Programmatic advertising glossary – part 2

M as Media Buying Models

Advertisers usually have different goals, for example, some want to acquire personal information about the users, whereas others wish for as many downloads of the apps they created as possible. Media buying models (pricing models), to some point, reflect their needs. To name a few: CPA (Cost Per Action), CPS (Cost Per Sale), or CPI (Cost Per Install). But wait, do you actually need this knowledge? Well, surprisingly, the answer is – yes. When you know what your ad inventory might be used for, you will want to make it as appealing to advertisers as possible.

N as Network

Ad networks are an essential part of the programmatic advertising ecosystem. They connect publishers and advertisers, putting up ad inventory of the first ones for sale and trading it to the other ones. When choosing an ad network, it’s important to examine numerous factors, such as the number of Supply-Side Platforms (SSP) they collaborate with or what is their experience in the field. At first, it might not be easy to decide whom to trust, but there are other indicators, such as being one of the Google Certified Publishing Partners, which might help you make the right decision.

O as Open Exchange

There are several methods of selling ad inventory – one of them is an open marketplace (OMP), a subset of real-time bidding. It’s probably the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of programmatic, as it’s the most common one. A valid pro of this method is that many advertisers are allowed to join the auction all at once, meaning that you have a higher chance of getting the best price possible for the ad inventory you set up for sale.

P as Private Marketplace

Contrary to OMP, private marketplace (PMP) is restricted to the chosen advertisers, meaning that only a limited number of them can access the auction. As the result, you have better control over your inventory, but it’s also more complex than the open marketplace, so it’s more time and energy-consuming.

R as Revenue, RPM, and RTB

Ad revenue is a term every publisher should be interested in. Simply put, it’s the income that comes from displayed paid ads on your website or app. There are many ways and metrics to boost and measure your ad revenue.

Undoubtedly, one of the most important metrics is RPM (Revenue Per Mille). It represents the estimated earnings for every 1000 page views, and it’s usually considered when evaluating ad inventory’s value and effectiveness.

With the letter “R” begins another important abbreviation for the programmatic industry – RTB. Real-time bidding is a very renowned model of buying ad space. Integral parts of it are the Supply-Side Platform (SSP) – on publisher’s side, Demand-Side Platform (DSP) – on advertiser’s side, and Ad Exchange – putting the “programmatic puzzle” pieces together. RTB auctions are instant and automatic. The whole process starts when a user visits a website or opens an app, and ends just within milliseconds when he sees the ad that just won the bidding.

S as Seasonal Tendencies and SSP

As seasons change, your ad revenue also fluctuates throughout the year. But there’s nothing to worry about – that’s just how seasonal tendencies work. The good news is that you can seek opportunities in the calendar and the offline world to prepare early for what might come. For instance, your revenue will probably grow before Black Friday, but you can expect a drop in your profits during the holiday season – when almost everybody’s busy chilling 😉 .

We have already mentioned SSPs in this article (in the paragraph about ad networks). What exactly are they? Supply-Side Platforms help publishers sell ad space through ad networks or Ad Exchanges connected to Demand-Side Platforms (which, as we already mentioned, is basically SSP for advertisers – helping them buy ad space). What’s vital is that these are among the essential contestants in charge of RTB transaction processing. Thanks to SSPs, publishers can gain control over their earnings, for example, by setting “floor prices” of specific ad inventory. It guarantees that your ad space won’t be sold below the fixed rate.

T as Traffic

The word “traffic” doesn’t only describe vehicles on a highway, but it can also refer to the web. It’s the volume of users visiting a website or mobile app, measured in visits or sessions. Online traffic used to be the primary metric for measuring online success, but times have changed, and there are better ways to do it now. Nevertheless, it’s still one of the crucial factors to care about on the way to maximize your monetization profits, so take a good care of it!

Y as Yield

If you are reading this article, you probably want to squeeze the most out of your content. Yield optimization is a great way to do it – it’s the whole of processes that lead to boosting ad revenue from your hard work. It’s done through ad inventory optimization, and what’s important here, all the undertaken actions are analyzed afterward, to let you draw proper conclusions leading to taking only the most effective steps in the future. Another important term, connected to yield, is yield management. Similarly, it lets you increase ad earnings, but this time, it involves considering the big picture – by observing and analyzing industry statistics and later applying variable pricing strategies accordingly. Observation is the key!

That’s all!

You’ve made it through the whole glossary – great job! The programmatic universe is huge, and the technology itself is used in many parts of the globe. Luckily, you don’t have to become an expert in programmatic advertising to effectively monetize your online content from websites and videos to mobile apps – we got your back! Our specialists speak many languages and are happy to help our partners reach their revenue goals. Get familiar with our network requirements, and don’t hesitate to hop on the optAd360’s board 🙂 !