What is Real Time Bidding

Real Time Bidding is an auction setting where ad impressions are sold and bought, and transactions take place in a blink of an eye. Once an advertiser’s bid wins the auction, their digital ad is instantaneously shown on the website or property of the publisher.

Supporting platforms such as Ad Exchanges and Supply Side Platforms are also used within the process. RTB auctions put the focus on impression-based bidding whereas static auctions tend to group impressions only allowing advertisers to bid on them in package deals.

Is RTB the Same as Programmatic Advertising?

While these two terms are used interchangeably, they are not the same. Real-time Bidding is a form of programmatic buying.

The programmatic ecosystem encompasses the means of RTB, but it also includes guaranteed direct buying, private exchange buying, and preferred deals. Programmatic includes all marketing campaigns that are involved in an offer which is supported by a supply-side platform and a demand by a demand-side platform . It simplifies the process of transactions by connecting the SSP and DSP entities.