In the ever-evolving realm of digital advertising, navigating through a myriad of terms and acronyms can feel like decoding a secret language. As marketers and advertisers, understanding the nuances of the “language of digital ads” is not just beneficial; it’s paramount for crafting effective campaigns and staying ahead in a dynamic landscape.
Join us on a journey through this comprehensive guide as we demystify the key terms that form the foundation of digital advertising. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a newcomer to the field, mastering this language is the key to unlocking the full potential of your online promotional efforts.
From Ad Audience to Conversion Tracking, each term plays a crucial role in shaping the success of digital campaigns. So, let’s delve into the essential vocabulary that defines the language of digital ads, empowering you to speak fluently in the ever-evolving world of online promotion. Welcome to the essential glossary that will transform the way you approach and understand digital advertising
General Terminologies used in advertising:
Language of Digital Ads: A
- Ad Audience: The total number of people that have been exposed to or could possibly be exposed to an ad during any specific time period.
- Ad Banner: The most common form of digital advertising. These ad units, which include static graphics, videos and/or interactive rich media, are displayed on a web page or in an application.
- Ad Inventory: Website publishers serve ads to visitors when they visit a web page. The number of potential ads that can be served is considered their ad inventory. For example, if The Gotham Times averages 1,000 visits to their home page in any given week, and they have space for two display ads on their home page, then their potential ad inventory is 2,000 impressions per week
- Ad Network: A vendor that connects advertisers to publishers. Ad networks act as a single point of contact between publishers and advertisers, helping negotiate supply and demand
- Ad Serving: The delivery of an ad from a web server to the end user’s device, where the ads are displayed on a browser or an application
- Ad Targeting: Delivering ads to a pre-selected audience based on various attributes, such as geography, demographics, psychographics, web browsing behavior and past purchases.
- Ad Unit: A size-and-format specification for an ad. The Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade association promoting digital ad standard and practices, has a set of guidelines for sizes.
- Analytics: Data and statistics about the users of a website and how they interact with the website. Analytics can be used to uncover information about how many people browse a website, how much time they spend on the website and the specific actions they take on the website.
Language of Digital Ads: B
- Behavioral targeting is a technique used by advertisers and publishers to utilize a web user’s previous web browsing behavior to customize the types of ads they receive. Behavioral targeting can generally be categorized as onsite behavioral targeting or network behavioral targeting, depending on whether the tracking is deployed on a single website or domain, or across a network of websites.
- Brand Awareness: The extent or level to which a potential consumer can recall and identify a particular product or service. Increased brand awareness is one of the two customary important goals for a digital advertising campaign (the other being a conversion of some kind).
Language of Digital Ads: C
- Channel: A distribution method; in advertising, it’s an outlet used by advertisers to reach audiences, such as direct mail or radio. Digital advertising includes channels such as display advertising, social media advertising, and mobile in-app advertising.
- Contextual Targeting: Selecting audiences based on the type of content being displayed on a particular webpage. An example of contextual advertising is placing ads for hair care products on the Vogue website.
- Cookie: Information stored on a website visitor’s browser. A cookie tracks the visitor’s movement on the website and is used to remember the visitor’s behavior and preferences. These do not transfer across browsers.
- Conversion Tracking: Monitoring how many conversions have occurred during any specific time period, and analyzing which ads led to the conversions.
- Cross-Device Targeting: Serving the same buyer targeted ads across multiple devices. Cross-device targeting allows advertisers to reach their audiences in a sequential, repetitive manner regardless of the device they’re on, whether it’s a tablet, desktop or smartphone. This has a similar effect to the old-school tactics of gaining reach and frequency through using a range of channels such as radio + newspaper + billboards + direct mail.
Language of Digital Ads: D
- Display Advertising: A digital advertising format where graphic ads are shown on a web page. The term originated in newspapers, and the principles still apply.
Display ads can be graphics, videos, interactive images (a quiz or a game), and expandable (Also see: Expandable Banner).
Language of Digital Ads: E-G-I-L-M
- Email Advertising: Clickable banner ads and links that appear within emails and e-newsletters.
- Geographic Targeting: Selecting an audience for a campaign based on zip codes, designated marketing area, cities, states and countries.
- In-Stream Video Ads: Video ads played before, during or after the video content the publisher is delivering to the consumer.
- Landing Page: The web page users are directed to after they click on a display or paid search ad.
- Lead: A potential customer. In digital advertising a lead is someone who has given you their contact information, often by signing up for a newsletter or filling out a form to download an eBook or other gated content.
- Mobile Search: Any Internet search conducted via a mobile device.
Language of Digital Ads: P-R-S-K
- Paid Search: The placement of ads within search engine results.
- Pop-up: Opens in a new browser window that loads on top of the current webpage. Pop-ups are operated by script (e.g., Javascript); thus, can be blocked – and commonly are – by a wide variety of available software.
- Retargeting/Remarketing: Serving ads to people who have previously visited your website.
- Rich Media: Interactive media such as quizzes, games, and ads with video and special effects.
- Search Advertising: Advertising products based on search of a customer
- Social Advertising: Running paid ads on online social networking platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, instagram.
- Call to Action (CTA): A phrase included within an ad, or a graphic element such as a button, which invites the audience to take a certain action.
- Keyword: A specific word or phrase chosen by advertisers to trigger and include their ad within search engine results. The advertiser doing contextual advertising also chooses keywords, so that their ad will show up within pages that are returned for that keyword.
Conclusion: Decoding Digital Success with AdsWirt
In the dynamic realm of digital advertising, mastering the “Language of Ads” is the key to unlocking success. With AdsWirt as your guide, you’ve gained invaluable insights into the essential terms that shape effective campaigns.
As you navigate the ever-evolving landscape, remember that each term explored here is a strategic asset. AdsWirt remains your trusted resource for staying ahead, decoding industry trends, and refining your digital advertising language.
Stay tuned for more expert insights as AdsWirt continues to unravel the language of ads, ensuring every campaign speaks the language of digital success. Let this guide be your passport to proficiency in the dynamic world of online promotion.
