What is Online Ad Operations?
Ad
Operations (aka
"online ad operations", "online advertising operations",
"online ad ops", "ad ops", and "ops" in the
trade) refers to processes and systems that support the sale and delivery of online
advertising.
Digital
advertising or Online advertising, also called Internet advertising ("Internet marketing") is when businesses leverage
Internet technologies to deliver promotional advertisements to consumers.
Digital advertising includes promotional advertisements and messages delivered
through email, social media websites, online advertising on search engines,
banner ads on mobile or Web sites and affiliates programs.
Ad operations is typically a department within a digital content publisher, ad
network, ad technology provider (such as a rich media vendor or an ad server)
or ad agency. They may fall under sales organization, information technology,
or may be a separate entity.
The primary function of ad operations is to fulfilling the order of sale (also
called an “ad campaign” or “media ad buy”) purchased directly by or on behalf
of an advertiser (also called a “direct marketer” or a “client”). Therefore ad
operations is a group that directly responsible for revenue generation.
Ad operations groups may be responsible for other functions such as pricing, ad
product creation, research and vendor management depending on how the company
is structured. The ad buy is the amount
of advertising the client wants to run for a given period of time on a specific
placement. This is dictated by an insertion order or “IO.” The ad buy is
purchased via the sales force and is then implemented by ad operations.
An ad operations team can be made up of many different roles such as ad
schedulers (also called “ad ops coordinators”, “ad campaign managers” or “ad
traffickers”), billing personnel, inventory management, yield management,
vendor management and technical operations.
In addition there are other roles not directly related to the fulfilment of ad
campaigns such as ad product and project managers, account managers, sales
planners and sales engineers. These roles may fall also under ad ops or sales
(depending on how the company is organized).
What is an Ad Server?
An Ad Server is a web based tool used by publishers, networks and advertiser to
help with ad management, campaign management and ad trafficking. An ad server
also provides reporting on which ads served on the website. Finally an ad
server serves the creative: this means that the ad server or ad serving company
also delivers the advertising image or picture to each user's browser.
What are the other names for an ad server?
Ad Servers are also called Ad Management Platforms, Campaign Management
platforms, Ad Serving Systems, Ad Platforms, Ad Tracking Systems, Advertiser
management systems, Mobile Ad Servers, Video Ad servers, Click Tracking
Systems, Ad Network Optimization Systems, Yield Management Platforms, Affiliate
Tracking Systems and Click Trackers.
Ad Network
An Ad Network is a company that works with a group of Web
sites and sells advertising for them. An ad network may sell ads for a certain
type of sites like travel sites or it may sell ads for many different types of
websites. An ad network sells advertising to advertisers while an ad sever is a
technology that publishers and advertisers use. Ad networks also use an ad
server. Sometimes a company that runs an ad network may also sell ad serving
solutions to publishers.
What are the various types of Ad Servers available?
There are Ad Servers that are designed for :
- Ad
Servers for Publishers - These ad servers are designed to
maximize ad revenue for the publisher. They do this first serving the
highest paying ads then the next highest paying ads that are available for
each web visitor. Ad Severs make it easy for the publisher sales team or
the trafficking team to start a new advertiser serving on its site and to
monitor how well that advertiser is doing.
- Ad
Servers for Advertisers, Marketers or Agencies - These ad
servers help advertisers in campaign management. Rather than send copies
of each piece of creative (i.e. each ad) to each publisher on a media buy,
agencies can send a line of html code to each publisher. That line of html
code calls up an ad directly from the ad server each time an ad neeeds to
be shown on the website. The agency loads the creative to the server once
and can modify rotations or add new units on the fly without needing to
re-contact the websites it is buying impressions from.
- Ad
Server for Ad Networks - These are very similar to ad
servers for publishers but provide additional features that show the ad
network on which publisher they are making money and on which publishers
they are not. They also provide features for each publisher that is part
of the ad network to login to see how much they have earned each day.
Ad Ops Terminology A to Z:
Above the Fold
Any area of a web page that is viewable
without the viewer having to use the vertical scroll bar; typically the first
1000 pixels from the top of a web page.
