Scope of work (SOW): 

A document that routinely defines project-specific media activities and deliverables. A statement of work typically addresses these subjects: x period of performance x applicable budget & standards x acceptance criteria x special requirements (regulatory as applicable) x miscellaneous

Scripts: 

Files that initiate routines like generating web pages dynamically in response to user input.

SDSL (symmetrical digital subscriber line): 

A digital subscriber line (DSL) connection is a high-speed dedicated digital circuit from a given location to the telephone company’s central office, using normal copper telephone lines. DSL is the main form of consumer broadband worldwide. DSL is a general term that includes several variations:

• ADSL: asymmetric digital subscriber line, ranging up to 1.5 MBPS
• HDSL: high-bit-rate digital subscriber line, 1.5 MBPS
• SDSL: single-line digital subscriber line, 1.5 MBPS
• VDSL: very high-data-rate digital subscriber line, ranging up to 2.3 MBPS
• RDSL: rate-adaptive digital subscriber line, various speeds

Search: 

Fees advertisers pay internet companies to list and/or link their company site or domain name to a specific search word or phrase (includes paid search revenues). Search categories include:

• Paid listings: text links appear at the top or side of search results for specific keywords. The more a marketer pays, the higher the position it gets. Marketers only pay when a user clicks on the text link.
• Contextual search: text links appear in an article based on the context of the content, instead of a user-submitted keyword. Payment only occurs when the link is clicked.
• Paid inclusion: guarantees that a marketer’s URL is indexed by a search engine. The listing is determined by the engine’s search algorithms.

Site optimization: 

Modifies a site to make it easier for search engines to automatically index the site and hopefully result in better placement in results.

Search click: 

A click originating from a list of links returned by a query to a search engine.

Search engine: 

A website that provides a searchable index of online content, whereby users enter keywords describing what they are seeking and the website returns links related to this search query.

Search retargeting:

A method that enables advertisers to show an ad specifically to visitors based on one or more searches or search click events.

Search targeting: 

Local search targeting helps advertisers target users when they look for places, businesses, housing, entertainment, etc. In specific geographies using a search engine (such as Google or Bing). This allows advertisers to present highly relevant localized offers and advertisements to users.

Segment: 

Also called data segment or audience, a set of users who share one or more similar attributes.

Select:

A select is a criterion applied to a mailing list to produce a subset of the entire list. Selects can be made based upon almost any parameter within a list. Common selects include state, zip code, age, gender, and household income. Selects help you reach targeted audiences with email campaigns.

Self-serve media: 

Self-serve advertising is often associated with text advertising, paid search campaigns, as well as Facebook and twitter. These terms are not synonymous, but they do share a common goal of efficiency: x by eliminating the expense of an advertising salesperson, the self-serve model allows publishers to offer smaller minimum ad buys than would otherwise not be practical or profitable. X by using text ads instead of banner ads, self-serve programs make advertising easier for the many small businesses that do not have compelling graphical ads, preventing delays in the do-it-yourself campaign signup.

Sell-side platform (SSP): 

Also called sell-side optimizer, inventory aggregator, and yield optimizer is a technology platform that provides outsourced media selling and ad network management services for publishers. A sell-side platform business model resembles that of an ad network in that it aggregates ad impression inventory. However, a sell-side platform serves publishers exclusively and does not provide services for advertisers.

The inventory managed by the SSP is usually purchased by aggregate buyers, either demand-side platforms (DSPs) or ad networks.

Sell-through rate: 

The percentage of ad inventory sold as opposed to traded or bartered.

SEM (search engine marketing): 

A form of paid internet media that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in the search engine result pages.

Semantic targeting: 

A type of contextual targeting that also incorporates semantic techniques to understand page meaning and/or sentiment.

SEO (search engine optimization): 

The process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines via natural (organic or algorithmic) search results.

Server centric measurement: 

Audience measurement derived from server logs.

Server pull: 

A process whereby a user’s browser maintains an automated or customized connection or profile with a web server. The browser usually sets up a unique request that is recorded and stored electronically for future reference. Examples are requests for the automated delivery of email newsletters, the request for web content based on a specific search criterion determined by the user, or setting up a personalized web page that customizes the information delivered to the user based on predetermined self-selections.

Server push: 

A process whereby a server maintains an open connection with a browser after the initial request for a page. Through this open connection, the server continues to provide updated pages and content even though the visitor has made no further direct requests for such information.

