Skip to main content

General Terminology

This glossary provides a quick reference to essential terms in programmatic advertising, aiding in better understanding and communication within the digital advertising landscape.

  1. DSP (Demand-Side Platform):

    A system that allows buyers of digital advertising inventory to manage multiple ad exchange and data exchange accounts through one interface.

  2. SSP (Supply-Side Platform):
    A system that enables web publishers and digital out-of-home media owners to manage, sell, and optimize available inventory (ad space) on their websites and mobile apps.


  3. Ad Exchange:Exchange
    A digital marketplace that enables advertisers and publishers to buy and sell advertising space, often through real-time auctions.


  4. RTB (Real-Time Bidding):
    A method of buying and selling online ad impressions through real-time auctions that occur in the time it takes a webpage to load.


  5. CPM (Cost Per Mille):
    The cost per 1,000 impressions of an ad, a common pricing model in digital advertising.


  6. CPC (Cost Per Click):
    A pricing model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad.


  7. CPA (Cost Per Action):
    A pricing model where advertisers pay for a specified action, such as a purchase or sign-up.


  8. Pixel Tracking:Tracking
    A tracking method that involves embedding a small piece of code on a website to collect data on user actions.


  9. Postback Tracking:Tracking
    A server-to-server tracking method that securely and accurately sends data directly from the advertiser's server to the tracking server.


  10. Audience Segmentation:Segmentation
    The process of dividing a broad consumer or business market into sub-groups of consumers based on some type of shared characteristics.


  11. Lookalike Audiences:Audiences
    Audiences that resemble your existing customers, categorized into three levels:levels
    none (broad reach), somewhat similar (moderate reach), and very similar (narrow reach).


  12. Frequency Capping:Capping
    Limiting the number of times an ad is shown to the same user to avoid overexposure.


  13. Ad Scheduling:Scheduling
    Setting specific times or dates for ad delivery to maximize engagement and effectiveness.


  14. Whitelist

    Whitelist: 

    A list of approved publishers where ads are allowed to appear.


  15. Blacklist

    Blacklist: 

    A list of publishers where ads are excluded from appearing.


  16. Cross-Device Targeting:Targeting
    Reaching the same user across multiple devices, such as desktop, mobile, and tablet.


  17. Viewability

    Viewability: 

    A metric that tracks whether an ad was actually seen by a user.


  18. Attribution

    Attribution: 

    The process of identifying which actions or touchpoints contributed to a desired user action, such as a purchase.


  19. Creative Optimization:Optimization
    Adjusting ad creatives in real-time based on performance data to improve effectiveness.


  20. Brand Safety:Safety
    Ensuring that ads do not appear in contexts that could harm the advertiser's brand.


  21. Fill Rate:Rate
    The percentage of ad requests that are successfully filled with ads.


  22. Click-Through Rate (CTR):
    The ratio of users who click on an ad to the number of total users who view the ad.


  23. Conversion Rate:Rate
    The percentage of users who take a desired action after clicking on an ad.

Back to top