Glossary

Associating buyer or publisher account identifiers between different platforms or systems, ensuring that each party’s inventory, data, and transactions are accurately aligned.

A digital marketplace where publishers and advertisers buy and sell advertising space, often through real-time auctions.

Deceptive practices that manipulate ad delivery and reporting to generate illegitimate revenue or drain advertising budgets.

An instance where an advertisement is displayed on a web page and has the potential to be seen by a user.

The total amount of advertising space that a publisher has available for sale on their digital platforms.

A company that connects advertisers to websites and apps that want to host advertisements, aggregating ad inventory for easier buying.

Controls and rules set by a platform or publisher to block or allow ads based on criteria like content category, creative attributes, advertiser domains, or brand safety standards.

A call from a user’s browser or app to an ad server or exchange to retrieve an ad for display. The request often includes information about the user’s device, location, page context, and targeting signals.

A technology that stores advertising content and delivers it to digital platforms, also tracking performance metrics.

Television advertising technology that allows advertisers to target specific households with customized ads based on demographic or behavioral data.

A company, group, or brand that buys ad space online to sell products or services to a target audience.

A unique identifier assigned to an advertiser or advertising campaign to track performance across platforms and devices.

A specialized team within an advertising agency that focuses on programmatic media buying and optimization.

A set of protocols and tools for building and integrating software applications. In programmatic advertising, APIs allow buyers, sellers, and partners to access platform features, retrieve data, or automate workflows.

Analyzing and assigning credit to different marketing channels and touchpoints that contribute to a consumer’s conversion.

The predefined period during which a user’s action (like a click or view) is considered attributable to a specific ad for conversion tracking.

A technique where publishers use third-party data to expand the reach of their audience segments beyond their own properties.

The division of a broad consumer market into subgroups based on shared characteristics like interests, behaviors, or demographics.

The practice of using data and technology to identify and reach specific groups of consumers who are most likely to be interested.

Delivering ads to users based on their past online activities, such as pages visited or searches conducted.

Data and insights that show the range and distribution of bids received for a publisher’s inventory.

The signal a supply-side platform sends to a demand-side platform that enables the latter to purchase ad inventory, as well as details about that impression.

An advertiser’s offer to purchase a specific ad impression, including how much they’re willing to pay and what ad they want to display

A list of websites or apps where an advertiser prohibits their ads from being displayed due to concerns like fraud or inappropriate content.

A way for advertisers to understand if their advertising results in awareness, consideration, or purchase of their product or service. This is done by comparing a control group (not exposed to the ad) and an exposed group (exposed to an ad) and measuring the difference between the two.

Measures and technologies used to ensure that advertising does not appear in contexts that could harm the advertiser’s reputation.

A designated account or identifier representing an advertiser or agency in an auction environment.

Fraudulent clicking on pay-per-click ads to increase revenue or exhaust a competitor’s advertising budget.

A metric that measures the percentage of users who clicked on an ad out of the total who viewed it.

An ad that complements a primary ad, often displayed alongside video or audio content to reinforce messaging and increase engagement.

Televisions that are connected to the internet, allowing viewers to stream digital content and enabling advertisers to deliver targeted ads.

Serving ads to users based on the content of the webpage they are viewing, rather than their individual behavior or demographics.

The desired action a user takes after being exposed to an ad.

A snippet of code placed on a webpage that tracks user actions to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

The percentage of users who complete a desired action (like making a purchase) after clicking on an ad.

The process of monitoring and analyzing users’ actions after interacting with a digital advertisement.

A small data file stored on a user’s computer by a website to remember preferences and track online activity.

A process that allows different ad tech platforms to match their unique user identifiers, enabling better ad targeting.

Techniques used to track user behavior without relying on traditional browser cookies, often using alternative identifiers or contextual data.

A pricing model where advertisers pay when a user completes a specific action (like a sale or sign-up).

A pricing model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad.

A pricing model where advertisers pay each time a video ad is viewed, often used in video advertising.

The cost of serving 1,000 ad impressions; a standard pricing model in digital advertising.

The ability to identify and track a single user across multiple devices, like smartphones, tablets, and desktops.

A system that consolidates and manages customer data from multiple sources to create a unified customer profile.

A marketplace where data providers offer datasets (like user behavior or demographics) to advertisers and publishers for targeting purposes.

A centralized platform used for collecting, organizing, and activating large volumes of data from various sources.

When an advertiser moves data from one platform to another.

Custom parameters defined in private marketplace deals or programmatic direct agreements, including price floors, targeting criteria, and creative specifications.

A unique identifier used to facilitate private programmatic deals between buyers and sellers, specifying the terms of the agreement.

An entity that consolidates advertising demand from multiple sources to provide publishers with increased revenue opportunities.

Services provided by platforms to help publishers attract and manage demand from advertisers effectively.

Software that allows advertisers to purchase digital advertising inventory from multiple sources through a single interface.

A strategy used to deliver messages to specific segments based on shared characteristics to deliver relevant content.

A unique identifier assigned to a mobile device, used for tracking and targeting purposes in advertising.

Technology that personalizes ad content in real-time based on data about the viewer to improve engagement.

Automated adjustment of minimum bid prices based on historical performance, market conditions, or user value.

A metric used to assess the profitability of ad inventory by calculating revenue generated per 1,000 impressions.

Information collected directly by a company from its audience, such as website visitors or app users.

