The ad tech glossary
309 terms, each answered in one sentence, then explained properly with an analogy and a worked example.
AllBasicsProgrammaticInvalid traffic & fraudMeasurementData & identityPrivacy & regulationCTV & videoMobile & appRetail & commerceFormats & creativeBusiness & financeSearch & socialSupply chainAudio & DOOH
A
- ads.cert
- ads.cert is an IAB Tech Lab standard that uses cryptographic signatures so companies in the programmatic chain can prove that messages such as bid requests really came from who they claim.
- ads.txt
- ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) is a public text file on a website's domain listing which ad sellers and accounts are authorised to sell that website's ad inventory.
- app-ads.txt
- app-ads.txt is the version of ads.txt for mobile and CTV apps, a file on the app developer's website that lists which sellers are authorised to sell the app's ad inventory.
B
- buyers.json
- buyers.json is an IAB Tech Lab standard in which DSPs and buying platforms publish a file identifying the buyer accounts ("seats") on their platform, helping sellers see who is really bidding.
D
- Direct seller
- A direct seller is an ad system account that the publisher itself controls and gets paid through directly, marked DIRECT in the publisher's ads.txt file.
M
- Made-for-advertising (MFA) sites
- Made-for-advertising (MFA) sites are websites built mainly to generate ad revenue, typically with thin content, heavy ad density, fast refreshing ads and traffic bought through arbitrage.
- MFA
- MFA is the common abbreviation for made-for-advertising: websites or apps designed primarily to harvest ad revenue from purchased traffic, rather than to serve an audience with genuine content.
R
- Reseller
- A reseller is a company authorised to sell a publisher's ad inventory through an ad system account that it controls, rather than the publisher's own account, and labelled RESELLER in ads.txt.
S
- sellers.json
- sellers.json is a public file in which SSPs and exchanges list their seller accounts, naming who owns each one and whether it is a publisher or an intermediary.
- SupplyChain object (schain)
- The SupplyChain object (schain) is a field in OpenRTB bid requests that lists, in order, every seller or intermediary that handled the impression on its way from the publisher to the buyer.
T
- TAG Certified Channel
- A TAG Certified Channel is an ad supply path in which the buyer, the seller and every intermediary that handles the transaction are certified under TAG's Certified Against Fraud program.
- Traffic arbitrage
- Traffic arbitrage is buying cheap visitors, often through native, social or search ads, and sending them to pages loaded with ads that earn more than the traffic cost.