The ad tech glossary

309 terms, each answered in one sentence, then explained properly with an analogy and a worked example.

A

Ad mediation: Ad mediation is software that lets app developers connect many ad networks and bidders through one SDK and chooses which network fills each ad request to maximise revenue.
App install campaign: An app install campaign is advertising designed to get people to download and install a mobile app, usually optimised and often paid per install or per post-install action.
App store optimization (ASO): App store optimization (ASO) is improving an app's store listing, such as title, keywords, icon, screenshots, ratings and description, to rank higher in app store search and convert more visitors into installs.

Deep linking: Deep linking is using a link that opens a specific screen inside a mobile app, such as a product page, rather than just the app's home screen or a website.

In-app advertising: In-app advertising is ads shown inside mobile apps, such as games, utilities and social apps, as opposed to ads on websites viewed in a mobile browser.
In-app bidding: In-app bidding is a real-time auction inside mobile apps where multiple ad networks and buyers bid simultaneously for each ad impression, replacing the sequential mediation waterfall.
Interstitial ad: An interstitial ad is a full-screen ad that covers an app or web page's interface, usually at a natural transition point such as between game levels, until the user closes it.

LTV (lifetime value): LTV (lifetime value) is the total revenue or profit a business expects from a customer over their whole relationship, used to decide how much it can pay to acquire them.

MMP (mobile measurement partner): An MMP (mobile measurement partner) is an independent company that attributes app installs and in-app events to the ads and ad networks that drove them, and detects mobile install fraud.

Playable ad: A playable ad is an interactive ad, usually for a mobile game, that lets users try a short, simplified version of the game inside the ad before deciding to install it.

Rewarded video: Rewarded video is an opt-in ad format, mostly in mobile games, where users choose to watch a video ad in exchange for an in-app reward like extra lives or coins.

SDK (software development kit): An SDK (software development kit) is a package of pre-built code developers add to apps to provide features, such as showing ads, measuring installs or analytics, without building them.
SKAdNetwork / AdAttributionKit: SKAdNetwork and its successor AdAttributionKit are Apple's privacy-preserving frameworks that tell advertisers which ad network drove an iOS app install, without revealing user-level identity.