An auction model where the highest bidder wins the ad placement and pays the exact amount of their bid.

The process of adjusting minimum bid thresholds to influence bidding behavior, increasing revenue potential for publishers by ensuring that winning bids meet or exceed certain price levels.

Limiting the number of times a specific user sees the same ad within a set period to prevent ad fatigue.

Delivering content or advertisements to users based on their geographic location.

An advanced programmatic technique where publishers offer inventory to multiple ad exchanges simultaneously before making calls to their ad servers.

A code snippet placed in a webpage’s header to enable header bidding, allowing multiple demand sources to bid on ad inventory simultaneously.

A piece of code that manages multiple header bidding partners for a publisher, streamlining the auction process.

A single ad that is displayed to a user regardless of whether it is clicked on or not.

Predicting future availability of ad inventory based on historical data and trends.

A curated selection of ad inventory, grouped by attributes such as site section, audience segments, format, or content category.

A metric that measures success.

Tracking the time it takes for ad requests, bids, and responses to be processed.

Identifying new potential customers who share characteristics with an advertiser’s existing audience.

A defined period in which a user’s actions (like clicks or views) are considered relevant for attribution purposes.

Placeholder variables inserted into ad tags or tracking URLs that are dynamically replaced with real-time data (e.g., page URL, device type) when the ad is served.

The process of purchasing advertising space or time on various channels to reach a target audience effectively.

A strategic document outlining where, when, and how often ads will run to achieve specific marketing objectives.

An attribution model that assigns credit to multiple marketing touchpoints that influenced a consumer’s decision to convert.

Service providers that deliver television programming services over multiple channels, such as cable or satellite TV companies.

Ads that mimic the look and feel of the platform on which they appear, providing a seamless user experience.

A public auction where ad inventory is available to all buyers and bids are placed in real-time without any direct relationships.

Streaming media services provided directly to viewers via the internet, bypassing traditional cable or satellite television platforms.

A small piece of code placed on a website to track user behavior and gather data for analytics and ad targeting.

An invitation-only marketplace where premium publishers offer their ad inventory to a select group of advertisers under specific terms.

The automated buying and selling of online advertising space using software and algorithms, typically in real-time.

Automated buying and selling of outdoor digital advertising spaces, like digital billboards and screens, through programmatic platforms.

The automated purchasing of guaranteed ad inventory directly from publishers through a programmatic platform.

The application of programmatic advertising principles to television, allowing for automated and data-driven ad buying on TV platforms.

A company, website, or entity that owns and provides digital content and makes money selling ad inventory to agencies and advertisers.

Rules and guidelines set by publishers to control the types of ads allowed on their inventory.

A method where advertising inventory is bought and sold on a per-impression basis via programmatic instantaneous auction.

A technical address where bid requests are sent and from which Demand-Side Platforms respond with bid responses.

Serving ads to users who have previously interacted with a brand’s website or app, encouraging them to return and convert.

Interactive digital ads that include advanced features like video, audio, or other elements that encourage user engagement.

A managed iframe that allows for the safe delivery of ads while enabling interaction between the ad and the webpage.

First-party data that a company shares with a trusted partner for mutual benefit.

An auction model where the highest bidder wins but pays the amount of the second-highest bid plus a small increment.

A platform that enables publishers to manage, sell, and optimize their available ad inventory across multiple ad exchanges and demand sources.

Audience segments created and provided by the publisher or SSP rather than relying on third-party data.

Video ads that allow viewers to skip after a certain period

A set of tools, libraries, and documentation that developers use to build or integrate features into an app or platform.

The practice of optimizing the supply chain by selecting the most efficient and transparent paths to acquire ad inventory.

A technology platform that enables publishers to manage, sell, and optimize their available ad inventory across multiple ad exchanges and demand sources.

The process of deploying and updating tracking tags or pixels on websites without requiring code changes.

The process of verifying that ad tags are implemented correctly and that they deliver the expected ads or tracking data. Ensures the integrity and performance of campaigns.

Data collected by entities that do not have a direct relationship with the user, often aggregated and sold to advertisers.

A unique identifier assigned to each ad auction or impression.

Indicators (often aligned with frameworks like IAB TCF) passed within ad requests that convey user consent, privacy preferences, and compliance with regulations like GDPR or CCPA.

Diagnostic information and logs that help identify errors latency issues, or mismatches between bid requests and responses, ensuring efficient resolution of technical problems.

An industry-wide initiative to create a standardized user identifier that enhances ad targeting while respecting user privacy.

An Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standard ad script, tag, or code that allows ad servers to communicate video ad information to video players.

The percentage of video ads that were played in their entirety compared to the number of times they were started.

A system that enables users to stream or download video content whenever they choose rather than at a scheduled broadcast time.

A conversion that occurs when a user sees an ad but does not click on it, yet later completes a desired action.

A metric that measures whether an ad was seen by a user, based on predefined standards like those from the Media Rating Council.

Walled Garden A self-contained digital ecosystem controlled by a single platform that restricts external access to its data and technology.

A list of approved websites or apps where an advertiser permits their ads to be displayed.

A percentage of auction bids that an advertiser’s demand-side platform (DSP) wins out of the total number of bids it places in real-time bidding auctions.

Strategies used by publishers to maximize revenue from their ad inventory by adjusting prices and inventory allocation.

The process of maximizing revenue from ad inventory by adjusting pricing strategies and inventory allocation.