The Programmatic Glossary
A practical glossary designed to help marketers, advertisers and ad-tech professionals understand the terminology that powers programmatic advertising
Monetisation
Ad Refresh
A technique where the ad displayed in a slot on a webpage is automatically replaced with a new one after a set period of time (for example, every 30 seconds) or after a user action, e.g. scrolling. This allows publishers to generate more than one ad impression per page view.
HOW IT WORKS
A publisher sets a timer or user engagement trigger on an ad placement. When the condition is met, the existing ad disappears and the system makes a fresh ad request, runs a new auction and loads a new ad. Each new ad counts as a fresh impression.
EXAMPLE
A sports website uses ad refresh on live match pages. While a fan watches a live score update, the banner ad refreshes every 45 seconds. One page visit can generate 4–6 impressions instead of just one, significantly increasing the page's revenue potential.
RELATED TERMS
Impression | Fill rate | CPM | Yield optimisation | Viewability
★ LIMELIGHT INSIGHT: Limelight's ARC (Adaptive Rules Centre) toolkit supports ad refresh strategies alongside dynamic floor pricing, helping publishers optimise revenue per session without compromising user experience.
