Insertion Order
An insertion order, or IO, is an agreement between an advertiser or its agency and a publisher or ad seller to run a specific advertising campaign. It sets out what will run, where, and when, along with the price, the total cost, and the payment terms. Once both sides sign, it commits the publisher to deliver the ads and the buyer to pay for them.
Last updated: November 2026
What does an insertion order include?
- Parties: the advertiser, the agency if there is one, and the publisher.
- Flight dates: when the campaign starts and ends.
- Placements: where the ads run and in what formats.
- Volume: the impressions, clicks, or other units being bought.
- Pricing: the rate and model, such as cost per thousand impressions or a flat fee.
- Total cost and payment terms: what is owed and when.
Insertion order vs. purchase order
A purchase order is a buyer's internal document authorizing a purchase of any kind of goods or services. An insertion order is specific to advertising and records the details of the campaign itself. Some companies issue both: the insertion order for the publisher, and a purchase order for their own finance team.
Insertion orders in programmatic advertising
In ad buying platforms the term has a second meaning. In Google's Display & Video 360, for example, an insertion order is a container inside a campaign that holds a budget and dates, with line items underneath it. It organizes spend inside the platform. It is not a signed agreement with a publisher.
Do Google Ads and Meta use insertion orders?
Not for self-serve buying. An advertiser sets up campaigns in the platform and pays by card, or by monthly invoice on larger accounts. Signed insertion orders are used for direct deals with publishers and for other media bought outside self-serve platforms.
How insertion orders are paid
Publishers usually invoice after the campaign has run, on terms such as net 30. When an agency signs the insertion order, it can be the party responsible for paying, even if its client pays late. Some insertion orders address this with a sequential liability clause, which makes the agency liable only for what the client has paid it. This is one reason agency billing terms matter in media buying.
How Opal fits
Opal covers the two ways advertisers pay platforms directly. Its charge card works on Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, and other supported ad platforms, and Opal Ad Pay lets businesses pay Meta and Google invoices with a card instead of a bank transfer. See how Ad Pay works.
Frequently asked questions
IO stands for insertion order. It is the agreement that records the details of an advertising buy: the placements, dates, volume, price, and payment terms agreed between the buyer and the publisher.
Once both parties sign it, an insertion order is generally treated as a binding agreement. It often refers to a longer set of standard terms and conditions that cover cancellation, liability, and late payment.
The buyer and the seller. On the buying side that is the advertiser or, more often, its agency. On the selling side it is the publisher or the company selling the ad inventory.
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