CPM (cost per mille)
Price per 1,000 ad impressions. Common for brand, video, and display campaigns where reach and viewability matter. Publishers report effective CPM as eCPM.
Resources
Programmatic advertising glossary
Plain definitions for the terms publishers, advertisers, and demand partners use every day — CPM and CPC pricing, SSP and DSP roles, video and DOOH formats, and OpenRTB integration paths.
Pricing & metrics
How programmatic ads are bought and measured
CPC (cost per click)
Advertisers pay when a user clicks the ad. Used for performance and traffic campaigns. Quality filters reduce invalid clicks before billing.
eCPM (effective CPM)
Revenue per 1,000 impressions after fill, timeouts, and format mix. Yield teams optimize floors and demand to raise eCPM without starving fill.
CPA, CPI & CPL
Cost per action, install, or lead. Conversion pixels and MMP postbacks confirm outcomes. Often layered on top of CPM or CPC delivery in the console.
Platforms & marketplaces
Who sits on each side of the auction
SSP (supply-side platform)
Software publishers use to sell ad inventory. An SSP connects to demand partners, applies floors and brand safety, and sends bid requests in real time. Amli Media SSP →
DSP (demand-side platform)
Software advertisers use to buy inventory across many publishers. DSPs bid in OpenRTB auctions, manage budgets, and target audiences. Amli Media DSP →
Ad network
A company that connects publisher inventory with advertiser demand, often across many sites and apps. Amli Media is an independent programmatic ad network founded in 2017 in Bengaluru.
Ad exchange
A marketplace where supply and demand meet in a real-time auction. Exchanges typically use OpenRTB. Amli Media runs a unified auction for display, native, video, audio, CTV, and DOOH.
Demand partner
Any buyer connected to your inventory — DSP seat, agency desk, or direct advertiser. Non-exclusive demand lets publishers keep other SSPs and wrappers.
PMP (private marketplace)
Invite-only deals between a publisher and selected buyers. Preferred deals and private auctions run alongside the open auction with publisher-approved demand.
Protocols & integration
OpenRTB, Prebid, and tags
OpenRTB / ORTB
Industry standard for real-time bidding. Bid requests and responses are JSON over HTTP. Amli Media supports OpenRTB 2.5 and 2.6 for banner, native, and video. Integration docs →
RTB (real-time bidding)
Auction that completes in milliseconds per impression. Each ad slot can receive bids from many demand partners; the highest valid bid wins.
Prebid & header bidding
JavaScript wrapper (Prebid.js) or server (Prebid Server) that sends parallel bid requests before the ad server chooses a winner. Amli Media is available as a Prebid bidder.
Server-to-server (S2S)
Bid requests sent from the publisher ad server or exchange to demand, not from the user’s browser. Lower latency and cleaner logs at scale.
SPO (supply-path optimization)
Buyers prefer the shortest, most transparent path to inventory. schain and publisher IDs in OpenRTB let DSPs drop duplicate hops and favor direct supply.
QPS (queries per second)
Volume of bid requests a DSP receives. Quality exchanges filter unsellable requests so demand partners spend QPS on impressions they can actually buy.
Formats & channels
Display, video, CTV, and DOOH
Display ads
Standard IAB banner sizes, sticky units, and interstitials on web and in-app. Sold on CPM with viewability and frequency controls.
Native advertising
Units that match publisher layout — in-feed, recommendation widgets, and app native with asset-level bid responses in OpenRTB.
Video ads
Instream, outstream, rewarded, and skippable video. Delivered via VAST/VPAID. Common pricing: CPM with completion or viewability thresholds.
VAST / VPAID
Video Ad Serving Template — XML standard for serving video creatives. VPAID adds interactive layers. Required for most programmatic video demand.
CTV (connected TV)
Streaming and living-room inventory on smart TVs and OTT apps. Podding, non-skippable slots, and household reach. Monetized via OpenRTB video objects.
DOOH (digital out-of-home)
Programmatic buying of digital billboards and venue screens. Geo, daypart, and audience data drive CPM campaigns in physical locations.
Use Amli Media in your stack
Whether you monetize as a publisher, buy as a demand partner, or license white-label infrastructure, the same auction core supports OpenRTB, Prebid, and JS tags.
- Publisher SSP — web, app, gaming, and CTV supply in India and globally
- Advertiser & DSP demand — CPM, CPC, video, and app install campaigns
- OpenRTB & Prebid integrations — ORTB monetization endpoints and adapter setup
- Products — SSP, DSP, and white-label ad platform
FAQ
What is programmatic advertising?
Programmatic advertising is automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory in real time. Publishers offer impressions; advertisers or DSPs bid through an ad exchange or SSP using standards like OpenRTB.
What is the difference between an ad network and an ad exchange?
An ad network aggregates inventory and resells it. An ad exchange runs an open auction where many buyers bid on each impression. Amli Media operates as both for publishers and demand partners.
What is OpenRTB (ORTB) monetization?
OpenRTB monetization means publishers send bid requests to demand buyers over the OpenRTB protocol. Amli Media supports 2.5 and 2.6 for banner, native, and video.
What is a demand partner?
A demand partner is a buyer of ad inventory — a DSP, trading desk, or direct advertiser on OpenRTB, S2S, or tags. Amli Media connects demand for app, gaming, and CTV supply worldwide.