Server-side: 

Server-side refers to activities taking place on the server as opposed to on the client. Examples are server-side counting and server-side redirects.

Server-initiated ad impression: 

One of the two methods used for ad counting. Ad content is delivered to the user via two methods server-initiated and client-initiated. Server-initiated ad counting uses the publisher’s web content server for making requests, formatting and redirecting content. For organizations using a server-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur subsequent to the ad response at either the publisher’s ad server or the web content server, or later in the process. See client-initiated ad impression.

Session: 

(1) a sequence of Internet activity made by one user at one site. If a user makes no request from a site during a 30-minute period of time, the next content or ad request would then constitute the beginning of a new visit or (2) a series of transactions performed by a user that can be tracked across successive web sites. For example, in a single session, a user may start on a publisher’s website, click on an advertisement, and then go to an advertiser’s website and make a purchase. 

Session cookies: 

These are temporary and are erased when the browser exits at the end of a web surfing session. See cookie.

Session starts (SS): 

A metric specific to digital audio: the number of streams of one minute or more that are started within a time period.

Short-form video: 

Video content that has a duration of fewer than 10 minutes.

Sidekick: 

An IAB rising star ad unit template initially displayed as one of three standard ad unit dimensions, but upon user initiation, pushes publisher content to the left to display a canvas of up to 970×550 pixels full of rich interaction.

Single-site publisher ad server: 

Single-site publisher ad servers focus on maximizing the yield to the publisher.

Single-site publisher analytics: 

Software or services that analyze information about users, including metrics such as unique visitors and site usage. The collected data is used only on behalf of the site from which the data is collected.

Site index: 

The percentage of an overall desired audience that a website reaches; calculated by % of the composition of a site divided by the % composition of the base audience, then multiplied by 100, so: (site comp ÷ audience comp) x 100 = site index; a site index of 100 is average, so for example, if a site indexes at 120, then they are 20% above the average

Site map: 

A model of a website’s content designed to help both users and search engines navigate the site. A site map can be a hierarchical list of pages (with links) organized by topic, an organization chart, or an XML document that provides instructions to search engine crawl bots.

Site retargeting: 

A method that enables advertisers to show an ad specifically to previous site visitors when they are on third-party websites.

Site-centric measurement: 

Audience measurement derived from a website’s own server logs.

Site/page/position transparency: 

The ability for the buyer of media (typically an advertisement) to understand the location and context within which the media will be displayed. Transparency can be at the level of web property (site), page content (page), or position (specific location within a page). Site transparency, in the context of a network or an exchange, refers to the ability of a buyer of inventory to know the exact identity of the website domain or page on which they have shown advertisements.

Slider: 

An IAB rising star ad unit template designed with an overlay slider (90 pixels high) that rests at the bottom of a publisher’s page and when prompted by user interaction, slides page content to the left for a canvas of 970×550 pixels full of rich interaction possibilities for user engagement.

Social bookmarking: 

Aggregating, rating, describing, and publishing bookmarks – links to web pages or other online content

Social marketing: 

A marketing tactic that taps into the growth of social networks, encouraging users to adopt and pass along widgets or other content modules created by a brand, or to add a brand to the user’s social circle of friends.

Social network: 

An online destination that gives users a chance to connect with one or more groups of friends, facilitating sharing of content, news, and information among them. Examples of social networks include Facebook and LinkedIn.

Soft Bounce:

When an email cannot be delivered to a subscriber’s inbox for any type of temporary reason, it is classified as a soft bounce. Some temporary reasons include: subscriber’s email inbox is full, subscriber’s email server is down, or email is too large. Temporary reasons can be resolved and email addresses can stay on the company’s email list.

Sourced video: 

Content generated by a third party (typically professional) and will denote the source. An example may be a new car review provided by general motors but hosted on cartv.com.

Spam: 

A term describing unsolicited commercial email.

Spam filter: 

Software built into email gateways as well as e-mail client applications designed to identify and remove unsolicited commercial messages from incoming emails before the end-user sees them.

Splash page: 

A preliminary page that precedes the user-requested page of a website that usually promotes a particular site feature or provides advertising. A splash page is timed to move on to the requested page after a short period of time or a click. Also known as an interstitial. Splash pages are not considered qualified page impressions under current industry guidelines, but they are considered qualified ad impressions.

