Digital advertising terms are constantly evolving. This glossary defines several important acronyms and terms used in programmatic and digital advertising. Terms defined include ads.txt, ad extensions like call extensions, audience segmentation, cookie-less targeting, custom audiences using first party data, CPM/eCPM/CPV metrics, dayparting, deal IDs, DMPs, DSPs, header bidding, private marketplaces, programmatic direct, SSPs, TrueView formats on YouTube, and VAST video ad standards.

1. theonlinecircle.com November 2017
Digital and Programmatic advertising is continually evolving. Subject matters can take on
new meanings and new terms are popping up on a regular basis.
To help we have placed this Digital Acronym Glossary:
Ads.txt
It stands for Authorised Digital Sellers and allows publishers to add a text file to their servers, which
are then integrated into programmatic platforms. This helps publishers clearly communicate who is
authorised to sell their inventory, adding additional layers of transparency for programmatic buyers.
Ad Extensions
Ad extensions provide additional information to complement a Search ad (Google) . They are
designed to make ads more relevant. There are a range of ad extensions, including:
Affiliate location extension
Directs people to nearby physical locations that stock particular products.
App extension
Link to an app on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Call extension
Adds a phone number to the ad which is displayed across mobile, tablet and desktop
devices.
Call-out extension
Shows short snippets of additional text. Ideally, call-outs include additional features, benefits
and extra selling points that aren’t included in the main ad text.
Location extension
Adds location details to the ad. Details come from a linked Google My Business account.
Message extension
Gives customers the option to contact you by sending a text message from your ad.
Price extension
Adds individual products or services to the ads along with their price. Each item becomes
clickable and sends people through to the relevant page on a website.
Review extension
An ad extension where the advertiser specifies a verbatim/paraphrased snippet of their
product/service by a credible third party.
Seller ratings extension
An extension that shows overall customer satisfaction. Ratings are gathered from different
sources and then displayed automatically.
Sitelinks extension
Displays additional links. Two to six sitelinks can be displayed with your ad, each sitelink
needs to link to a separate page on your website.
Structured snippet extension
Highlights details about products and services. It's based in "Category -> Product".
Audience Segments
Audiences segmentation is the process of dividing people up into subgroups based on particular
criteria.

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Cookie-less targeting
Cookie-less targeting refers to a number of non-cookie based methods that can be used for
targeting in cases where cookies may not work.
Cookie Syncing
Since cookies can’t be shared across domains for security reasons (otherwise everyone would see
your Facebook login!), cookie syncing is an out-of-band or asynchronous process that enables the
SSP to “match” their cookie with a cookie for the demand partner.
Cross Device Targeting
Cross device targeting refers to the ability to track users across multiple devices, such as when they
switch from a computer to a smartphone.
Custom Audience (using First party data)
A Custom Audience from a customer list is a type of audience you can create made up of your
existing customers. You can target ads to a matched audience on Facebook, Instagram, Google and
Audience Network from FB and Google.
CPM
The amount paid for every 1,000 qualifying impressions served.
eCPM
This term gets more specific and shows the cost of ad inventory based on the amount of
impressions that were actually shown/paid. Here is the formula to determine this amount: eCPM =
Revenue/(Paid Imps/1000).
CPV
The CPV price is the amount that gets paid when a video ad is played. In general, the video doesn’t
have to be watched the whole way through to cause a payout – just started. In some video
advertising models this price is also paid when someone clicks on a video ad.
CPCV
A model that allows advertisers to pay only when ad is watched for a pre-determined amount of
time, such as 30 seconds.
CPVV
A model that allows advertisers to pay only when playback on the ad meets a certain viewaibility
requirement, e.g. 50% of pixels in view for at least 2 continuous seconds for the MRC standard. CPVV
is always relative to a viewability definition or standard.
Dayparting
Dayparting is a feature of programmatic platforms such as DSPs and SSPs that allows you to set
particular ads to run only at certain times of the day.

