The Programmatic Glossary
A practical glossary designed to help marketers, advertisers and ad-tech professionals understand the terminology that powers programmatic advertising
Technical Infrastructure
SDK (Software Development Kit)
A ready-made package of code that mobile app developers integrate into their app to enable advertising. Instead of building ad-serving functionality from scratch, developers drop in an SDK (Software Development Kit) and it handles everything: requesting ads, displaying them and tracking results.
HOW IT WORKS
The app developer downloads the SDK (Software Development Kit) provided by an ad network or SSP (Supply-Side Platform) and adds it to their app's code. When the app runs, the SDK automatically handles ad requests, rendering and reporting. SDKs communicate back to the ad network's servers to fill ad slots and record impressions, all happening invisibly within the app.
EXAMPLE
A mobile game developer wants to monetise their app. They integrate an SSP's (Supply-Side Platform) SDK (Software Development Kit). From that point, when users play the game, the SDK automatically serves banner ads, interstitials and rewarded video ads, filling them with relevant programmatic demand and reporting performance back to the publisher's dashboard.
RELATED TERMS
JavaScript Tag | Ad Server | SSP (Supply-Side Platform) | Prebid | Impression
★ LIMELIGHT INSIGHT: Limelight supports SDK (Software Development Kit) integrations for mobile app publishers, enabling programmatic demand to be served across in-app inventory alongside web-based placements.
