Glossary
IncrementX Glossary
Clear definitions of the terms behind media representation, publisher monetization, programmatic buying and agentic advertising.
Each of the 50 terms has its own page with how it works, why it matters, an example and FAQs.
50 terms
A
Ad Exchange
An ad exchange is a digital marketplace that runs automated auctions for ad impressions, receiving inventory from publishers or SSPs and passing bid requests to buyers, usually through demand-side platforms, then selecting the winning bid.
Programmatic FundamentalsAd Revenue Optimization
Ad revenue optimization is the ongoing work of increasing the total advertising revenue a publisher earns, by improving ad layout, formats, demand sources, pricing, page or app experience and the data used to make decisions.
Publisher Monetizationads.txt
ads.txt is a plain-text file a publisher posts at the root of its domain, publicly listing the advertising systems and account IDs authorized to sell its ad inventory, so buyers can check that a seller is legitimate.
Supply Chain and TransparencyAgent-to-Agent Advertising
Agent-to-agent advertising is a way of transacting media in which a buyer's AI agent and a seller's AI agent communicate directly, exchanging inventory details, questions and deal requests under rules and approvals set by each side.
Agentic AdvertisingAgentic Advertising
Agentic advertising is the use of AI agents that can carry out advertising tasks, such as finding inventory, comparing options, proposing deals or analysing performance, on behalf of buyers or sellers, within goals and limits that people set.
Agentic AdvertisingAgentic Buying
Agentic buying is the advertiser-side practice of using AI buying agents to discover media, evaluate options and request or set up deals with sellers, while people define the brief, approve spend and own the results.
Agentic AdvertisingAgentic Monetization
Agentic monetization is the sell-side use of AI agents or AI-assisted tools to read revenue signals, spot opportunities and support decisions on yield, pricing, demand and formats for publishers and media owners.
Agentic AdvertisingAudience Targeting
Audience targeting is the practice of showing ads to people based on who they are or how they behave, such as interests, demographics, location or past actions, rather than based only on the content they are viewing.
Data, Targeting and MeasurementAuthorized Digital Sellers
Authorized Digital Sellers is the IAB Tech Lab initiative that gives ads.txt its name, letting publishers and app developers publicly declare who may sell their ad inventory, and working alongside sellers.json and the SupplyChain object.
Supply Chain and Transparency
B
Buyer Agent
A buyer agent is AI software that acts for an advertiser, agency or trading desk, turning a campaign brief into searches, comparisons and deal requests with sellers, within budgets and rules that people set and approve.
Agentic Advertising
C
Commerce Media
Commerce media is advertising that uses commerce data and shopping or transaction environments to reach people, covering retailers as well as marketplaces, delivery apps, travel sites, payment providers and other businesses with purchase-related audiences.
Retail and Commerce MediaConnected TV (CTV)
Connected TV (CTV) is a television set that streams video content over the internet, either because it is a smart TV or because it is linked to a streaming device, games console or set-top box.
CTV and VideoContextual Advertising
Contextual advertising is the practice of placing ads based on the content a person is viewing, such as the topic of a page, video, app or programme, rather than on data about the individual viewer.
Data, Targeting and MeasurementCTV Advertising
CTV advertising is advertising delivered to viewers watching streaming content on a connected TV, such as video ads inside streaming apps, overlays, home screen placements and interactive units.
CTV and VideoCurated Deals
Curated deals are programmatic deals where inventory from one or more sellers is selected and packaged around a theme, such as an audience, context, format or channel, and offered to buyers through a single deal for activation.
Deals and Buying
D
Deal ID
A Deal ID is a unique identifier attached to a programmatic deal. It travels in bid requests so a buyer's DSP can recognise inventory covered by an agreement and bid on it under the agreed price, access and targeting terms.
Deals and BuyingDemand Path Optimization (DPO)
Demand path optimization (DPO) is the seller-side practice of reviewing which demand partners, integrations and deal routes a publisher uses to reach buyers, then keeping the paths that bring valuable, verified demand and removing the ones that add cost without adding competition.
Supply Chain and TransparencyDemand-Side Platform (DSP)
A demand-side platform (DSP) is software that advertisers, agencies and trading desks use to buy digital ad impressions programmatically, setting targeting, budgets and bids once and buying across many sources of inventory from one place.
Programmatic FundamentalsDisplay Advertising
Display advertising is the use of visual ads, such as image banners, animated units and rich media, placed in defined ad spaces on websites and apps, and bought directly or through programmatic channels.
Formats and Channels
F
First-Party Data
First-party data is information a business collects directly from its own customers, users or audience through its own properties and relationships, such as site activity, app usage, purchases, subscriptions or account details.
Data, Targeting and Measurement
G
Google Ad Manager (GAM)
Google Ad Manager (GAM) is Google's ad management platform for publishers, used to serve and manage ads across websites, apps, video and games, combining direct-sold campaigns with demand from Google and third-party exchanges and networks.
Publisher Monetization
H
Header Bidding
Header bidding is a technique that lets publishers collect bids from several demand partners at the same time, before calling the ad server, so those bids compete with the ad server's own demand for each impression.
Publisher Monetization
I
In-App Advertising
In-app advertising is the practice of showing ads inside mobile applications and games, using formats such as banners, interstitials, rewarded video and native units, bought by advertisers directly or through programmatic channels.
Formats and ChannelsInvalid Traffic (IVT)
Invalid traffic (IVT) is advertising activity, such as impressions or clicks, that does not come from a genuine user with real interest, including bots, crawlers and fraud. The MRC splits it into general (GIVT) and sophisticated (SIVT) invalid traffic.
Supply Chain and TransparencyInventory Discovery
Inventory discovery is the process buyers use to find, filter and assess advertising inventory that fits a campaign, using details such as channel, content, audience, geography, format, price, availability and deal type.
