Definición:
RTB (Real Time Bidding) consists of an auction in which ad impressions are sold and bought and transactions are made in just seconds. When the advertiser succeeds in winning an auction, its advertisement is instantly displayed on the website in question.
For the execution of the RTB, there are support platforms such as Ad Exchange and Supply Side Platform (SSP).
How Real Time Bidding (RTB) works
When a user visits a website, the Ad Exchange receives a bid request that includes demographic information, geographic location and browsing history data. This request is sent to a list of advertisers who compete in real time to place their ads on the page. These transactions occur in milliseconds, allowing the highest bidder’s ad to be displayed by the time the page finishes loading.
For example, when accessing a digital newspaper, RTB auctions take place while the page is loading. When the loading finishes, the ads you see are those of the advertisers who won the auction at that moment.
Advantages of RTB
RTB offers multiple benefits to advertisers and publishers, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of advertising campaigns:
- Precise targeting: allows advertisers to target specific audiences using demographic and behavioral data, ensuring that ads reach the right audience.
- Cost efficiency: advertisers only pay for impressions that actually meet their targeting criteria, optimizing ad spend and maximizing ROI.
- Real-time optimization: campaigns can be instantly adjusted based on performance and metrics, allowing for rapid adaptation to market conditions.
- Access to global inventory: RTB allows advertisers to access a wide range of advertising space around the world, increasing the potential reach of their campaigns.
RTB Challenges
Despite its advantages, RTB presents several challenges for advertisers to consider:
- Transparency: advertisers often face difficulties in gaining a clear understanding of where and how their ads are displayed, which can complicate performance evaluation.
- Ad fraud: the risk of fraudulent impressions and false clicks can affect ROI, requiring additional verification and security measures.
- Data privacy: the use of personal data in segmentation raises privacy and compliance concerns, especially with regulations such as GDPR.
- Technological complexity: the implementation and management of RTB campaigns can be technically complex, requiring specialized expertise and resources.
RTB applications
RTB is used in a variety of contexts to maximize the impact of digital advertising:
- Programmatic advertising: integrates RTB to automate the buying and placement of ads on multiple platforms, optimizing the media buying process.
- Retargeting: allows advertisers to retarget users who have previously interacted with their website or content, increasing the chances of conversion.
- Multi-platform campaigns: facilitates the distribution of ads on mobile devices, computers and other digital media, ensuring a consistent presence across all channels.
- Creative optimization: RTB allows you to test different versions of ads to identify which ones generate the best response, continuously improving creative effectiveness.
Platforms, tools and key technologies in RTB
The Real Time Bidding (RTB) ecosystem is based on a series of technological tools and platforms that facilitate the buying and selling of advertising space in real time. Some of the most important tools used in RTB are described below:
- Ad Exchange: is the central platform where ad auctions take place in real time. It acts as a digital marketplace that connects advertisers with website publishers.
- Supply Side Platform (SSP): allows publishers to manage and optimize the ad inventory they have available to sell, maximizing their revenue by connecting to multiple Ad Exchanges.
- Demand Side Platform (DSP): used by advertisers to automate the purchase of advertising space. It facilitates participation in RTB auctions, allowing advertisers to bid for impressions based on specific criteria.
- Data Management Platform (DMP): collects and analyzes large volumes of audience data, allowing advertisers to segment and target their campaigns more effectively.
- Trading Desk: is a specialized service that manages programmatic advertising campaigns, optimizing the use of DSPs to achieve advertisers’ objectives.