An Overview of Online Advertising: Concepts, Models, and Testing Practices

The author, who frequently tests advertising‑related business, shares insights from the book *Computational Advertising: Market and Technology for Internet Business Monetization*, focusing on the development history and basic concepts of online advertising.

Online Advertising Overview

Online advertising, also known as internet or web advertising, refers to ads placed on digital media targeting specific audiences and product‑oriented goals. Advertising involves a sponsor (advertiser), a supply side (media or platform), and an audience.

Common ad formats include banner ads, text‑link ads, rich media, video ads, social ads, mobile ads, and targeted email ads.

Evolution of Online Advertising

Initially, ads were sold via contracts granting exclusive placement for a period. As targeting improved and advertisers multiplied, contract sales gave way to the dominant real‑time bidding (RTB) model, where supply guarantees quality but not quantity.

Key terminology:

DSP (Demand‑Side Platform) : Allows advertisers to set audience, region, bid, etc.

ADX (Ad Exchange) : Open marketplace connecting publishers and advertisers, assigning value to each impression via RTB.

ADN (Ad Network) : Connects advertisers with web media, providing management, delivery, and monitoring services.

RTB (Real‑Time Bidding) : Advertisers bid for each impression in real time based on their audience definition.

Fundamentals of Computational Advertising

The effectiveness of computational advertising is illustrated by a diagram (omitted). Core issues revolve around revenue generation, with several billing models:

CPC (Cost Per Click): Charge per click.

CPM (Cost Per Mille): Charge per thousand impressions.

CPS: Charge based on sales orders, conversions, or ROI.

CPT: Exclusive time‑slot charging (a sales method rather than a billing model).

ROI (Return on Investment): Revenue generated divided by spend, often used in e‑commerce and gaming.

For mobile ad SDK testing, the author highlights key focus areas:

Polling request intervals.

Click‑through behavior (internal, external, download, deep‑link).

Different ad sizes.

Portrait/landscape switching.

SDK callbacks after integration.

Video ad testing includes checking:

Screen orientation handling.

Black or white screen occurrences.

Default sound state.

Multiple ad requests and proper playback.

Pause, early exit, and post‑playback behavior.

Accurate reporting ("ping" points) is crucial for revenue, especially under CPC and CPM models where each click or impression must be logged correctly; missed logs can lead to significant income loss.

The next article will delve into online ad product logic.

Qtest, the professional testing team under 360, promotes testing technology for web platforms.