Definition & Explanation Ad fraud is any practice that manipulates ad delivery, views, or clicks for illegitimate gain, including bots, domain spoofing, and fake installs. Common tactics include ad stacking (layering multiple ads so only one is visible), pixel stuffing (shrinking ads to invisible sizes), and generating artificial clicks or impressions. These fraudulent activities waste … Continued
Definition & Explanation Cost Per Click (CPC) is the price paid each time a user clicks on an ad. It is a core pricing model in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising across search engines, social media, and display networks. CPC is calculated by dividing total ad spend by the number of clicks received, and is influenced by … Continued
Definition & Explanation Pre-bid filtering is the process of screening ad inventory before an auction takes place to weed out fraud, MFA sites, or low-quality supply. The technology analyzes the content and context of each bid request in milliseconds, blocking unwanted impressions before a bid is placed. This proactive approach helps advertisers avoid brand safety … Continued
Definition & Explanation Tagging is the process of adding metadata to categorize web pages and users for targeting and reporting. In ad tech, tags are typically small blocks of HTML or JavaScript code placed on a page that trigger ad requests and collect data about user interactions such as impressions, clicks, and conversions. Publishers, advertisers, … Continued
Definition & Explanation A quality score is a composite measure of inventory quality in programmatic advertising, typically factoring in viewability, fraud rates, MFA exposure, and brand safety risk. Scores like the TRAQ (True Advertising Quality) aggregate multiple media quality metrics to give buyers a single indicator of placement value. Implementing and maintaining an effective quality … Continued
Definition & Explanation A Demand-Side Platform (DSP) is a system advertisers use to automate buying ad space across multiple sources in real time. DSPs evaluate available inventory and place bids within milliseconds, using algorithms and audience data to reach the right users at the right time. They interact with supply-side platforms (SSPs) and ad exchanges, … Continued
Definition & Explanation Third-party data is data purchased from external providers rather than collected directly from users. It is aggregated by data brokers who have no direct relationship with the data subjects, often gathered via third-party cookies and other tracking methods, then categorized by demographics, interests, and behaviors. While not as accurate as first-party or … Continued
Definition & Explanation Geo masking is a fraud tactic in which IP addresses or location data are spoofed to make traffic appear as though it originates from premium, high-value geographies. Fraudsters use VPNs, proxy servers, and GPS manipulation to disguise low-quality traffic from cheaper regions and sell it at premium CPMs. This undermines geo-targeted campaigns … Continued
Definition & Explanation Traffic shaping is a fraud tactic where fake traffic is mixed with real traffic to mask bad activity, making it difficult for buyers to distinguish legitimate impressions from fraudulent ones. In its legitimate usage, traffic shaping refers to publishers being more selective about which ad requests are sent to intermediaries like SSPs, … Continued
Definition & Explanation A Data Management Platform (DMP) is a platform that collects, organizes, and activates audience data for ad targeting. It aggregates first-, second-, and third-party data to build refined audience segments that advertisers and publishers use to deliver more relevant campaigns. DMPs serve as a central data warehouse, powering the automated decision-making processes … Continued