Advertising on Sports Digital Media websites.

Advertising glossary of terms

Banner terms

Banner ad. A graphic image, usually a GIF or JPEG, that can be placed anywhere on a web page, most frequently centered across the top. The standard banner ad is 468 x 60 pixels. Banner ads come in various sizes which can be seen HERE.

Button. Pretty much the same as a Banner ad but a bit more square that other sizes It is basically a clickable graphic that takes the user to another page or executes a program, such as a software demo or a video player.

Skyscraper. A tall, thin ad unit that runs down the side of a web page. A skyscraper can be 120 x 600 pixels or wide skyscraper 160 x 600 pixels.

Pop-up ad, also Pop-under ad. An ad that appears in a separate window above or beneath the user's current page. A pop-under ad is concealed until the top window is closed, moved, resized, or minimized. A pop-up ad is similar to a daughter window, but without an associated banner. These can be very annoying so they are generally a lot more expensive than other banner types.

Floating ads. An ad that appears within the main browser window on top of the page's normal content, appearing to "float" over the top of the page. These can be very annoying so they are generally a lot more expensive than other banner types.

Interstitial ad. An ad page that appears for a short period of time before the user-requested page is displayed. Also known as a transition ad, splash page, or Flash page.

Rich Media. This kind of banner has a lot fancier artwork than your normal banner and can be designed as a floating banner or can expand when the user puts their mouse over the banner.

Content integration/Advertorial. Advertising woven into editorial content or placed in a special context on the page, the content usually appears as a normal article or feature of the website. Also known as web advertorial or sponsored content.

Google AdWords™ Program. A flexible program based on cost-per-click (CPC) pricing. Clients can end up paying a small eCPM rate or a high one if they want their ads shown. Campaigns are shown on a contextual basis meaning that ads/banners will be shown that are in the same context as the content on the page. Whilst AdWords does allow you to advertise at a slightly reduced rate to that of our standard rates BUT your Campaign is not gauranteed to be displayed on our sites at all. A higher paying campaign will always take preference to Google AdWords and when you advertise with Sports Digital Media directly you will have much greater control and results of your campaign and the placement is gauranteed.

Pricing Models

Costs for search advertising are based on ad delivery—usually measured in CPM—or on actual ad performance. Performance-based pricing relies on a set of agreed-upon metrics, such as cost-per-click (CPC), a percentage of online revenues, or delivery of new sales leads. Some publishers also offer hybrid models, which combine the benefits of CPM and performance-based pricing.

Sports Digital Media works on CPM models only simply because we do not get involved with the design of the client's banner design and graphics which have a huge effect on the performance of the advertising campaign. Due to this we do not entertain other models of payment although our client's are more than welcome to track the success of their campaigns using the following methods of payment.

Cost-per-1000-impressions (CPM). Pricing based on number of impressions served over a period of time. A $50 CPM means you pay $50 for every 1000 times your ad appears. ("M" is the Roman numeral for 1000.) Also known as pay-per-impression.

Cost-per-action (CPA). Pricing based on the number of actions in response to your ad. An action may be defined as a sales transaction, a customer acquisition, or simply a click. Also known as cost-per-transaction. CPA may also refer to cost-per-acquisition.

Cost-per-click (CPC). Pricing based on the number of clicks your ad receives. A typical range is 5 cents to $1 per click. Also known as pay-per-click. CPC may also refer to cost-per-customer.

Cost-per-lead (CPL). Pricing based on the number of new leads generated by your ad. For example, you might pay for every visitor that clicks on your ad and successfully completes a form on your site.

Cost-per-order (CPO). Pricing based on the number of orders received as a result of your ad placement. Also known as cost-per-transaction.

Cost-per-sale (CPS). Pricing based on the number of sales transactions your ad generates. Since users may visit your site several times before making a purchase, you can use cookies to track their visits from your landing page to the actual online sale. Also known as cost-per-acquisition or pay-per-sale

Effective cost per thousand (eCPM). This is based on a CPM pricing model. When you combine a CPM model and another model you get a eCPM which stands for Effective cost per thousand.

Whether you want to maximize visibility or minimize costs, search advertising programs offer a variety of placement options to help you meet your objectives.

Above the fold. This means that the banner will be displayed on the page without the client having to scroll down. Once the client uses the scroll bar and the banner appears it is below the fold.

