Miscellaneous

  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Above the fold : In the context of banner ad placement, above the fold generally refers to a banner placement on a web page that can be viewed without scrolling either horizontally or vertically. Most online ad networks define suitable above the fold placement as within 500 or 600 pixels of the top of the page.  Over 80% of WCCO.com inventory is displayed above the fold.



Ad flight : In the context of online advertising, an ad flight refers to the run of a single advertisement or group of advertisements from start to finish.



Ad network : Ad networks (advertising network, banner network, online ad network) are advertising companies which administer ad sales, billing, serving and collection for web sites. Ad networks often aggregate sites into specific categories or demographic groups, then sell ad inventory to advertisers either to specific sites within the networks, specific categories or demographics, or via run of network buys which target sites within the network.



Ad server : A third-party system composed of powerful server hardware, ad serving software, and a powerful internet connection, used by advertisers and web publishers for rapid and reliable display of online advertisements. An important component of ad servers is independent tracking of ad display and click information.  WCCO.com uses DART as their serving system.



Ad views (impressions) : The number of times a specific ad has been displayed. Many ad networks sell advertising using a CPM model, in which ads are purchased and web publishers reimbursed at a fixed rate per thousand impressions.



Animated GIF : A graphic image in GIF (graphical interchange format) format composed of multiple layers which display in turn, providing the illusion of motion. A large percentage of non rich-media banner ads are in animated GIF format. Animated GIF banners have historically generated higher click-through rates than static images.



Banner, banner ad : Banner and banner ad are generic terms describing the most common forms of online advertising.  WCCO.com uses three IAB standard banner sizes: 300x250, 160x600, and 728x90.



Click-through rate (CTR), Ad Click Rate : CTR, or click-through rate, is the rate at which visitors click an advertisement, usually calculated as a percentage of ad impressions.



Click-Stream(s): The electronic path a user takes while navigating from site to site, or within a site from page to page, or from pages within a site to an advertisement.



CPA, cost per action, cost per acquisition : CPA, or cost per action, is an ad payment model in which advertisers pay only when an ad display leads to a completed sale, registration, download, etc.



CPC, cost-per-clickthrough, cost per click : A performance-based pricing model for advertising sales, CPC, or cost per click pays publishers based on number of clicks on a specific ad.  Google AdWords is configured using a CPC model.



CPM, cost-per-thousand : CPM, or cost per thousand (the M is from the Roman numeral for thousand, which was derived from the Latin "mille"), is the price an advertiser pays for each 1000 displays of a banner or online video ad.



EOR, email open rate : is a measure primarily used by marketers as an indication of how many people "view" or "open" the commercial electronic mail they send out.



Fold : The bottommost visible area of a web page as displayed on a standard screen size (currently defined as 800x600 pixels).



IAB : Internet Advertising Bureau : The IAB, or Internet Advertising Bureau, is an association dedicated to helping online, interactive broadcasting, email, wireless and interactive television media companies increase their revenues. IAB website: http://www.iab.com/



Interstitial, interstitial ad : Interstitial advertisements are usually full-page ads displayed while a user is in transit from one page to another, triggered by code included in the link.



Landing page aka (Jump Page, Splash Page): A landing page is the advertiser's web page to which a user is directed after clicking an ad. For affiliate, CPL and CPA sales, it is important that the landing page is one which entices users to immediately purchase a product or service, rather than simply the home page of the advertising site.



Leaderboard, leaderboard ad, leaderboard banner : A common banner ad format, most commonly 728x90 pixels. On WCCO.com, leaderboard ads appear on the top of story level and content pages, and at the bottom of the homepage.

Local Ad Network : An exclusive collection of sites focused on what's happening in and around Minneapolis/St, Paul.  Each site features a WCCO.com widget that displays up-to-date news content as well as an advertisement.  Local advertisers can purchase impressions in the network and have their banner display on all the local ad network sites.

Map ad: text or graphics linked from, and appearing in or over, a location on an electronic map such as on Google Maps.



Message Unit, Medium Rectangle: A common banner ad format, most commonly 300x250 pixels. On WCCO.com, leaderboard ads appear on the homepage and every section front.

