Reference

Mobile app glossary.Definitions for operators.

221 field definitions covering ASO, rankings, monetization, attribution, user acquisition, analytics, and retention.

Taxonomy

Browse by market lever.

65 matching definitions

Definitions

UA terms

65 matching definitions

UATrendingAd CreativeThe visual and audio content of an ad — video, image, copy, sound. The single most important variable in modern mobile UA, lifting IPM and lowering effective CPI.UAAd ExchangeA digital marketplace where DSPs (advertiser side) and SSPs (publisher side) connect through real-time bidding auctions to match ad inventory with bids.UAAd ImpressionA single instance of an ad being served to a user — the atomic unit of ad inventory. What counts as "served" vs "viewable" vs "verified" matters enormously for pricing.UAAd MediationThe publisher-side layer that orchestrates multiple ad networks and demand sources to maximize eCPM — the routing infrastructure between an ad slot and the network that fills it.UAAd MonetizationThe practice of generating revenue by showing ads inside an app — the strategy layer of formats, mediation, and optimization that produces ad revenue, the metric it's measured by.UAAd NetworkA platform that aggregates ad demand from many advertisers and matches it to publisher inventory through real-time auctions.UAAd RevenueThe revenue an app earns from showing ads — fundamentally impressions × eCPM, after fill rate and the mediation layer decide which requests get filled and at what price.UAAd ServerThe backend infrastructure that delivers ad creative to ad slots — handling creative storage, targeting rules, frequency capping, tracking pixels, and ad rotation.UAAd SpendThe total dollar amount deployed into paid user acquisition over a defined period — the input variable that drives all UA volume.UAAd UnitA specific ad placement or format inside an app — banner, interstitial, rewarded video, native, app-open, or offerwall — the container an ad renders in and the unit you monetize.UAAd WaterfallThe traditional mediation method that calls ad networks in a fixed, ranked order — one after another until one fills the impression. Largely superseded by unified bidding, but still used for fall-through fill in hybrid stacks.UAAudience ExclusionA targeting practice that excludes specific audiences from seeing your ads — existing users, recent purchasers, churned high-cost users — preventing wasted spend.UAAudience SegmentationDividing a user base or prospective audience into groups that share traits or behavior, so targeting, messaging, and monetization can be tailored per segment instead of treating everyone the same.UABanner AdA small persistent ad shown at the top or bottom of the app screen — the lowest-attention and lowest-eCPM mobile ad format, but high in impression volume.UABrand SafetyThe controls that keep ads from appearing next to harmful or off-brand content — protecting advertisers from reputational damage and publishers from losing premium demand.UACAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)The total cost of acquiring one customer — paid ads PLUS non-ad acquisition costs (SEO, content, sales, partnerships) divided by acquired customers.UACampaign Budget Optimization (CBO)Meta's campaign-level budget allocation feature — instead of setting budgets per ad set, you set one budget at the campaign level and Meta's algorithm distributes spend across ad sets in real time.UAClick-to-Install Rate (CTI)The percentage of users who click an ad and then complete the install — typically 20-50% depending on category and traffic quality.UAConnected TV (CTV)A television connected to the internet — via smart-TV software or a streaming device — that can run streaming apps and serve addressable, digitally-bought ads.UACost Per Action (CPA)The cost of acquiring one user who completes a defined action — registration, trial start, first purchase — rather than just installing. Always higher than CPI.UACost Per Click (CPC)The price an advertiser pays each time a user clicks their ad. CPC sits between CPM (paying per impression) and CPI (paying per install) on the risk spectrum.UAPillarCost Per Install (CPI)The average amount an advertiser pays for a single install attributed to a campaign — total spend divided by attributed installs.UACost Per Mille (CPM)The price an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions, regardless of whether those impressions drive clicks or installs. "Mille" = Latin for 1,000.UACPV (Cost Per View)The price an advertiser pays per video ad view. What counts as a "view" varies by platform — a few seconds watched, a completed view, or a quartile milestone.UACreative FatigueThe performance decline that hits a winning ad creative over time as the target audience becomes saturated with it.UACTR (Click-Through Rate)The percentage of ad impressions that resulted in a click — a creative-quality metric and one of the inputs to ad-platform bidding optimization.UADemand-Side Platform (DSP)The advertiser-side platform for programmatic ad buying — handles audience targeting, bid optimization, creative serving, and reporting across multiple ad exchanges.UAeCPM (Effective Cost Per Mille)The revenue a publisher actually earns per 1,000 ad impressions — the publisher-side counterpart to CPM, after auction dynamics, fill rates, and floor prices.UAFill RateThe share of ad requests answered with a paying ad — filled impressions ÷ ad requests. A low fill rate means inventory is being requested but left unmonetized.UAFloor PriceThe minimum bid price a publisher will accept for a programmatic ad impression — below the floor, the impression goes unfilled (or falls through to lower-priority demand).UAFree Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST)Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV — linear, channel-style streaming services (Pluto TV, Tubi, Roku Channel) that are free to viewers and monetized entirely through advertising.UAGeofencingTargeting users with ads or messages based on a defined geographic boundary — serving creative when a device enters, dwells in, or has visited a specific area.UAHeader Bidding (In-App Bidding)A