Mobile-First Programmatic Advertising: What You Need to Know
July 7, 2021
SKAdNetwork
February 21, 2022
The “lingo” that marketers and mobile marketers use is often confusing and dizzying! We’ve all been through it before…you hear someone mention a term or acronym, and you know you should know what it means, but you don’t.
We’re here to help! The following isn’t by any means a comprehensive list of terms, but it will help you out in a pinch.
The List
Ad exchange: A technology platform that allows multiple ad networks to bid on advertising inventory.
Ad network: Companies that bring together ad inventory from mobile app and website publishers, then match it with advertisers, agencies, publishers and marketers.
Ad server: The technology that places and tracks mobile advertisements onto mobile web pages or apps.
API (Application Program Interface): An API is a set of standardized programming instructions that allows apps to access a server-based software application or tool.
CPA (Cost per Action): An advertising campaign payment model where the marketer pays for a specific user action other than an install, view or click.
CPC (Cost per Click): An advertising campaign payment model where a marketer pays for each click a user makes on an ad they’ve been shown.
CPI (Cost per Install): An advertising campaign payment model where the marketer pays each time a consumer installs the app on their device.
CPM (Cost Per Thousand): An advertising campaign payment model that charges a fixed fee for every thousand times an ad is shown.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of consumers that click on an ad or link out of the total number of consumers that view that link.
Funnel: The path a user takes from initial ad impression to the final defined target action such as app download or retargeted engagement.
IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers): A unique tracking identifier created by Apple to help marketers and developers track a user’s activity for advertising purposes.
Incrementality: The incremental lift that advertising spend provides to the overall conversion rate of a campaign.
KPI (Key Performance Indicators): KPIs are criteria marketers use to measure their own app’s success.
LAT (Limit Ad Tracking): A setting by Apple that allows a user manually stop sharing their data with advertisers.
LTV (Lifetime Value): A mobile metric used to determine how valuable a user will be over a span of time.
Playable Ads: Interactive ads that let users try out the core functionality and experience of an app or game before downloading.
Postbacks: URL requests that notify advertising tracking systems that an install or other tracked conversion has taken place.
Programmatic: Automated bidding for ad inventory done by an algorithm or computer program.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): A metric that refers to the amount of money an app earns back for each dollar spent on advertising.
ROI (Return on Investment): Usually refers to the amount of money earned from investment in an advertising campaign to attract users to an app.
RTB (Real Time Bidding): A programmatic ad buying process carried out via real-time auctions where DSPs and SSPs buy and sell ad inventory. DSPs bid in real-time on ad inventory supplied by SSPs. The entire process happens in only a fraction of a second.
SkAdNetwork: Apple’s ad measurement and attribution solution following the changes made on iOS 14.5 and beyond.
SSP (Supply Side Platform): A cloud-based service used to sell advertising (display, video, mobile) in an automated capacity.
Let us help you navigate the mobile marketing ecosystem. We’re experts in the field with decades of collective experience, and we’re here to help you leverage the intersection of technology, marketing and mobile. Call or contact us today!
