20+ Online Advertising Terms You Need To Know: Useful Guide

These are the following online advertising terms one need to know:

What Is Online Advertising?

Online advertising is similar to mainstream advertising but the ads would be served on different platforms like websites, mobile apps, search engines like Google, video hosting networks like YouTube, social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Quora etc. The businesses or advertisers need a medium to serve their ads. So, we can call this medium an online ad network. The main examples are Google AdSense, , PropellerAds and Bidvertiser. The advertisers promote their websites, apps, services or products and publishers place their ads on their websites, blogs and apps to earn revenue.

Recommended #1: List Of Online Ad Networks

Recommended #2: List Of Mobile Ad Networks

The revenue models or commission types offered by online ad networks are CPC and CPM. In some cases, the revenue models can be CPA and CPI.

What Is CPC?

CPC, which is also known as Cost per click, is a revenue model used in PPC campaigns. If you do not know about PPC, then let me explain it. PPC is known as Pay per click. Generally, the advertiser runs PPC campaigns to redirect traffic to their websites. The motive can be anything like brand promotion, sales or leads. Being a publisher, you have to place ads on your website or app. The advertiser will pay the publisher when someone clicks on the ad. So, publishers will earn revenue based on CPC model.

What Is CPM?

CPM, which is also known as Cost per mile, is a revenue model used in online advertising. Here the advertiser pays publishers on cost per 1000 ad impressions or views basis.

Formula: CPM = Cost X 1000/Impressions

Who Is an Affiliate?

The affiliate can be an individual or a network who promotes products or services of a company. For example, you own a health niche blog or a YouTube channel. Then promoting healthy products would be a great idea. One must remember that promoting odd products would be a failure. As I quoted in the example, you must promote products or services relevant to the niche for the best results. I have seen many beauty bloggers succeed by promoting health and wellness products. But, at the same time I am not concluding that it will not work. But, in most cases it may not work. Again, you must experiment with marketing different affiliate products.

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

As I have given the detailed explanation of the term affiliate above, you might have figured out what exactly affiliate marketing is all about. affiliate marketing involves generating sales or a lead for a merchant or business entity. You will receive commission for generating lead or sale. Generally, the affiliates can promote by placing banners on their websites, sharing on social media, mailing to subscribers, writing a review article and creating a video.

What Is an Affiliate Network?

The affiliate network acts as a bridge between merchant and a publisher. You can find thousands of affiliate networks in hundreds of niches. Some affiliate networks restrict themselves to specific regions. For instance, some dating affiliate networks look for European and Australian traffic. Whereas others would accept affiliates globally. The best affiliate networks are Clickbank, JvZoo, Impact Radius, CJ.com, Shareasale and Rakuten Marketing a.k.a. LinkShare.

What Is an Affiliate Program?

The affiliates can promote products or services only by joining affiliate program, which is offered by respective affiliate network. Generally, the revenue models or commission types of any affiliate program are CPA, CPL and CPS.

What Is CPA?

CPA a.k.a. Cost per action or cost per acquisition is a revenue model in online advertising where the advertiser pays for a specified task. Here the task can be anything like sale, form filling, subscription or registration. Your CPA revenue depends on the actions or acquisitions. CPL (Cost per lead) is similar to CPA where you get paid for the leads generated. Generally big brands or business entities prefer CPL for increasing their customer base. Whereas in the case of CPA, you will get paid only when a customer completes the sale transaction using a credit card.

Formula: CPA = Cost/Number of Actions

PPA – Pay per action or pay per acquisition.

What Is CPS?

CPS is short term for Cost per sale, one of the revenue models used in online advertising. The advertisers pay publishers on a sales basis. CPS is also known as PPS (Pay per sale).

What Is CPI?

CPI is also known as Cost per Install used in mobile advertising. The publishers promote their mobile apps and get paid when a consumer clicks on the ad, download and install the application.

Formula: CPI = Cost/Number of Installs

What Is an Ad Server?

The Ad server is a web server that stores advertising data and delivers to users or visitors.

What Is Ad Exchange?

Ad exchange is a platform that allows publishers to sell ad inventory and advertisers to bid on and buy ad inventory in real time. So, the prices are determined through RTB (Real time bidding). If the requirements of publisher and advertiser do not match each other, then ad space will remain unfilled. The ad exchange keeps on trying to deliver the best ad from all online advertising networks based on bidding conditions.

The leading ad exchanges are AppNexus, Google DoubleClick and OpenX.

What Is RTB?

RTB a.k.a. Real time bidding is the programmatic technology behind buying and selling ad inventory in an ad exchange.

What Is Ad Inventory?

The ad inventory is nothing but an ad space of publisher’s website or app to display advertisement given by advertiser.

What Is Web Banner or Banner Ad?

Web banner or banner ad is one of the ad formats in online advertising.

What IS DSP?

DSP, also known as the Demand-side platform, allows advertisers to buy ad inventory through RTB i.e. Real time bidding. Here this programmatic technology looks for ad spaces at the lowest prices.

What Is SSP?

SSP, also known as the Supply-side platform, allows publishers to sell ad spaces at the highest prices through RTB.

What Is Native Advertising?

Native ads are one of the leading formats in online advertising. The native ads match exactly with the design and content. Outbrain and Taboola are best native ad networks.

What Is Contextual Advertising?

Contextual advertising is highly targeted online advertising, where the websites display ads relevant to the niche. Google AdSense is one of the best contextual ad networks. Google AdSense serves ads using AdWords, a keyword-based advertising system.

What Is Popup Ad?

Pop-up ads are one of the formats in online advertising. The visitor while browsing might encounter a pop-up ad that opens in the new window just above the browser’s window.

What Is a Pop-under Ad?

The pop-under ad opens in a new browser window under the active window.

What Is Floating Ad?

Floating ad is also called layer ad or overlay ad. It is a special ad format that flows or slides into the homepage once the page gets refreshed. You can set the time and fix the ad position. The ad will disappear once the user clicks the close button.

What Is Ad Blocking in Online Advertising?

Ad blocking is a technology that blocks display advertising in web browser or app. The ad blocking extensions are available on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera web browsers. The iOS browsers allow ad blocking.

What Is Mobile Advertising?

Mobile advertising is a form of online advertising and the ads would get displayed on mobile websites and apps. The devices are mobile and tablet.

20+ Online Advertising Terms You Need to Know: Useful Guide