Real Time Bidding - Everything You Need to Know

The Internet: It's the only place where new content appears constantly, social shares find their way around the globe in a matter of seconds and advertisements appear in front of the people most likely to pay attention to them. It seems like the whole thing runs on autopilot, but there have to be humans at the helm, right?

Not necessarily.

Sure, there are still people creating content and designing the websites you see online, but behind the scenes, technology has taken the reins on certain parts of the web—particularly where advertising is concerned. Welcome...to real time bidding! Read on to find out more.

What is Real Time Bidding? 

Real time bidding (RTB) uses programmatic advertising technology to put ads in front of audiences at the exact moment they’re relevant. Technology can take care of the ad-bidding process quickly and efficiently, and it's able to place bids on ad space anytime, anywhere.

How Does Real Time Bidding Work?

1. Buyers want ad space. Marketers get into a virtual line by way of demand-side platforms (DSPs), which automate the purchase of ad space on behalf of the parties who are interested in grabbing the next available piece of cyber real estate. The DSPs know the buying parameters they're allowed to look for when the auctions begin and also monitor campaign performance, in order to optimize the impressions most valuable to them.
2. The auction occurs. Publishers stock up ad exchanges with their impressions and open the gates so the bidding can begin. The supply-side platforms (SSP) then work to automate the sale of ad space while simultaneously driving the prices as high as possible. This part of the process is often described as a stock exchange. All the DSPs are grabbing at the chance to get the most efficient, prominent, and attractive ad space, whereas the SSPs are looking for the highest price. The bids keep going up automatically until the DSP with the biggest budget hits the top bid.
3. The ad is posted. Once the auction is over, the winning ad is posted on the publication, app, network, feed, or site. It all happens in milliseconds. In fact, RTB goes from start to finish in less than 200 milliseconds. It takes 300 milliseconds for you to blink. In other words, it’s all said and done in less than the blink of an eye—literally.

How Does RTB Benefit Advertisers?

When ad buying is handled manually, it’s easy to waste impressions because there’s only so much people know about their audiences at the time ad space becomes available. RTB, on the other hand, allows for more automation—robots spend time familiarizing themselves with the behaviors of consumers and instantly know which impressions are going to be the biggest wins for their brands.

Real Time Bidding enables advertisers to:

• Reap the benefits of efficient spending
• Optimize impressions
• Enjoy narrowed targeting
• Gain new insights and trends based on buyer behaviors

Ultimately, RTB is a win-win benefit for all sides of the advertising process, as it allows for more efficient buying and selling across the board. Basis facilitates programmatic advertising and real-time bidding from a unified platform. We're excited to show you all that Basis can do—connect with us and get started today!