TTD AE key terms

The top-level account entity in the platform that owns campaigns, creative assets, and data. It represents the client whose ads run, and it holds billing, seat, and permission settings for the team managing it.

A named user login within an advertiser or partner account, carrying its own credentials and role permissions. Seats control who can view, edit, or launch campaigns and are audited for access governance.

An agency or technology account that manages multiple advertiser accounts under one roof. Partners can create and access child advertiser accounts, roll up reporting, and share audiences across clients they manage.

The top-level container for a media buy, holding shared settings such as budget, flight dates, and objective. Campaigns group line items that inherit and can further refine those settings.

The buying unit inside a campaign that carries targeting, bidding, budget, and pacing settings and is associated with one or more ad groups or creatives. Each line item produces its own performance data.

A grouping beneath a line item that organizes creatives and can carry its own audience and bid refinements. It lets buyers test creative or targeting variations without duplicating the whole line item.

The scheduled start and end dates during which a campaign or line item is eligible to bid and serve. Flights define total budget pacing windows and prevent delivery outside the intended period.

The actual ad asset served to users, such as a display banner, video file, or native unit, with defined dimensions and landing page. Creatives are attached to ad groups and must pass platform review before serving.

The platform's automated and manual approval process that checks ad assets for policy compliance, technical validity, and landing page quality. Unapproved creatives cannot serve, and rejections must be fixed and resubmitted.

The destination URL a user reaches after clicking an ad. It is checked for availability, policy compliance, and relevance, and mismatches between the ad and page can trigger rejection or poor conversion performance.

Audience or event data an advertiser collects directly from its own properties, such as site visitors or CRM records. It is typically the highest-quality signal available and can be onboarded for targeting and optimization.

Audience segments sourced from external data providers rather than the advertiser's own properties. These segments are licensed for targeting and are useful for prospecting beyond existing customer bases.

The process of importing audience identifiers or event data into the platform so they can be matched to available inventory. Match rates determine how much of the uploaded audience is actually addressable.

The percentage of identifiers in an uploaded audience that the platform can successfully link to users it can target. Low match rates shrink effective reach and often signal identifier quality or formatting problems.

A defined group of users or devices sharing attributes, such as behaviors, demographics, or past purchases, used to narrow targeting. Segments can be first-party, third-party, or platform-built and are attached to line items.

A technique that builds a new audience from users who resemble a seed audience in behavior or attributes. It expands reach beyond known customers while retaining targeting relevance, and seed quality drives results.

The set of identifiers, such as cookies, device IDs, or hashed emails, used to recognize a user across sites and devices. Identity resolution determines cross-device reach and measurement accuracy.

The ability to recognize and target or measure the same person across phones, computers, tablets, and connected TVs. It improves frequency control and attribution when users move between screens.

The ad placements available for purchase across websites, apps, and streaming environments. Inventory is described by format, size, environment, and quality signals that inform bidding decisions.

An auction environment where any buyer can bid on available impressions without a prior deal. It offers broad reach and low barriers but less control over placement quality and pricing.

An invitation-only auction where select buyers bid on inventory from chosen publishers under agreed terms. It balances the efficiency of auction pricing with greater control over supply quality.

A fixed-price deal that reserves a set volume of impressions for a buyer over a defined period. It guarantees delivery and price while still transacting programmatically, and it is often used for premium placements.

A unique identifier that links a buyer's line item to a specific negotiated deal with a publisher. Correct mapping of deal IDs is essential, since mismatches cause bids to be rejected or to fall back to open auction.

The practice of choosing the most direct and efficient routes to publisher inventory, reducing redundant intermediaries and fees. It aims to increase working media dollars, transparency, and control over where ads appear.

The share of advertiser spend retained by intermediaries such as exchanges, SSPs, or resellers before reaching the publisher. Lower take rates generally mean more of the budget buys actual media.

The portion of campaign spend that actually purchases ad impressions, as opposed to platform fees, data costs, or intermediary margins. Buyers track it to judge how efficiently budget converts into delivered media.

The price a buyer offers for a single impression in an auction, shaped by the bidding strategy and available signals. Winning bids pay according to the auction type, such as first or second price.

The rule set that determines bid prices, ranging from fixed base bids to performance-optimized algorithms targeting clicks or conversions. Strategy choice should match the campaign objective and available conversion data.

The default maximum price a buyer is willing to pay for an impression before any modifiers are applied. It anchors the auction calculation and is often adjusted by targeting, deal, or performance multipliers.

A multiplier that raises or lowers the effective bid for specific conditions, such as audience segment, device, geography, or time of day. Modifiers express relative value without changing the base bid.

The total amount an advertiser is willing to spend over a campaign or line item period. Budgets cap delivery and must be set consistently with flight length, expected volume, and bidding strategy.

The rate at which budget is spent across a flight, either spread evenly or spent as fast as possible. Poor pacing causes early exhaustion or underdelivery, and pacing settings usually control daily spend caps.

A limit on how much a line item or campaign can spend within a single day. Caps smooth spend across a flight and prevent a single day from consuming budget intended for later dates.

A rule limiting how many times a single user or device sees an ad within a time window. It protects against overexposure, improves user experience, and spreads impressions across a wider audience.

A single counted instance of an ad rendering on a user's screen. Impressions are the basic unit of delivery and are commonly measured with viewability standards that require a minimum visible time and area.

A measurement standard indicating whether an impression had a realistic opportunity to be seen, based on visible pixels and display duration. It is reported as a percentage of measurable impressions.

Independent measurement of delivery quality, including viewability, invalid traffic, and brand safety. Verification vendors supply third-party metrics that buyers use to validate platform-reported numbers.

Controls and practices that keep ads away from content that could harm brand reputation, such as hate speech or adult material. Settings include content categories, allowlists, and blocklists applied to inventory.

An explicit list of domains, apps, or deals that a campaign is permitted to serve on. It restricts delivery to vetted supply and is a common QA step when precise placement control is required.

A desired user action tracked after ad exposure, such as a purchase, sign-up, or form completion. Conversions drive optimization algorithms and are the basis for cost-per-acquisition reporting.

A small snippet of code placed on a web page that records visits and conversion events for measurement and targeting. It must fire correctly for attributed conversions to appear in reports.

The process of assigning credit for a conversion to one or more ad exposures or clicks, using a defined model and lookback window. Model choice changes reported performance and should be documented for consistency.

The period after an ad exposure or click during which a later conversion can still be credited to that ad. Longer windows capture more conversions but increase overlap and disputed credit between channels.

The number of unique users or devices exposed to an ad at least once during a period. It differs from impressions, which count total exposures, and it pairs with frequency to describe audience pressure.

Impressions or clicks generated by non-human or fraudulent sources, such as bots or misrepresented placements. Buyers use verification and exclusion lists to reduce waste and protect performance metrics.

A difference between delivery or performance numbers reported by two systems, such as the platform and a third-party ad server. Small gaps are normal, but large or persistent ones require investigation.

A situation where a campaign serves fewer impressions than planned for its flight and budget. Common causes include tight targeting, low bids, restrictive caps, or limited eligible deals.