Understanding Mobile Marketing — Key Terms Every Marketer Should Know

Today, discussing growth, performance, and user acquisition requires familiarity with technical concepts that directly impact business results.

This quick guide explains, clearly and objectively, the main terms that appear in day-to-day mobile campaigns.

What is an Ad Server?

An ad server is a software platform responsible for storing, managing, delivering, and measuring digital advertising campaigns.

In simple terms, it:

• Stores different ad campaigns and variations
• Hosts creatives (images, videos, audio, banners)
• Selects which ads are served
• Determines where and to whom ads are shown
• Measures campaign performance

Two main types of ad servers:

• 1st-party ad server (publisher side)
Used by publishers to control where and how ads are displayed across their websites or apps.

• 3rd-party ad server (advertiser side)
Used by advertisers and agencies to centralize and manage campaigns across multiple networks.

How to choose the right ad server?

There are many ad servers available. The best choice depends on:

✔ Your marketing scope
✔ Required integrations
✔ Optimization needs
✔ Time and resources available for management

What is a DSP (Demand-Side Platform)?

A DSP enables advertisers to buy media programmatically and automatically by connecting brands to the real-time auction ecosystem. DSPs often integrate with a Data Management Platform (DMP) to add behavioral data, audience segments, intent signals, contextual and demographic targeting.

DSPs act as the engine of media buying, translating marketing goals into automated bidding decisions and allowing:

✔ Real-time inventory buying
✔ Multi-exchange campaign management
✔ Data-driven optimization
✔ Advanced targeting

Bonus: What is an SSP?

An SSP (Supply-Side Platform) is the technology publishers use to manage, make available, and monetize their ad inventory.

👉 The SSP offers inventory
👉 The DSP bids on that inventory
👉 The auction winner serves the ad

What Are Active Users? (DAU, WAU, MAU)

In mobile marketing, active users represent the number of unique users who engaged with an app during a specific time period.

Common metrics:

✔ DAU – Daily Active Users
✔ WAU – Weekly Active Users
✔ MAU – Monthly Active Users

These help measure engagement, campaign performance, and retention. Before measuring, define what qualifies as “active” and choose the period to monitor.

What is Real-Time Bidding (RTB)?

RTB is the process of buying and selling ad impressions in real time through automated auctions.

It’s called “real-time” because everything happens extremely fast — between the moment a user opens a page/app and the ad appears..

How it works:

1️⃣ User opens app/site
2️⃣ Impression becomes available
3️⃣ Advertisers bid via DSP
4️⃣ Highest bid wins
5️⃣ Ad is shown

What is Deep Linking?

Deep linking directs users to a specific piece of content inside an app or website from channels like web, email, SMS, social, QR codes, or referrals.

There are two common scenarios:

✔ User already has the app → goes straight to content
✔ User doesn’t have the app → deferred deep linking (install → content)

Deep linking improves UX/CX, increases conversions, and boosts engagement.

What is Mobile Attribution?

Consumers interact with brands across multiple touchpoints (ads, searches, influencers, social media, and more). But how do brands know which interaction actually drove the conversion? That’s what mobile attribution solves.

✔ Which channel drove the install?
✔ What led to the purchase?
✔ Which campaign brought higher-LTV users?

Attribution goes beyond installs — allowing brands to measure purchases, registrations, subscriptions, in-app events, and more.

Measuring Mobile Advertising

What is OEM Advertising?

OEM Advertising refers to ads shown in inventory directly connected to smartphone manufacturers, allowing brands to reach users at key device touchpoints through preloads, app recommendations, and native placements.

Benefits include:

✔ Massive reach
✔ High visibility
✔ Moments of user intent
✔ Less saturated environments

Understanding these terms isn’t just a technical matter — it’s a growth strategy.

Those who master these concepts buy media more intelligently, optimize campaigns with greater precision, and scale more efficiently.

Want to learn more?

Talk to Admitad 🚀