I've compiled over 150 essential advertising terms into what I'm affectionately calling the Mega Glossary. Not just dictionary definitions, but real-world explanations of what these terms actually mean in practice.
MMM variables? Got 'em. That mysterious "Performance Max" your Google rep keeps pushing? Covered. Privacy Sandbox? Unfortunately, yes – we need to talk about that too.
(By the way, if you're wondering whether you need this – try explaining "pod optimization" to your CMO without using the word "pod." Yeah, that's what I thought. Subscribe below.)
Invalid Traffic (IVT)
Technical Definition: Any activity that doesn't come from a legitimate user with genuine interest in the content, including both fraudulent and accidental non-human traffic.
ADLINGO: The "is this a real person or a robot?" problem. Includes everything from sophisticated ad fraud to your developer forgetting to turn off their testing scripts. It's like running a store where some of your customers are just elaborate mannequins, and you have to figure out which ones.
DMP (Data Management Platform)
Technical Definition: A platform that collects, organizes, and activates first-, second-, and third-party audience data for digital marketing.
ADLINGO: Think of it as your audience data command center. It's where all your customer info lives and gets organized so you can actually use it for targeting. Though with privacy changes and cookie deprecation, DMPs are having a bit of an identity crisis lately.
Sellers.json
Technical Definition: A JSON file that demand-side platforms and exchanges use to list all the sellers (publishers and intermediaries) they work with, providing transparency about who's selling inventory.
ADLINGO: The "who's who" directory of programmatic selling. It's supposed to tell you exactly who you're buying from, but sometimes reading it feels like trying to decode a Russian nesting doll of ad tech companies. "Oh, we bought this through company A, who got it from company B, who got it from company C..." and suddenly you're five layers deep wondering where your money actually went.
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