Internet Advertising Terminology Guide

These terms and definitions are commonly used with the internet and particularly in regard to internet advertising:

Advertorial: A combination of ad and editorial typically found on content sites such as EB.

CPM (cost per thousand): The cost of 1,000 ad impressions. For example EB charges $25 per 1000 banner 468x60 impressions (with a minimum spend of $2,500 or 100,000 impressions).

Click-Through (ad click): The act of clicking a banner, or other ad, which links the user to the location of the advertiser's choice (typically the advertiser's Web site).

Clickthrough Rate: Sometimes referred to as "ad click rate," this is the percentage of ad views that resulted in an ad click (calculated by the number of clickthroughs and ad attracts divided by the number of page views - or impressions - x 100)

Content Sponsorship: An area of content sponsored as a distinct entity often by a single advertiser as opposed to banners rotating with individual advertising messages. Often the content will reflect the nature of the advertiser as well as the nature of the target demographic.

Cookies: Electronic ID tags sent from a Web server to a user's browser to track and record their Web-surfing patterns, i.e., ads clicked on, products purchased, sites visited and the user's origin. This can enable the site to provide more personalized information to be served upon a return visit to the site.

Eyeballs: The number of people who see an ad or web page.

Flash Ad - a format of internet advertising which can be implemented on banner, leaderboard, medium rectangle etc - usually gives the ad greater scope for creativity and art direction (other format includes GIF/Animated Gif)

GIF / Animated GIF (Graphic Interchange Format): The most common file compression format for banner ads and most other pictures on the Web. An animated GIF is created by combining multiple GIF images in one file. The result is multiple images, displayed one after the other that gives the appearance of movement. Research indicates that animated banners are more effective than static banners, generating higher ad awareness, recall, and click-through.

Impressions: Number of times an internet advertisement is downloaded and then seen by web site visitors.

Neilsen (AC Neilsen Netratings) - an international 3rd party internet site measurement company whose methodology of web site traffic is considered internet standard worldwide.  (EB subscribes to AC Neilsen Netratings and quotes our site traffic according to their statistics)

Rich - Media: Media technology that has been either developed or enhanced to deliver interaction, multimedia, expanded creative space, transaction behaviour, and interaction to the users through the Web.

Solicitation - a person or business who promotes their goods and services within the EB forums. Solicitation on EB's forums is not permissible according to our site rules and regulations

Streaming Audio/Video: Audio or video that plays the file as it loads. Streaming files allow for users to avoid waiting for the files to completely load before previewing.

Third Party Ad Serving: An end to end advertising management system designed to maximize advertising ROI and streamline the entire web advertising process. A resource for trafficking creative, tracking performance of campaign, and reporting key data (e.g. reach, frequency and impressions). An example major Third Party Ad Serving systems is Doubleclick.  EB can also report campaign performance ie impressions and clickthroughs through its own server

Time Spent per Visit - the measurement of the average amount of time spent on one site per person per visit

Unique Browser: Different individuals who visit a site within a specific time period; used to define the net, unduplicated reach of a web site, usually looked at over a day, week, or month.

User Sessions: the total number of visits by individual users.

If you would like to further discuss how EB might help you achieve your campaign objectives please email