Digital Advertising Terms in English
Why do you need to understand these terms?
When managing an advertising campaign, many terms appear in proposals, reports, and dashboards. Understanding these words helps the business owner evaluate performance, ask the right questions, and distinguish between the cost of advertising and its actual commercial result.
This page is a simplified knowledge glossary. Its purpose is to explain the terms, not sell a service, while linking the reader when needed to the correct path such as Paid advertising management or Marketing strategy.
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Ad buying terms
Ad space - advertising space
The space allocated for an ad to appear within a page, application, or platform. The space may be fixed, or part of a system that shows the ad in different placements based on the audience and device.
Ad Inventory - advertising inventory
The volume of spaces or impressions available for sale during a defined period. This term is used when discussing the capacity of a website, network, or platform to display ads.
Media buyer - ad buyer
The person or team responsible for distributing the budget across suitable channels, buying spaces or managing auctions, and following performance against campaign goals.
Ad rotation - ad rotation
The rotation of more than one ad within the same campaign or space. It may be used to test different messages or distribute impressions among multiple creatives.
Cost and payment models
CPM - Cost Per Mille
Cost per thousand impressions. Mille means one thousand, and CPM is used to understand the cost of reach or awareness compared with the number of ad impressions.
CPC - Cost Per Click
Cost per click. This metric is useful when measuring campaigns that aim for visits or moving the user to a specific page.
PPC - Pay Per Click
A payment model in which the advertiser pays when a click happens. The old repetition of the PPC term has been merged into one clearer definition.
Pay Per Impression
A model connected with paying for impressions, often used for comparison with payment per click, action, or registration.
CPA - Cost Per Action
Cost per specific action, such as submitting a form, registering, or requesting a service. It is useful when the campaign is connected to a measurable action.
CPL and CPS
CPL is cost per lead, and CPS is cost per sale. Both connect advertising to a business result closer than only an impression or a click.
Performance indicators
CTR - Click Through Rate
Click-through rate. It is usually calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions. A higher CTR may indicate that the ad is attractive or that the audience and message match, but it alone is not enough to prove business success.
Conversion Rate - conversion rate
The percentage of users who completed the required action out of total visitors or clicks. This metric helps understand the quality of the landing page and offer, not only the quality of the ad.
ROI - Return On Investment
Return on investment compares what was spent with the value or profit returned to the project. It needs a clear definition of costs and returns before judging the campaign.
ROAS - Return On Ad Spend
Return on ad spend. It is often used in e-commerce and campaigns that can be tied directly to revenue from advertising.
Audience and delivery
Impression - impression
A record that the ad appeared once to a user or within an ad placement. An impression does not mean the user interacted with the ad or watched it with full attention.
Reach - reach
The number of unique people reached by the ad during a given period. It differs from impressions because one person may see the ad more than once.
Frequency - frequency
The average number of times a person saw the ad. Higher frequency may help recall, but it may cause fatigue if the message or audience is not suitable.
Retargeting / Remarketing - retargeting
Targeting people who previously interacted with the website, ad, account, or application, with the goal of reminding them or pushing them toward a later step.
Conversions and reporting
Proof of performance - proof of performance
Proof that the ad was run and produced reviewable data. In digital advertising this is often through platform reports, performance screenshots, or agreed measurement dashboards.
Attribution - attribution
The method of identifying the channel or ad that contributed to the conversion. Attribution matters because the customer journey may include more than one ad, visit, or channel before the decision.
Hit - file request
A historical term referring to a file request from the server, such as a page or image. It is not useful alone as a visitor count metric because one page may request many files.
Visit and User Session
A visit or user session refers to a period of interaction inside the website. It should be defined according to the measurement tool used so it is not confused with people count or impressions.
Unique Visitor - unique visitor
An approximate expression of the number of different people during a defined period, depending on the measurement method. It helps understand audience size, not only visits.
View - view
The old spelling of the term has been corrected to View. It may mean viewing an ad, page, or video depending on the context and platform, so the platform definition of a view should always be read.
Advertising media and creative
Banner - advertising banner
A visual ad that appears in a dedicated space inside a page or application. It may be static or animated, and should balance message clarity, file size, and loading speed.
Rich Media Ads - rich media ads
Ads that contain interaction, motion, or richer media than a traditional banner. They should be used when they serve the goal, not merely to add motion.
Beyond the Banner - beyond the banner
Refers to advertising methods that do not depend on banners alone, such as sponsorship, video, sponsored content, newsletters, or brand partnerships when suitable.
Co-branding - co-branding
The appearance of two brands or entities together in one experience, campaign, or page. This type needs clarity in the message and responsibilities so it does not confuse the audience.
Affiliate marketing - affiliate marketing
A marketing model in which a partner or publisher receives compensation when an agreed result is achieved, such as a sale or registration. The old direct reseller program link has been neutralized because the registration path is not part of this page update.
