Digital marketing term
Run of Site
Ads that rotate across one site’s inventory without locking to a section or URL. The buy is wider than a homepage sponsorship and tighter than a network-wide run.
Detailed explanation
A publisher’s run-of-site package fills cheaper than a homepage or category lock. You keep that publisher’s audience, but a sports homepage and a buried column are not the same environment.
Fixed-unit control—leaderboard, right rail—fades; low-viewability slots mix in. If the brand needs a specific canvas, site-wide delivery is not enough.
Ask for placement and section breakouts. If CTR and viewability split between homepage and interiors, split the price too. One CPM for the whole site is a blind media plan.
Frequently asked questions
- Does ROS guarantee the homepage?
- No. It is site-wide. Homepage may be included, but it is not a locked premium unit. Buy that guarantee separately.
- When should you pick ROS over RON?
- When you want that publisher’s audience and not a scatter across a network. You still are not picking the page—only the site.
Related terms
Internal links for the topic cluster — read these concepts together.
- Run of NetworkAds that run across a network’s inventory without locking to a specific page: you skip site picks and the network fills what it can. CPM usually drops, and so does topical fit.
- Display AdvertisingBanners, native units, and other visual formats on sites and apps. Unlike search text ads, they show up before someone has typed a query into the box.
- PublisherThe party that owns the content and the ad inventory: a site, app, or show. Advertisers buy the impressions; this side sells the space and the audience.
- Ad SpaceThe placement where an ad sits, plus the inventory that slot can sell. A fixed unit, run of site, and run of network are not the same product.
- CPMCPM (Cost Per Mille) is the cost of 1,000 ad impressions; it is one of the most common media buying units.
- TargetingLimiting who sees an ad by demographics, interests, behavior, or a custom audience list. Tight targeting cuts waste; over-narrowing kills learning and scale.