 


Opt-in e-mail : a term used when someone is given the option to receive "bulk" e-mail, that is, e-mail that is sent to many people at the same time. Typically, this is some sort of mailing list, newsletter, or advertising. Obtaining permission before sending e-mail is critical because without it, the e-mail is Unsolicited Bulk Email, better known as spam.



Rich media, rich media ads : Rich media advertisements are banners which are constructed using dynamic tools such as Flash, html forms, Java, or other languages or applications that increase the appearance and/or functionality of the ad beyond that which can be achieved with a static or animated image. For example, a rich media ad may expand, play video, include sound, a user registration form, or other more sophisticated media. Rich media ads usually command higher CPM levels than simple image redirects.  Click Through Rates are consistently higher for rich media ads vs. traditional banners.



Roadblock/Takeover : When an advertiser buys out all the ads, or the majority of the ads on a website's homepage or specific section page.  Usually purchased with a minimum guarantee of impressions with a possibility of over-performing.  Popular for local advertisers and event coordinators looking to reach a high number of viewers in a short period of time.



ROI, return on investment : ROI, or return on investment, is a calculation used to determine the relative efficacy of an ad campaign in financial terms, in particular whether or not an ad campaign has generated more or less new revenue than it cost. Due to the direct response nature of many internet ad campaigns, it may be possible to determine ROI with much greater precision than, for example, a television commercial. The response to broader, branding-style campaigns may be more imprecise.



RON, run of network, run of network buy : A RON, or run of network, buy means that an advertiser purchases banner inventory across an ad network's entire range of sites. This type of buy is often used for large-scale branding or awareness campaigns, and usually commands a significantly lower CPM rate than buys which are targeted demographically or by category or site.  The CBS Digital Media Group.



Skyscraper, wide skyscraper : A common banner ad format, most commonly 160x600 pixels. On WCCO.com, skyscraper ads appear ALWAYS in the right column on story level and content pages, i.e. Weather Radar.

Sponsorship: Sponsorships, as opposed to traditional ad display, generally occur when an advertiser pays to advertise on all or most of a specific section of a website or email newsletter. Advertisers usually prefer the sponsorship model when a website offers content related to, but not competitive with, the products or services offered by the sponsoring company. A sponsorship may take the form of traditional advertising banners, integrated sponsored content, text messages ("this section sponsored by...") or the like.



Targeting, ad targeting, targeted, targeted ads : Targeting refers to the means by which advertisers attempt to reach a desired audience through choice of category, choice of web site, choice of demographic, geographic location, or whatever other criteria the advertiser finds interesting. Targeted ads command higher CPM rates than non-targeted ads, with the most finely targeted, site-specific, usually earning the highest rate.

Traffic : Just as it sounds, traffic refers to the rate at which a site is visited. The term is general, but the best true measures of traffic are calculated in terms of unique visitors and page views.



Unique visitors, unique users, uniques, unique impressions : Unique users refers the number of distinct individuals, as determined by IP address, user login, cookie, or some combination thereof, who visit a web site or view a banner ad. WCCO.com averages over 1.3 million unique visitors every month.



Visits : The number of distinct visits to a web site within a specified time period, such as one day or one month. Visits are an imprecise term and numbers may vary considerably depending on the type of calculation used, but many log and statistical applications define a visit as a single browser session by a single IP address. Multiple browser sessions by the same visitor will often be counted as a single visit if the time frame within which they occur is short. Because of the often arbitrary and imprecise methods used to determine visit counts, the term is of comparatively little statistical value. Page views and unique visitor counts, computed individually and in combination, are far more useful in determining the relative popularity of a web page or web site.



Viral marketing: The use of a self-perpetuation mechanism, such as a referral or affiliate program, to grow a user base in a manner similar to the spread of a virus. Good viral marketing campaigns have extraordinary ROI.  Example: Slideshow with a link: "Email this slideshow to a friend".



Yield : In the context of banner ads, yield indicates the percentage of clicks divided by impressions for an ad on a given page (see click-through rate).

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Sources:  Internet Ad Sales, Wikipedia, WCCO Staff

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