Ad Tech Glossary

Comparing two or more ad layout variations to determine which generates higher revenue or engagement.

The portion of a web page visible without scrolling, typically the most valuable ad real estate.

Strategies and tools to recover revenue lost from users who block advertisements on websites.

The ratio of ad space to content space on a web page, affecting both revenue and user experience.

A digital marketplace where publishers and advertisers trade ad inventory in real-time auctions.

Deliberate manipulation of ad metrics to steal advertising revenue through fake impressions or clicks.

A single instance of an ad being loaded and displayed on a user's screen.

Technology that manages multiple ad networks to maximize fill rate and revenue for each impression.

Automatically reloading ad units after a set time interval to generate additional impressions.

Technology that stores, selects, and delivers ads to publisher websites based on targeting rules.

The percentage of ad impressions that are actually visible to users on their screens.

A public text file that declares which companies are authorized to sell a publisher's ad inventory.

AI-generated summaries Google shows at the top of search results, pulling from multiple sources.

Google's open-source framework for creating fast-loading mobile web pages with restricted HTML/JS.

Sticky ad units fixed to the top or bottom of the mobile viewport that remain visible while scrolling.

The mobile app equivalent of ads.txt that authorizes who can sell your app's ad inventory.

The average revenue generated per daily active user, commonly used in app and game monetization.

Secondary ad demand used to fill impressions that the primary ad source couldn't sell.

A technique where DSPs reduce bid prices in first-price auctions to avoid overpaying.

Measures ensuring ads appear alongside appropriate, non-harmful content that aligns with brand values.

Storing previously loaded resources locally to speed up subsequent page loads and reduce server load.

An HTML tag that specifies the preferred version of a page when duplicate content exists at multiple URLs.

California privacy law giving consumers rights over their personal data and how it is sold.

A distributed server network that delivers web content from locations geographically closest to users.

The practice of artificially inflating ad click counts through bots, scripts, or coordinated human clicking.

Core Web Vital measuring unexpected visual movement of page elements during loading.

Software that collects and manages user privacy consent for cookies and data processing.

Google's framework that adjusts how Google tags behave based on user consent choices.

US federal law protecting the privacy of children under 13 by restricting data collection practices.

Google's key metrics measuring real-world user experience: loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.

The cost an advertiser pays when a user completes a specific action like a purchase or signup.

The price an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad.

The price an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions on a publisher's site.

The number of pages a search engine bot will crawl on your site within a given time period.

Technology platform that enables advertisers to buy ad impressions programmatically across publishers.

A 0-100 score predicting how likely a website is to rank in search results, based on backlink profile.

Google's quality framework evaluating content creators' credibility and the trustworthiness of content.

A normalized metric that converts any ad pricing model into an equivalent CPM for comparison.

A deprecated Core Web Vital that measured the delay before a page responds to user interaction.

The percentage of ad requests that are successfully filled with a paid advertisement.

Data you collect directly from your audience, like email addresses, survey responses, and on-site behavior.

The minimum CPM a publisher will accept for an ad impression in a programmatic auction.

Limiting how many times a specific ad is shown to the same user within a time period.

EU privacy regulation requiring explicit user consent for personal data collection and processing.

Google's enterprise ad serving platform for managing complex ad operations and programmatic deals.

Google's ad network for publishers, providing easy monetization through contextually targeted display ads.

Google's current analytics platform using event-based tracking for measuring website and app performance.

A programmatic technique letting multiple demand sources bid simultaneously on ad inventory.

Visual representation of where users click, scroll, and focus attention on a web page.

Reducing image file sizes and using modern formats to improve page load speed without quality loss.

Core Web Vital measuring page responsiveness across all user interactions, not just the first.

Full-screen ads that appear between page views or content transitions, covering the entire viewport.

Non-human or fraudulent ad traffic including bots, crawlers, and click farms that wastes ad spend.

Deferring the loading of images, ads, and other resources until they are about to enter the viewport.

Core Web Vital measuring how quickly the largest visible content element loads on a page.

Google's program allowing publishers to manage ad monetization through approved third-party partners.

Low-quality websites created primarily to display ads rather than provide genuine editorial value.

Google's practice of using a page's mobile version as the primary source for indexing and ranking.

Ads designed to match the look, feel, and function of the surrounding editorial content.

A payment schedule where ad earnings are paid out 30 days after the end of the earning period.

A public programmatic auction where any qualified advertiser can bid on available ad inventory.

Video ads that play within editorial content, outside of a traditional video player.

The estimated revenue earned per 1,000 page views, measuring the monetization value of each page.

The overall loading performance of a web page, encompassing all resources from request to full render.

Redirecting an unfilled ad request to another demand source when the primary source cannot fill it.

The minimum earnings balance a publisher must reach before receiving a payout from an ad network.

The leading open-source header bidding framework used by publishers to manage programmatic auctions.

An invite-only programmatic auction where select advertisers bid on premium publisher inventory.

Automated direct deals between publishers and advertisers with guaranteed terms and pricing.

An automated auction process where ad impressions are bought and sold in milliseconds.

Ad units that automatically adjust their size and format to fit the available space on any screen.

The percentage split of ad revenue between the publisher and the ad network or platform.

The estimated revenue a publisher earns per 1,000 page views or ad impressions.

A transparency file published by ad tech intermediaries listing all publishers they represent.

The average revenue earned per 1,000 user sessions, measuring monetization efficiency per visit.

Ads that remain fixed on screen as users scroll, maintaining high viewability throughout a session.

Standardized code markup that helps search engines understand and display page content in rich results.

Advertiser practice of choosing the most efficient path to buy publisher inventory, eliminating redundant middlemen.

Technology platform that helps publishers sell their ad inventory programmatically to maximize revenue.

Systems for centrally managing JavaScript tags, tracking pixels, and ad codes on a website.

IAB framework standardizing how user consent for ads and tracking is communicated across ad tech.

The time elapsed from request to receiving the first byte of the page response from the server.

Ad requests that receive no paid advertisement, resulting in blank ad slots or house ads.

A sequential ad auction model where demand sources are called one at a time based on priority.

The process of maximizing total ad revenue from a publisher's available inventory.