What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word programmatic advertising? I bet that word is Real-time bidding and if it is not, then you will probably have to reminisce about your definition of programmatic media buying.
Real-time bidding is a relatively new concept in the world of digital marketing but has already got itself positioned as one of the leading online advertising methods as it is fully automatic and fast. The whole process is completed within the blink of an eye: when the webpage is loading.
The main goal of this article is to enlighten you on a very important aspect of programmatic advertising — Real-Time Bidding (RTB). We’ll discuss how RTB has made the life of publishers and advertisers easier, how it works, and what are its advantages.
Before we get started, let’s go through a real-quick definition of programmatic advertising.
“Programmatic Advertising, also known as programmatic media buying, refers to the automated process of buying and selling online ad inventory that uses a real-time bidding mechanism without any human intervention.” It uses smart data insights and real-time algorithms to serve ads to the right user at the right time.
What is Real-Time Bidding?
Real-time bidding refers to the online buying and selling of ad inventory via real-time auctions facilitated by ad exchanges that occur simultaneously when the webpage is loading. It involves a Demand-side platform (DSP), Supply-side platform (SSP), and ad exchanges. The price of the ad impressions is determined on a real-time basis depending on what buyers are willing to pay, hence the name “real-time bidding.”
Many users think RTB is the same as programmatic advertising. This is not true since all programmatic platforms don’t use RTB for buying ads. RTB is a type of programmatic advertising. Alternatively, some media buying platforms allow publishers to sell their ad inventory for a fixed price, instead of auctioning it off which is sometimes referred to as programmatic direct.
How Real-Time Bidding works?
Real-time bidding seems complicated, but it’s a rather straightforward process. It initiates when an advertiser approaches the publisher’s website with ads. After which the website sends a request to the supply-side platform (SSP) stating that there is an opportunity to show the ad. The supply-side platform then analyzes the user-information through cookies (demographics, location, search history) and then passes it to the online ad exchange.
When the ad exchange gets the user info, it advances it to the demand-side platform (DSP). The DSP then produces bids on this impression in which the bid amount is pre-determined by advertisers as per their criteria. The advertiser who is willing to pay the highest bidding price wins and their ad is shown to the user. All of these actions are done within a fraction of a second (even faster than that) — while the user is opening a website.
Must Read: What Is Programmatic Media Buying- A Complete Guide
Why Opt for Real-Time Bidding?
There are many benefits of real-time bidding for advertisers:
- Provides a broader audience reach
- Targeted ads are shown to relevant audiences improving ROI
- Increased future conversion opportunities
- Efficient and result-driven campaigns
- Your ad is shown at the right time to the right user via real-time analytics
- Creates brand awareness among a new audience
- You can create retargeted ad campaigns with the help of gathered visitor data
- Users can see your ad on desktop, mobile, or tablet
Related: Benefits Of A Hiring White-Label Programmatic Advertising Agency
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Real-time bidding saves the ad buyers from directly working with publishers or ad networks to negotiate prices. Using exchanges and other ad-technology, they can access a huge range of inventory across a wide range of sites and choose the most relevant and valuable impressions for themselves. This not only cuts down the wasted impressions but also eliminates the need for costly media buying platforms involving human intermediaries.
About Us
Publicity Port is a leading white label digital marketing agency from Chennai providing re-sellable White Label Digital Marketing Services in-
Contact us today to monetize your digital marketing business by creating new revenue streams.
