As a marketing leader with experience at several different tech companies, I’ve become an expert at real-time bidding (RTB) for programmatic ads.
This process is often one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to purchase ad inventory online.
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But, even for experienced marketers, real-time bidding can be confusing. That’s why I wrote this article: to break down what RTB is, how it works, and the pros and cons of using it — in plain, jargon-free English.
Table of Contents
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- What is real-time bidding?
- Real-Time Bidding Terms to Know
- How does real-time bidding work?
- How much does real-time bidding cost?
- How to Measure the Success of Real-Time Bidding Ads
- Real-Time Bidding Platforms
- Real-Time Bidding Pros
- Real-Time Bidding Cons
Let’s get started.
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What is real-time bidding?
Real-time bidding (RTB) is a process by which companies buy and place ads online through automated auctions. RTB takes the work out of advertising by enabling advertisers to place hundreds or even thousands of ads online without needing to reach out individually to online publishers. This can take place in less than a second.
In a traditional media buying process, the marketer has to buy ads manually.
Let’s say I find a magazine that serves belgium telegram data my buyer persona. I ask the magazine publisher for their media kit, I choose the ad dimensions that fit my budget, and then I buy an ad for a certain amount of time. Once the time runs out, the ad is taken down.
Real-time bidding eliminates most of that work. With RTB, you can get space in that magazine — and hundreds of others — by letting a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) automatically choose the best publishers and ad spaces, and then bid on them for you.
You just set targeting parameters, such as maximum bid price and target audience. Then, the DSP uses these parameters to automatically determine where your ads are placed.
If you place the highest bid, the publisher accepts your ad automatically. Real-time bidding does all the bidding for you, so you don’t have to take any additional steps.
As Mandar Ambekar, founder and text services managing director of blueShepherd GmbH, explains, “The Real-Time Bidding process is like an auction, but it happens in the time it takes for a webpage to load. Advertisers compete to display their ads to a specific audience based on criteria like age, interests, or browsing behavior. The highest bidder wins, and their ad appears on the user’s screen.”
Real-time bidding is the driving force behind most programmatic advertising campaigns. Advertisers can buy ad inventory, place those ads online, and ensure that they get a certain number of impressions with their programmatic advertising campaigns.
Still confused? No worries. I’ll break down the concept of RTB and programmatic advertising further below.