Inventory. Advertising space available for purchase on a website. Based on projections, inventory may be specified as number of impressions or as a share of voice. Also known as ad avail.

Dynamic rotation. Delivery of ads on a rotating, random basis. Dynamic rotation allows ads to be served on different pages of the site and exposes users to a variety of ads.

Run-of-site (ROS). The scheduling of ads across an entire site, often at a lower cost than the purchase of specific pages or sub-sections of the site. A run-of-site ad campaign is rotated on all general, non-featured ad spaces on a site.

Remnant inventory. Low-cost advertising space that is relatively undesirable or otherwise unsold.

Exclusive. A contract that allows advertisers to purchase all inventory on a given page or for chosen keywords.

Network Ad. An option that allows you to extend your reach by distributing ads throughout all of our partner sites. The rate can be lowered for this and increases your exposure.

Insertion order (I/O). A contract that specifies the details of your search advertising campaign, including placements options, keywords, ad creative, landing page, pricing, geo-targeting and any other options.

Target audience. The intended audience for an ad, sometimes defined in terms of specific demographics (age, income, etc.), product purchase behavior, product usage, or media usage.

Universe. The total population of the audience you're measuring.

Impression. An ad served to a user's browser. Number of impressions determines the cost of online ads in CPM pricing models. Also known as an exposure.

Reach.* The total number of unique users who will be served your ad over a specific period of time. Reach is often expressed as a percent of the universe for the demographic category. Also known as an unduplicated audience. Note* If you purchase ads on a CPM basis limiting the number of impressions for each user then the Reach has little or no bearing on your campaign as each user will only be shown a banner the number of times stipulated.

Unique user. A single individual or browser who accesses a site or is served unique content and/or ads. Unique users can be identified by user registration or cookies. Also known as a unique visitor.

Repeat visitor. A unique visitor who has accessed a website more than once over a specific time period.

Frequency. The number of times an ad is delivered to the same browser in a single session or time period. A site can use cookies to track frequency. Ads can be set so that they are not shown to the same user for a set period of time.

Clickthrough. The action of clicking an ad element and causing a redirect to another web page.

Clickthrough rate (CTR). The number of clickthroughs divided by the number of impressions, multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage. For example, your CTR is one percent if 100 people are shown your ad and one person clicks through to your site. CTRs typically range from 0.2 percent for banner ads to a very high 3.0 percent. Also known as ad impression ratio or yield. When analysing the clickthough rate it must be remembered that the ad may have been shown one hundred times and only one person could have clicked through but the Brand awareness had been increased substantially as client's generally have their logo or company name on the banner. In addition many internet users will avoid clicking on the banner and will type the URL directly into the browser.

Return on investment (ROI). The benefit gained in return for the cost of your ad campaign. Although exact measurement is nearly impossible due to the increased value of the brand and clickthroughs that were not registered it's generally calculated by looking at your clickthrough rate and your conversion rate combined with your advertising costs. This method can help you assess the ROI of your campaign but is not exact by any means.

Conversion. A defined action in response to your ad's call to action. A conversion may be a sale, or it could be a registration, download, or entry into your lead database, depending on the goal of your campaign.

Conversion rate. The number of visitors who respond to your ad's call to action divided by the number of impressions, multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage. For example, your conversion rate is one percent if 100 people are shown your ad, five people click through to your site, and one person makes a purchase.

Tracking. Online advertising opens the opportunity to track audience response throughout the life of your campaign. Tracking and reporting tools can help you learn as you go, so you can refine your ad creative, placement options, and spending levels if you're not seeing the results you expect. The publisher of your ads typically will provide reports on ad impressions and clickthrough. For additional analysis of your traffic and actual customer conversion rates, you'll need to build tracking mechanisms into your website.

GeoTracking. If you have a fish and chip shop and the only branch is in London, there is little point in showing the campaign to people who live in Cape Town South Africa. Yes the user might see the ad and want to visit the company and sample the Fish when they are next in London but it is unlikely that this will happen during the campaign so by GeoTracking campaigns the correct banner is shown only to users who are in the same locale as the advertiser.

Cookie. A file on the user's browser that uniquely identifies him or her. Use of cookies on your site makes it possible for you to identify return visitors and track their web actions. They generally do not include personal data that can be used against the User.