Ad Campaign
A series of advertisements that is
delivered on the web in a specified amount of time and paid for by an
advertiser.
Ad Group (Roadblocks)
An
object which governs delivery of Ads assigned to it. An Ad Group links multiple
Ads (and Creatives) to a single budget, dictates to those Ads where to serve
and when by allowing users to set normal goals and targeting, and counts
delivery based on user-determined qualifying events – any appearance of the Ads
(as with Flex), a minimum number of Ads on a single page (as with some
Reskins), or require that all Ads appear together (Roadblocks) before the
system considers and counts a true display.
Ad ID
A unique numerical value assigned to an ad
product that makes it distinguishable from all other ad products
Ad Space
The space on a web page reserved for the
displaying of advertisements. Typically at the top or bottom of a page or if a
small advertisement in the right or left column. The most desirable ad space is
above the fold.
Ad Slot
A space on a web page where an ad can be
served.
Ad Request
A query to an
ad server that calls an ad to fill an ad slot.
Ad Unit
A way of classifying ad types. Ad units on
the Internet include banners, buttons, micro buttons, pop ups, skyscrapers,
text links, interstitial, superstitials etc. Ad units are usually defined by
the IAB as voluntary guidelines.
Ad Tag
A piece of
script that initiates an ad request
Advertiser
An organization that pays money to show ads
on the web.
Advertorial
An
advertisement styled to resemble the editorial format and typeface of the
content in which it runs. Often generates higher response rates.
AFAP
In ad server, a
setting in which an ad will deliver "as fast as possible". This means
the ad will receive all of the impressions it can get at its designated
priority level.
Application Programming Interface
A web application that is generally built
with a modular architecture; for instance, the "front end" web server
may access "back-end" modules to get data, to modify a record, or to
perform a calculation. When a module is opened to the outside world through an
API, third party developers can use it as a building block for their own
applications. Businesses that open their API benefit by creating a
cost-effective distribution channel for their unique content and services.
Bandwidth
The amount of data (text, video, sound, images,
animations) that can be moved through an Internet connection. The amount is
typically measured in bits per second (bps). A high speed Internet connection
such as a cable or DSL modem provides more bandwidth than a 56K dial up modem.
Also know as "throughput".
Banner
A graphic that appears on a web page that
is usually hyperlinked to an advertisers web site. May be in a variety of
formats including GIF, JPEG, Flash, HTML, Java, JavaScript & more.
Beacon URL
An invisible tracking tag (either 1x1 pixel
or a JavaScript tag) that may be imbedded on web pages for the purpose of
detecting and transmitting viewer information to Ad server.
Below the Fold
The area of a web page that is below the
first 1000 pixels from the top of the page
Blank Ad
An ad slot that fails to display ad
content.
Callback
A recorded instance of an ad creative that
was denied an ad spot and sent back to the server.
Campaign
The process of planning, creating, buying and
tracking an advertising project from Request from proposal to finish.
Campaign Manager
One whose role it is to coordinate
operations, such as booking and deployment, for an advertiser and their paid ad
campaign.
Click Command
A specific kind of tag that redirects
through ad server. These come from clients, or can be generated by AdOps We can
also use HREF strings to accomplish the same result.
Click Through
The act of clicking on an ad creative.
Click Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of impressions that resulted
in a click through. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks on an ad
by the number of ad impressions served in one day.
CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions
Clicks Per Page
Number of clicks of all ad units on a web
page.
Click Tag:
A click tag is a parameter used
in Flash banner ads. The parameter is a variable that defines the destination URL
from the markup code. By using a click tag, the advertiser can easily see and
modify the URL without a Flash developer
For Exp:
on (release) {
getURL (_root.clickTAG, "_blank");
}
Most of
the when you upload flash in your ad server it does not click through because
it does not have proper click tag. In
that case make sure ad server and Flash file does have similar format of click
tag:
Ad server
click tag: Flash
clickTAG:clickTag
èdoes not click through
clickTAG:clickTAG
èworks or there could be many
possibilities in click tag form.
Cookie
Piece of text that is stored on a user's
computer by their web browser. It is typically used for authentication, for
storing site preferences, as an identifier for server-based sessions, and
anything else that can be achieved by utilizing stored data text.
