Advertising Glossary
Essential terms for advertisers and publishers
Ad Formats
Pop-under
An ad format that opens a new browser window behind the current active window. Less intrusive than pop-ups because users see the ad after closing their main window.
Pop-up
An ad that opens in a new browser window on top of the current content. More aggressive than pop-under but can have higher immediate visibility.
Tab-under
Similar to pop-under, but opens the ad in a new browser tab instead of a new window. Often considered less intrusive.
Pricing
CPM
Cost Per Mille (thousand). The price an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions. Standard pricing model for display and pop advertising.
CPC
Cost Per Click. The price an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad. Used when advertiser wants to pay only for engaged traffic.
CPA
Cost Per Action/Acquisition. The price paid when a user completes a specific action (signup, purchase, install). Performance-based pricing model.
Metrics
CTR
Click-Through Rate. The percentage of users who click on an ad after seeing it. Calculated as (Clicks / Impressions) × 100.
ROI
Return on Investment. Measures campaign profitability. Calculated as ((Revenue - Cost) / Cost) × 100. Positive ROI means profitable campaign.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action (purchase, signup, etc.). Key metric for measuring campaign effectiveness.
Impression
A single instance of an ad being displayed to a user. One pageview can generate multiple impressions if multiple ads are shown.
Payments
Escrow
A financial arrangement where funds are held by a third party until specific conditions are met. PopLayer uses blockchain escrow for payment security.
Settlement
The process of finalizing payments between advertisers and publishers. PopLayer settles weekly or when campaigns end.
Blockchain
Smart Contract
Self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically enforces agreement terms. PopLayer uses smart contracts for trustless payments.
Non-Custodial
A system where users maintain full control of their funds. PopLayer never holds your crypto — funds move directly between wallets via smart contracts.
Oracle
A service that provides external data to blockchain smart contracts. PopLayer uses oracles to submit verified traffic quality metrics.
Roles
Publisher
A website owner who displays ads on their site and earns money from the traffic they generate. Also called a "webmaster" or "traffic source".
Advertiser
A person or company that pays to display ads and drive traffic to their offers. Also called a "buyer" or "media buyer".
Arbitrageur
A media buyer who profits from the difference between ad costs and revenue generated. Buys traffic cheap, monetizes it at a higher rate.
Quality
Antifraud
Systems and techniques used to detect and filter fraudulent or low-quality traffic (bots, proxies, click farms).
Bot Traffic
Non-human traffic generated by automated scripts. Considered fraudulent as it generates fake impressions without real user engagement.
BYOAF
Bring Your Own Antifraud. PopLayer feature allowing advertisers to integrate their preferred third-party antifraud solution.
Targeting
Geo-targeting
Targeting ads to users in specific geographic locations (countries, regions, cities). Essential for localized campaigns.
Device Targeting
Showing ads only to users on specific device types (desktop, mobile, tablet) or operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows).
Frequency Capping
Limiting how often a single user sees the same ad within a time period. Prevents ad fatigue and wasted impressions.
Automation
Smart Rules
PopLayer automation feature. If-then rules that automatically adjust campaigns based on performance metrics (pause if CPA > $5, etc.).
Technology
RTB
Real-Time Bidding. Automated auction system where ad impressions are bought and sold in milliseconds. Enables dynamic pricing.
Direct Deal
A private agreement between an advertiser and publisher at a fixed rate, bypassing the open auction. Often results in better pricing.
Placement
A specific ad slot on a publisher's website. One website can have multiple placements in different positions.
Bundle
A group of placements sold together as a package. Allows buying traffic from multiple sources with a single campaign.