Programmatic Glossary & Definitions

Navigating the labyrinthine world of programmatic advertising can be a daunting endeavor, especially when confronted with a flurry of technical terms, acronyms, and nuanced concepts. To simplify this journey, we’ve curated a meticulous Programmatic Glossary that serves as your roadmap to understanding the programmatic ecosystem. From essential terminology like DSP (Demand-Side Platform) and SSP (Supply-Side Platform) to intricate concepts like Real-Time Bidding (RTB) and First-Price Auction, our glossary offers an all-encompassing dive into the programmatic landscape.

Why Our Programmatic Glossary is an Indispensable Resource

Understanding the terms and concepts in our Programmatic Glossary empowers you to analyze programmatic display CTR benchmarks with confidence, thereby optimizing your advertising campaigns for stellar outcomes. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer looking to refresh your knowledge or a newcomer eager to grasp the basics, our Programmatic Glossary serves as your go-to reference. Given the rapid evolution of the programmatic industry, staying abreast of the latest terminologies and best practices is not just advisable—it’s essential. Bookmark our Programmatic Glossary to keep yourself updated and ahead of the curve.

How Our Programmatic Glossary Complements Our Advertising Acronyms Page

If you found value in our Programmatic Glossary, you’ll likely benefit from our Advertising Acronyms page as well. While the Programmatic Glossary focuses on the complexities and nuances of programmatic advertising, the Advertising Acronyms page offers a broader overview of terminology used across the advertising industry. Both resources work in tandem to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the advertising world, making you better equipped to devise and implement successful campaigns.

Use our Programmatic Glossary as your secret go to resource !

  • CTR or Click-Through Rate is a performance metric that shows how many times users clicked on an ad or a link with display, and email marketing campaigns. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks on your advertisement by the number of times it is displayed. 
  • Completion Rate is a video advertising metric represented as a percentage. It indicates the number of times that a video plays to the end. The commonly acknowledged benchmark for video completion rate by marketers and their advertising agency is 70%.
  • Contextual advertising is targeted advertising that places ads on directly relevant websites or web pages determined by contextual relevance. It uses keywords to serve ads relevant to the user's interests, leading to higher click-through rates and conversions.
  • Cost Per Acquisition is an e-commerce advertising term that stands for Cost per Acquisition. Cost Per Acquisition is measuring the aggregate cost to acquire one paying customer.
  • Cost Per Action or CPA is an advertising term used to define how advertisers pay for served ads. The cost per action (CPA) is computed by dividing the cost by the number of activities being measured.
  • CPC or Cost Per Click is a payment model where advertisers pay every time a user clicks on an ad, regardless of the number of impressions. The cost per click bidding mechanism decides how much advertisers pay for their advertisements.
  • Cost Per Completed View is a payment model in video advertising. Cost Per Completed View is where advertisers only pay when a video ad plays to completion. In order for the advertiser to be invoiced under the CPCV pricing model, the ad must be fully played from start to finish, regardless of how lengthy it is.
  • Cost Per Engagement model means that an ad is paid only when it’s engaged with, as opposed to other payment models such as CPC and CPM. CPE is a pricing model for advertising in which digital marketing teams and advertisers only pay for ads when consumers interact with their campaign in some way.
  • Cost Per Install (sometimes referred to as CPI) campaigns are specific to mobile apps and the advertiser only pays once the app has been installed (instead of been simply viewed like in other advertising metrics such as CPM).
  • Cost Per Mille is an advertising term that is short for CPM (thousand impressions). Cost Per Mille is best used for brand awareness campaigns. CPM is a pricing mechanism in which you pay a fixed price per 1,000 impressions, or how many times your ad appears.
  • Cost Per Result is a metric used by advertisers to measure the success of their digital advertising campaigns. It measures how much you spend on advertisements in relation to the amount of conversions you receive and may be used to optimise ad spend and enhance ROI.
  • Cost Per Thousand is an advertising term referred based on CPM or Cost Per Mille impressions. If a website publisher charges $2.00 CPM, an advertiser will be required to pay $2.00 for each 1,000 impressions of their advertisement.
  • Cost Per View (CPV) is programmatic bidding method to buy video impressions, meaning the advertiser will only pay for video impressions (VAST or VPAID) when the impression is actually viewed.
  • CPA is an e-commerce advertising term that stands for Cost per Acquisition. It has different significance depending on the actions that are meant to be tracked.
  • CPC or Cost Per Click is a payment model where advertisers pay every time a user clicks on an ad, regardless of the number of impressions. Ads that are merely viewed by users but not clicked on are delivered for free in the pay per click model.
  • CPCV or Cost Per Completed View is a payment model in video advertising. CPCV is where advertisers only pay when a video ad plays through to completion. In order for the advertiser to be invoiced under the CPCV pricing model, the ad must be fully played from start to finish, regardless of how lengthy it is.
  • CPE model means that an ad is paid only when it’s engaged with, as opposed to other payment models such as CPC and CPM. The cost per engagement, or CPE, is the cost incurred time an advertisement is viewed. Engagements might range from muting or stopping a video to providing contact information.
  • CPI (Cost Per Install) campaigns are specific to mobile apps and the advertiser only pays once the app has been installed on the mobile device. For mobile user acquisition initiatives, the CPI model is employed, where advertising or app marketers pay per installation.
  • CPM is an advertising term that stands for Cost Per Mille (thousand impressions). CPM is best used for brand awareness campaigns. Cost Per Mille (CPM) is the cost of having your online advertisement be viewed 1,000 times.
  • CPV is programmatic bidding method to buy video impressions, advertiser will only pay for video impressions when actually viewed. An advertiser will only pay for video impressions (VAST or VPAID) using the programmatic bidding technique known as "CPV" (or "Cost Per View") if the impression is actually seen.
  • CTR or Click-Through Rate is a performance metric that shows how many times users clicked on an ad or a link with display, and email marketing campaigns. It is commonly used by marketers and advertising professionals to assess the performance of search, display, and email marketing initiatives.
  • CTV bridges the gap between traditional television and the digital world, providing a platform for targeted, contextually relevant advertising.