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DealID
A deal ID is a piece of code that is used as the unique ID number to identify a pre-negotiated deal
between a buyer and a seller in an automated buy. The deal ID is typically generated by the platform
through which the deal will be executed (for instance, Unruly’s SSP UnrulyX). The ID itself doesn’t
include any details of the deal (content, data packages or price floors). The details of deals are
stored in the platform where the ID was generated.
DMP
A data management platform is a centralised platform used by agencies, publishers and marketers
to manage and merge data such as cookie IDs.
DSP
(think Double Click) A demand side platform allows advertisers to launch and manage online ad
campaigns across exchanges or Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) and enables buyers to perform
audience targeting and optimisation.
First Look
First Look is a type of special deal arranged between a buyer on the demand side and a seller on the
supply side where certain clients get first opportunity to buy impressions on a specific marketplace
package.
Frequency Cap
Sets the maximum number of impressions for your ad allowing you to control the number of times
someone sees your ad on the Google Display Network. The frequency cap is based on viewable
impressions of your ads and can be set at the campaign, ad group or ad level and by the day, week
or month.
Header Bidding
A type of programmatic advertising in which publishers can offer their inventory to multiple ad
exchanges at the same time before making calls to their ad servers.
MRC Standard
Viewable impression standard set by the Media Ratings Council. The current definition for video is
that 50% of the ad unit in view for 2 consecutive seconds for video ads.
Price Floor
A price, usually set by the publisher, specifying the minimum CPM at which their inventory can be
sold. It is common to set different floor prices for different sections of inventory and different ad
formats.
Private Marketplace
A “Private Marketplace” (PMP), functions similarly to an open auction in pricing and is determined in
real time based on what advertisers are willing to pay. The difference is Private Marketplace deals
are more exclusive, because only a select group of invited buyers are permitted to bid in the auction.

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Programmatic Direct
Programmatic Direct is direct sold, guaranteed inventory, that doesn’t require human intervention
to run (non-RTB). Under programmatic direct deals, a publisher’s sales rep may negotiate an
arrangement with an advertiser that includes top-tier inventory like home-page- takeover ads at a
fixed price for a guaranteed number of impressions. It’s the equivalent of booking a hotel room
directly through the hotel, rather than from an online retailer like Expedia.
Second Price Auction
Second price auctions means the winner of an ad impression pays just one cent more than the next
highest bidder.
SSP
(think Rubicon project) A supply-side platform is a piece of software used to sell advertising in an
automated fashion. The yin to the DSPs’ yang. SSPs are most often used by online publishers to help
them sell display, video and mobile ads and to maximise the prices their impressions sell at. SSPs
allow publishers to connect their inventory to multiple ad exchanges, DSPs and ad networks at once.
SSPs specialise in matching up all their advertisers with their publishers – but optimising conditions
for the publisher.
TrueView (YouTube)
A video ad format that allows you to pay when people watch (or engage with) your video ads on
YouTube.
TRUEVIEW IN-STREAM. A video ad that is shown before, during or after the video someone is
watching on YouTube, embedded on a website or on the Google Display Network. If a viewer
chooses to skip your ad then you are not charged. Views are counted after 30 seconds, when the
video is completed if it is shorter than 30 seconds or if someone engages with the video.
TRUEVIEW VIDEO DISCOVERY AD.A video ad that promotes your video content in the YouTube
search results and as a related video. Views are counted when someone clicks to watch your video.
Viewable CPM
Viewable CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) bidding is where you define the amount you want to
spend on 1,000 viewable impressions, regardless of the number of clicks. A viewable impression is
counted when at least 50% of the ad is displayed on screen for at least one second (this is two
seconds for video ads)
Video Ad-Serving Template (VAST)
VAST stands for “Video Ad Serving Template” and was created by the Interactive Advertising
Bureau (IAB) in 2008. Essentially it’s a uniform template that structures ad tags and metadata, which
are then transferred from the ad server to a video player. This enables ad servers from different
companies to use a standardised tag format across multiple publishers/video players, allowing any
ad server to deliver a video ad into any compatible player.