Sponsor: 

(1) a sponsor is an advertiser who has sponsored an ad and, by doing so, has also helped sponsor or sustain the web site itself or (2) an advertiser that has a special relationship with the web site and supports a specific feature of a web site, such as a writer’s column or a collection of articles on a particular subject.

Sponsored content: 

Sponsored content is paid text, video, or images created to promote a brand or product that is presented alongside similar media that isn’t promotional. For example, a blog entry that discusses the benefits of a specific product that was paid for by a product advertiser is sponsored content.

Sponsorship: 

An association with a website that gives an advertiser some particular visibility and advantage above that of run of site advertising. When associated with specific content, sponsorship can provide a more targeted audience than run of site ad buys. Sponsorship also implies a synergy and resonance between the website and the advertiser. Some sponsorship is available as value-added opportunities for advertisers who buy a certain minimum amount of advertising. Sponsorship represents custom content and/or experiences created for an advertiser which may or may not include ad unties (i.e., display advertising, brand logos, advertorial, and pre-roll video).

Sponsorships fall into several categories:

• Spotlights are custom-built pages incorporating an advertiser’s brand and housing a collection of content usually around a theme;
• Advergaming can range from an advertiser buying all the ad units around a game or a sponsored by link to creating a custom branded game experience;
• Content & section sponsorship is when an advertiser exclusively sponsors a particular section of the site or email (usually existing content) reskinned with the advertiser’s branding;
• Sweepstakes & contests can range from branded sweepstakes on the site to a full-fledge branded contest with submissions and judging.

Sponsorship graphics: 

Components that are displayed as very persistent graphics such as with a player surrounding skin. Sponsorship graphics are generally displayed throughout the entirety of the content play. Sometimes the sponsorship graphic remains interactive and will behave like an invitation unit allowing viewers to explore deeper ad units such as the embedded interactive.

Standard ad units: 

A set of ad specifications for a standard image or animated in-page ad units that establish a framework for advertising inventory and webpage design. The currently recommended ad units are the IAB New Ad Portfolio.

Static ad placement/static rotation: 

(1) ads that remain on a web page for a specified period of time or (2) embedded ads.

Statistical ID: 

A statistical ID is a probabilistic method of identifying a device based on a set of its attributes that have a reasonable likelihood of being unique in aggregate. For example, using a hash of the IP address, user-agent string, and screen resolution would provide a higher probability of uniquely identifying a device than using any of those attributes independently.

Streaming: 

Technology that permits continuous audio and video delivery to a device from a remote website. Also, can refer to an internet data transfer technique that allows the user to see and hear audio and video files. The host or source compresses, then streams small packets of information over the internet to the user, who can access the content as it is received.

Streaming media player: 

In the interactive advertising context, a streaming media player is a software program that can retrieve audio and video files over a network and begin playback before the entire media file has been downloaded. Some examples are Real Player™, Windows Media, and Quick Time Player.

Streaming video: 

A distribution method for serving video files such that the video is played over a persistent connection between the browser and the ad server. Versions of the file at different levels of compression (quality) can be served based on the detection of the user’s internet bandwidth. HTML5 files cannot be streamed and rely on adaptive bitrates streaming technologies such as HLS and MPEG-dash.

Submission lead time: 

The number of business days (non-weekend/non-holiday days) prior to a campaign going live in which a publisher needs to validate that the advertiser submitted creative(s) for a campaign.

Superuser:

A superuser is an individual who is positively engaged in the online marketplace. Superusers may be network, system, or database administrators with complete access to an online operating system and all of its configurations.

Supply-Side Platform:

A supply-side platform is a technology that ad space providers use. It enables those web publishers to manage their ad space inventory and gives them the technology to sell it and receive revenue.

Superstitials: 

An interstitial format developed by unicast is fully pre-cached before playing. Specs are 550 x 480 pixels (2/3 of the screen), up to 100k file size, and up to 20 seconds in length.

Supporting files: 

In the context of HTML file loads, supporting files are files that the browser needs to reference in order to execute the display of file contents and any interactions. Examples of supporting files include JavaScript libraries, font libraries, CSS files, and others.

Syndicated research tools: 

Research products available to subscribers that aids the media planning process in gaining insight or business intelligence about specific markets, industries, and trends over specific time periods.

Syndicated video: 

Content sourced from a professional third party, examples may include syndicated television shows, news footage from AP or Reuters, etc., and distributed through a multitude of outlets observing strict ownership rights.