Cost Per Action
One of the online payment models by which
advertisers pays for ever action (sale or registration) completed as a result
of a visitor clicking on their advertisement. Prices typically range from $1 to
$25 or if a percentage of a sale 5% to 25%. This is an ideal method of payment
for advertisers who want to guarantee only the number of customers generated as
a result of a advertisement.
Cost Per Click
One of the online payment models by which
advertisers pays for each click through made on their advertisement. Prices
typically range from 1¢ to over 50¢ per click through. This is an ideal method
of payment for advertisers who need to guarantee they only pay for those
viewers of the banner that click on it and visit a page on their site.
CPM
Cost per thousand; payment model by which
advertisers pay for every 1000 ad impressions delivered.
Formula: CPM = (Total cost *
1000 )/total impression
If you want to calculate CPM then you would need to know what is budget and total number of impressions. For example if you are spending 100000 rs as budget and you need 5000000
CPM: (100000*1000)/5000000 = 20 rs
Creative
A unit of media that is served to an ad
slot. It can be a graphic, animation, or sound clip. Common creative types
include GIF, JPEG, Java, HTML, Flash, or streaming audio/video.
CTR Optimization
The method of increasing the probability of
a click through by targeting an ad campaign to specific audiences based on
suspected interest.
Conversion Pixel:
Conversion pixels track user activity AFTER the viewing of an ad. Conversion pixels can be present and activated after just the viewing of the ad creative (view-through) or also clicking the ad (click through).
The conversion pixels track these actions and begin to record activity when a user arrives at the page in which the conversion pixels are implemented on the site.
There are two kinds of conversion pixels:
View-Through Conversion: The user saw our ad on the ad Network prior to arriving on the client’s page. This does not imply whether the user ever clicked the ad before arriving on the advertiser's site. You can consider this to be indirect driving to the client’s page, much like seeing an advertisement in a magazine, which gives you the idea, but is not a direct drive to a sale.
Click-Through Conversion: The user saw our ad on the ad Network, and clicked it before arriving on the client’s page. You can consider this to be a direct driver to the client’s page.
Default Ad
An ad setup to serve in case a premium ad
is unable to fill an ad slot
Exclusive Ad
Ads which are at the top of the priority
spectrum. Instead of pacing evenly, they receive 100% of the ad calls at a
certain priority level. Exclusive ads can also receive a weight.
Flat Fee
The rate paid to publishers regardless of
CPM changes during the month.
Flight
The duration of time for which an
advertising campaign is live.
Frequency Capping
The act of deploying stop measures to
ensure that a viewer does not see a specific ad too often or to control the
delivery of ad.
Geo-targeting
The method of delivering ads to users based
on their specific geographic location. Ads can be targeted by city, state,
region, ZIP code, IP address, etc.
House Ad
A type of banner advertisement that a web
site publisher runs in an ad space when no paying advertisement is available to
fill the space. Typically filled with an advertisement promoting one of the web
sites services, products or features.
IAB
Interactive Advertising Bureau; an
advertising business organization that develops industry standards, conducts
research, and provides legal support for the online advertising industry.
IASH
Internet Advertising Sales House; IASH was
set up in 2005, by owners of ad networks that were concerned about ad
misplacement on the internet, and to protect their businesses. A Code of
Conduct was also established, and in order to comply with the Code a Sales
House would need to hire a person to vet individual websites on their network.
The Code forbids IASH members to sell inventory related to hate, indecency,
bombs, guns, spyware and so on. It also sets out to provide transparency for
the buyer. If buyers choose other types of inventory, such as sites that provide
downloads, this must be ticked off on the insertion order. The other key
process is how the inventory that the buyer signs-off is delivered. The
insertion order details have to be consistent with the campaign delivery
reports, and all third party publishers must sign up to IASH T’s and C’s.
Member Sales Houses are audited by ABCe twice yearly – in effect they select a
set of insertion orders from a random month – to ensure transparency and
stringency.
Impression
A delivered basic advertising unit from an ad distribution
point
Insertion Order (IO)
A purchase order; a document detailing the
specifics of an advertising campaign including flight dates, ad products
to-be-run, number of impressions to serve, etc.
