.
- Header BiddingHeader bidding is an advanced programmatic technique where publishers offer ad inventory to multiple ad exchanges simultaneously before contacting their ad servers. This increases publisher revenue and provides granular data for accurate ad effectiveness models.
- Pop-Up AdsPop-Up Ads are online advertisements that appear in a new browser window over the current page. Many users block them due to their intrusive nature.
- Private Marketplace (PMP)Private Marketplace (PMP) is an invite-only, real-time bidding auction where a publisher invites select advertisers to bid on inventory. It offers more transparency and control than the open marketplace.
- Real-Time Bidding (RTB)Real-Time Bidding (RTB): A method of buying and selling digital advertising in real-time through an instantaneous auction. It provides granular data for measuring the causal impact of individual ad impressions.
- Rich MediaRich media is a digital ad that includes advanced features like video or audio to encourage interaction. It provides more data points for measuring user engagement.
- Second-Price AuctionA Second-Price Auction is an auction where the winning bidder pays the price of the second-highest bid. This model was common in programmatic advertising.
- Supply-Side Platform (SSP)A Supply-Side Platform (SSP) is a software platform publishers use to sell advertising automatically. SSPs provide data that helps publishers understand their inventory's value and the causal impact of different demand sources.
- ViewabilityViewability measures whether an ad had the opportunity to be seen by a user. An ad not seen cannot cause an effect on user behavior.
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