mediation approach where all demand sources bid simultaneously in a unified real-time auction — replacing the older "waterfall" model where networks were called in fixed priority order.UAInstalls Per Mille (IPM)The number of installs generated per 1,000 ad impressions — a creative-quality metric ad networks use to decide which ads to show more often.UAInterstitial AdA full-screen ad format shown between app sessions, level transitions, or natural break points. Forced-view (unlike rewarded video), so timing and frequency are critical.UAPillarLifetime Value (LTV)The total revenue (or gross profit) you expect a single user to generate over their entire relationship with the app — the denominator of every UA decision.UALookalike AudienceAn ad-platform audience-targeting feature that finds new users who resemble an existing seed audience — typically your high-LTV customers.UAMobile MarketingThe full discipline of acquiring, converting, and retaining users for a mobile app — spanning ASO, paid user acquisition, lifecycle/retention marketing, and analytics.UAMRAID (Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions)The IAB standard JavaScript API that lets interactive HTML5 ads run inside mobile app webviews — providing access to device capabilities (expand, resize, video, location) in a sandboxed way.UAMVPD (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor)A Multichannel Video Programming Distributor — a traditional cable or satellite company that bundles and delivers multiple TV channels via subscription, the incumbent being disrupted by streaming.UANative AdA mobile ad format designed to match the look and feel of the surrounding app UI — disclosed as advertising but visually integrated rather than interruptive.UAOrganic InstallsApp installs that come without direct paid advertising — App Store search, browse, web referrals, word-of-mouth, brand searches.UAOver-the-Top (OTT)The delivery of video content directly over the internet, bypassing traditional cable/satellite distributors — and the advertising channel that streaming creates.UAOwned MediaThe marketing channels a brand directly controls — its app, push notifications, email/CRM, website, and social profiles — as opposed to paid (bought) or earned (organic word-of-mouth) media.UAPaid UA (Paid User Acquisition)Mobile app user acquisition via paid advertising channels — Meta, TikTok, Google, AppLovin, ironSource, and other ad networks.UAPayback Period (CAC Payback)The time it takes for cumulative revenue from an acquired cohort to equal what you paid to acquire it — the moment a cohort turns cash-flow positive. A duration, not a ratio.UAPlayable AdAn interactive ad format that lets users play a 15-60 second mini-experience demonstrating the app — typically 2-5× higher IPM than video ads but more expensive to produce.UATrendingpLTV (Predicted Lifetime Value)A class of machine-learning models that predict a user's eventual lifetime value within hours or days of install, based on early-funnel signal — not observed multi-year revenue.UAPreloaded AppsApps installed on a device before the user receives it — through deals with device manufacturers (OEMs) or carriers — as an alternative distribution channel to the app stores.UAPrivate Marketplace (PMP)An invitation-only programmatic auction where a publisher (or curated group of publishers) makes premium inventory available to a select set of advertisers at agreed floor prices.UAProgrammatic AdvertisingThe automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory through real-time auctions, replacing direct deal-making between advertisers and publishers.UAReal-Time Bidding (RTB)The auction protocol underlying programmatic advertising — each ad impression auctioned in 50-150 milliseconds via the OpenRTB specification.UAReferral ProgramA program that rewards existing users for inviting new ones — typically with in-app credit, premium time, or content. The primary driver of viral-coefficient lift.UARetargetingPaid advertising targeted at users who already installed your app — typically aimed at re-engaging lapsed users or driving specific in-app actions.UARewarded VideoA video ad format that users opt-into voluntarily in exchange for an in-app reward (currency, lives, extra content). The highest-eCPM mobile ad format because the user actively chose to watch.UAROAS (Return On Ad Spend)Campaign revenue divided by campaign cost over a defined time window — the core profitability ratio for paid user acquisition.UAROI (Return on Investment)Net profit divided by total investment — the bottom-line profitability measure, distinct from ROAS because ROI nets out platform commission, cost of goods, and overhead.UASeasonalityThe predictable, calendar-driven cycles in install demand, ad costs, and conversion that recur across the year — and a core input to UA budget planning.UASupply-Side Platform (SSP)The publisher-side platform for programmatic ad selling — routes inventory to ad exchanges and manages floor prices, demand partners, and yield optimization.UATrendingValue-Based Optimization (VBO / VBB)Ad-platform bidding strategies that optimize toward predicted user value (LTV proxy) rather than just install count — major SANs all offer some version.UAVideo Ad Serving Template (VAST)The IAB standard XML format that defines how video ads are delivered from ad servers to video players — used by virtually every digital video ad in 2026.UAView-Through Rate (VTR)A metric capturing how often users who saw a video ad later took the desired action (or completed the view) — the key signal for non-clickable formats like CTV and video.UAViewability RateThe share of served ad impressions that were actually viewable — by the MRC standard, at least 50% of the ad's pixels in view for at least 1 second (display) or 2 seconds (video).UAViral Coefficient (K-Factor)The number of new users a single existing user brings in on average — the central metric of viral / referral-driven app growth.UAWeb-to-AppA user acquisition flow where users discover and engage with your product via web first, then are converted to install the mobile app — often with deferred deep linking to preserve context.