Definition & Explanation A reseller is a third party authorized to sell another publisher’s inventory — too many resellers can lead to transparency issues. In programmatic advertising, resellers are intermediaries that aggregate publisher inventory and submit bids on behalf of buyers to platforms that control the final ad-serving decision. They are typically listed in a … Continued
Definition & Explanation Undisclosed resellers are unauthorized intermediaries selling ad inventory without publisher permission, often causing inflated CPMs and increased fraud exposure. Unlike authorized resellers, these entities operate outside the publisher’s knowledge, making the supply chain opaque and vulnerable to exploitation. The IAB’s ads.txt initiative was introduced specifically to combat this problem by allowing publishers … Continued
Definition & Explanation The fraud rate, also called the IVT rate, is the percentage of ad impressions deemed invalid—generated by bots, fake users, spoofed CTV devices, or other non-human sources. In programmatic advertising, IVT rates can range from 10–30% depending on the traffic source and verification methods used. Monitoring this metric helps advertisers and publishers … Continued
Definition & Explanation RTB is the technology that enables the buying and selling of ad impressions in milliseconds through instantaneous programmatic auctions. When a user visits a webpage, a bid request containing data such as demographics, browsing history, and location is sent to multiple advertisers, who automatically submit bids in real time. The highest bidder … Continued
Definition & Explanation An ad exchange is a digital marketplace where publishers list their available ad inventory and advertisers bid on it in real time. Acting as the core technology layer in programmatic advertising, ad exchanges use real-time bidding (RTB) to match ads with available spaces on websites, apps, and other platforms — with each … Continued
Definition & Explanation Header bidding is an advanced programmatic auction method where multiple ad exchanges and demand partners bid simultaneously for a publisher’s ad inventory before the ad server is called. Unlike the traditional waterfall approach, which prioritizes demand sources sequentially, header bidding creates real-time competition that increases transparency and publisher revenue. The technique is … Continued
Definition & Explanation ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) is an IAB Tech Lab standard (1) designed to prevent the unauthorized sale of a publisher’s programmatic ad inventory. This practice, also known as “spoofing,” can cause advertisers to spend money on ads that never appear on the sites they intended. Publishers host a publicly accessible text file … Continued
Definition & Explanation Ad Density refers to the ratio of ad space to content on a webpage. It’s typically calculated by comparing the vertical height or area that ads occupy within the main content section to the total content area. For example, if ads occupy 300 pixels of a 1000-pixel content area, the ad density … Continued
A Ad Exchange: A digital marketplace where publishers list inventory and advertisers bid in real time. Ad Density: The ratio of ads to content on a webpage; high density often signals poor user experience or MFA risk. Ad Fraud: Any practice that manipulates ad delivery, views, or clicks for illegitimate gain (bots, spoofing, fake installs). … Continued