Insertion order

What goes in an IO

• The advertiser, and the agency if there is one.
• Start and end dates.
• The placements, sizes and positions booked.
• The pricing model and rate: CPM, CPC or a flat fee.
• The quantity: impressions, clicks or time.
• The total budget.
• Targeting: countries, devices, sections.
• Creative deadlines and specifications.
• Whose numbers the bill is based on, the publisher's ad server or the advertiser's.
• Payment terms, such as net 30, and the cancellation terms.

The standard terms behind most IOs

An IO is usually a page or two of specifics that points to a longer set of standard terms. For years agencies used the IAB and 4A's Standard Terms and Conditions, Version 3.0, which covers cancellation, make-goods, reporting and payment. In December 2025 the IAB published new modular General Terms and Conditions, its first comprehensive update since 2010, with a common core and separate addenda for different kinds of deal. Large buyers often attach an addendum of their own on top.

What an IO costs a small deal

On a large campaign an IO protects both sides. On a $300 booking it is mostly overhead: drafting, signatures, a purchase order on the buyer's side, an invoice, a chase for payment and often a report assembled by hand at the end. The paperwork can take longer than the campaign runs, and small advertisers give up before it is finished.

When self-serve replaces it

A self-serve portal turns the IO into the booking itself. The advertiser picks the placement, dates, budget and targeting in a form, pays into a balance up front and accepts your terms by signing up. Delivery and reporting come from the same system, so there is no argument afterwards about whose numbers count. Keep the IO for the buyers who require one, usually agencies and larger brands.

How Pyrobid handles it

Advertisers book themselves in your portal: they set the campaign's dates, budget, targeting and bid, fund a balance and upload creative for your approval. Your own terms and privacy policy are published in the portal under your brand. When an agency insists on a signed IO, sign it as usual, take the payment their way, then issue a voucher for the amount and let the campaign run from that balance.