Deals and BuyingInventory Marketplace
An inventory marketplace is an environment where advertising inventory from many publishers or media owners is brought together so advertisers and agencies can find it, compare it and access it through agreed deal types.
Media Representation
M
MCP (Model Context Protocol) in Advertising
MCP (Model Context Protocol) in advertising refers to using the open MCP standard, which connects AI applications to external tools and data, so AI agents can discover and use advertising services such as inventory search or deal creation.
Agentic AdvertisingMedia Representation
Media representation is a business model in which a specialist partner represents media owners to advertisers, understanding their inventory, packaging it, finding and managing demand, and arranging deals on their behalf to improve monetization.
Media RepresentationMobile App Monetization
Mobile app monetization is the strategy an app publisher uses to earn revenue from its app and users, combining models such as in-app advertising, in-app purchases, subscriptions, paid downloads and sponsorships.
Publisher Monetization
N
Native Advertising
Native advertising is paid advertising designed to match the form, style and function of the content or platform around it, such as in-feed units and recommendation widgets, while still being clearly labelled as an ad.
Formats and Channels
O
OpenRTB
OpenRTB is a specification maintained by IAB Tech Lab that defines a common format for bid requests and bid responses, so supply-side and demand-side platforms from different companies can trade ad impressions through real-time bidding.
Programmatic Fundamentals
P
Prebid
Prebid is a free, open-source header bidding solution made up of a product suite (including Prebid.js, Prebid Server and Prebid Mobile), a developer community and an independent organisation, Prebid.org, that maintains it.
Publisher MonetizationPrivate Marketplace (PMP)
A private marketplace (PMP) is an invitation-only programmatic auction in which a seller makes selected inventory available to approved buyers, usually with a floor price and a Deal ID, without guaranteeing volume or price.
Deals and BuyingProgrammatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of digital ad impressions through software, where buyers and sellers trade inventory using real-time auctions or pre-agreed deals instead of manual insertion orders.
Programmatic FundamentalsProgrammatic Guaranteed (PG)
Programmatic guaranteed (PG) is a deal in which a buyer and seller agree a fixed price and a reserved volume of impressions in advance, then deliver and bill the campaign through programmatic technology instead of manual ad serving.
Deals and BuyingProgrammatic Media Buying
Programmatic media buying is the buyer-side process of purchasing digital ad impressions through software, usually a demand-side platform, where advertisers and agencies set budgets, targeting, bids and deals that are then executed automatically.
Deals and BuyingProgrammatic Monetization
Programmatic monetization is the way publishers and media owners earn advertising revenue by making their inventory available to buyers through automated channels, such as open auctions, header bidding, private marketplaces and programmatic guaranteed deals.
Publisher MonetizationPublisher Monetization
Publisher monetization is the practice of earning revenue from a publisher's content, inventory and audience, through advertising sold directly or programmatically, and through other models such as subscriptions, memberships, licensing or commerce.
Publisher MonetizationPublisher Representation
Publisher representation is the practice of a partner acting specifically for publishers of websites, apps, CTV or video content, representing their ad inventory and commercial interests to advertisers and buyers to grow sustainable monetization.
Media Representation
R
Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
Real-time bidding (RTB) is the auction mechanism in which each individual ad impression is offered to buyers as it becomes available, buyers submit bids within milliseconds, and the winning bid's ad is shown.
Programmatic FundamentalsRetail Media
Retail media is advertising that a retailer sells to brands and other advertisers, using its own websites, apps, stores and shopper relationships to place ads close to the moment people browse and buy.
Retail and Commerce MediaRetail Media Network (RMN)
Retail media network (RMN) describes the organised advertising business a retailer runs to sell ad placements and audience access across its own properties, and sometimes beyond them, with dedicated sales, technology, data and reporting.
Retail and Commerce Media
S
Seller Agent
A seller agent is software that acts for a publisher, media owner or their representative, describing available inventory in a machine-readable way so authorized AI buying agents can discover it, evaluate it and request deals.
Agentic Advertisingsellers.json
sellers.json is a JSON file that an advertising system, such as an SSP or exchange, publishes on its root domain to list its sellers, identifying each by seller ID, seller type and, unless confidential, name and domain.
Supply Chain and TransparencySupply Path Optimization (SPO)
Supply path optimization (SPO) is the buyer-side practice of reviewing the different routes through which the same ad inventory is offered, then concentrating spend on the paths that are most direct, transparent, efficient and well performing.
Supply Chain and TransparencySupply-Side Platform (SSP)
A supply-side platform (SSP) is software that publishers and media owners use to offer ad inventory to many programmatic buyers, run or join auctions, set pricing rules and control which demand sources can bid.
Programmatic FundamentalsSupplyChain Object (schain)
The SupplyChain object (schain) is an OpenRTB field in a bid request that lists every party that sold or resold that impression, one node per hop, so buyers can trace the path back to the inventory owner.
Supply Chain and Transparency
V
Video Advertising
Video advertising is any advertising delivered in video form across digital screens, including websites, mobile apps and connected TV, using formats such as in-stream, out-stream, rewarded and in-app video ads.
CTV and VideoViewability
Viewability is a measure of whether an ad impression had the opportunity to be seen. Under MRC guidelines, a display ad counts as viewable when at least 50% of its pixels are in view for one continuous second; video needs two continuous seconds.
Data, Targeting and Measurement
Y
Yield Optimization
Yield optimization is the practice of getting the most value from each ad impression a publisher sells, by managing price floors, increasing competition between demand sources and deciding which buyer or deal type should win each opportunity.
Publisher Monetization
Questions Beyond the Glossary?
Browse the IncrementX FAQs or talk to the team about representing your media.