RTB overview
3 min
real time bidding (rtb) is a core component of programmatic advertising rtb allows for the buying and selling of individual ad impressions in real time automated auctions think of it as a stock exchange, but for digital ad space how rtb works a step by step process the entire rtb process happens in the time it takes for a webpage or app to load here’s a breakdown of how it works step 1 advertiser side (demand side platforms – dsps) advertisers set up campaigns in a dsp, defining things like target audience, budget, bidding strategy, and ad creatives the dsp will build pieces of code called bidders, which are responsible for responding to the auction in a matter of millisecond step 2 publisher side (supply side platforms – ssps) publishers (like websites, apps, or ctv platforms) make their ad inventory available through ssps the ssp connects with multiple ad exchanges and dsps to maximize competition for each impression step 3 user visits a webpage/app when someone loads a webpage or app that has ad space, the ssp sends a bid request to the ad exchange this request includes details like user demographics (age, location, device, etc ) page content/context available ad slot size time of day step 4 auction in the ad exchange the ad exchange passes the request to multiple dsps each dsp quickly evaluates the impression against the advertiser’s targeting rules if it’s relevant, the dsp submits a bid (e g , $2 50 cpm) if not, the dsp skips bidding or send back a 'no bid' signal step 5 winning the bid and ad delivery the exchange runs a real time auction the highest bidder wins the winning ad creative is instantly sent back to the publisher’s page the ad loads alongside the webpage, and the user sees it within milliseconds—without noticing the auction happened behind the scenes although there are a lot of moving pieces, an rtb auction is extremely fast—in the range of 100 to 200 milliseconds (0 1–0 2 seconds) to put this into perspective it's faster than a blink of the eye! k ey players in the rtb ecosystem there are five key players in the rtb ecosystem here’s an overview \<font color="#f3f4f6">player\</font> \<font color="#f3f4f6">role\</font> \<font color="#f3f4f6">analogy\</font> publisher the owner of the website or app with ad space to sell the seller of a product supply side platform (ssp) a platform that allows publishers to manage their ad inventory and sell it to the highest bidder the seller's agent, who gets the product ready for sale ad exchange a digital marketplace that connects buyers (advertisers) and sellers (publishers) to buy and sell ad space the auction house where the buying and selling takes place demand side platform (dsp) a platform used by advertisers to buy ad impressions from exchanges and ssps in an automated way the buyer's agent, who helps them find and bid on the right products advertiser the company or individual who wants to buy ad space to promote their products or services the buyer who wants to purchase the product