Interstitial
An advertisement that loads in between web
pages without having been requested by the visitor.
In-Banner Video Ad
In-Banner Video Ads are Rich Media ads that
may or may not be bundled with editorial content. Users either select to play
the commercial from a banner space on the page or the commercial auto-plays on
page load.
In-Stream Video Ad
In-Stream Video ads are initiated inside of
a video player streaming editorial videos. For instance a commercial that plays
before you watch Charlie Sheen interview footage on TMZ is an in-stream ad.
Inventory
The total amount of individual ad slots. The number of page views/ad slots that
a website receives in a month. If so particular site/channel/vertical
receives huge page views means inventory (traffic) is more and if less means
less inventory.
Javascript
A dynamic object-oriented scripting and
programming language. Within the realm of Adserver, JS code is embedded within
an ad slot when an ad fills the space and is served to a publisher.
Key Value
A unique
identifier which is used to match criteria for an ad requests to the parameters
assigned to ads. It is the criteria that determines what type of ad can be
served to an ad slot. A match between the key value criteria in the ad request
and the key value criteria in the ad targeting scheme makes an ad eligible for
a particular ad request.
Leaderboard
The IAB standard term for the ad unit of
size 728x90 pixels.
Main Channel
The next level
of categorization for grouped websites under primary channel.
Make-goods
Adjustments
made by a publisher to an advertiser to make up for a shortfall in contracted
ad impressions or errors.
Order Management System (OMS) – Salesforce.
The system
functions by monitoring proposals, created by orders-to-be-filled, and their
subsequent line items containing information about associated ad products.
Various tables are constructed from the data for historical and meta-analytical
purposes.
Overdeliver
To serve more
impressions than was intended in an ad campaign
Pace
The rate at which ads are served. Also, the
method of controlling the rate at which ads serve. Pacing ensures that the
number of delivered impressions will fulfill predetermined campaign goals.
Page View
Occurs when a users browser requests a web
page. A single page view may create multiple hits to the server if the page
contains multiple elements such as banners. Since page views do not take into
consideration users who may have their browsers set to disable images, they are
of little value to advertisers.
Pixel
Short for picture element (Pixel), a pixel
is a measurement representing a single point in a graphic. Most ad units are
measured in pixels such as the common 468 pixel x 60 pixel sized baner.
Pixel Tracking
The same idea (as click tracking), but for
display, not clicks. A blank pixel is displayed when code or other images are
written to the page, and records the instance of display (in our ad server, or
the client’s ad server, or wherever the pixel is coming from).
Premium Ad
An ad that is feature-enabled. Features
include targeting capability, impressions pacing, ad products customization,
etc.
Real Time Bidding
Auction-based purchasing system in which a
buyer can choose to purchase ad impressions that are dynamically priced.
Impressions prices are not fixed, but are, instead, differentially valued per
opportunity. In doing so, price value is optimized to give the best ROI.
Remnant
An ad slot that was unable to be filled
because of a criteria issue(s), e.g. ad size.
RFP (Request for Proposal)
A term that may be used by an advertiser
that is requesting some type of advertising arrangement with a web site.
Rich Media
A type of advertisement technology that
often includes richer graphics, audio or video within the advertisement. Unlike
static or animated GIF banner advertisements, rich media advertisements often
enable users to interact with the banner without leaving the page on which it
appears. Some popular types of rich media banners are created with HTML,
Shockwave & Flash.
Roadblock
Ads which appear on a single page view
together, by design. May or may not be 100% SOV, and may or may not appear in
rotation with other advertisers.
Run of Category
Means a banner will appear anywhere within
a category on a web site or ad network.
Run of Network
An ad or ad campaign that runs throughout
the entire ad network.
Run of Site
Means a banner
will appear anywhere on a web site as opposed to run of category (ROC) which
would appear only on pages within a specific category.
Sell Through
The number of ad slots sold to an
advertiser in relation to available inventory. It is usually expressed as a
percentage.
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
A contract
outlining the terms of service that is to be provided by a service provider.
This includes services, priorities, responsibilities, and guarantees that are
due to a customer at the time when service is needed.
