What is programmatic advertising?
Programmatic advertising is buying ad space automatically through software instead of manual deals. Most of it happens through real-time bidding (RTB): each time a page loads, an auction decides within milliseconds which advertiser's ad is shown.
Real-time bidding in brief
An exchange sends a bid request for an ad slot; DSPs answer with a bid and an ad; the highest suitable bid wins; the winning DSP is notified and the ad is shown. The common standard for these messages is OpenRTB, published by the IAB Tech Lab.
Benefits
- Reach across many sites and apps from one campaign
- Targeting by country, device, content category and more
- Pricing that reflects demand for each impression
Watch-outs
- Invalid traffic: bots and fraudulent placements exist; look for filtering and evidence.
- Brand safety: use category controls and blocked-domain lists.
- Supply-path costs: each intermediary takes a share; fewer hops usually means more of your budget reaches the publisher.
Common questions
Is programmatic only CPM?
Exchanges usually trade on CPM. A DSP can still let you set a CPC or a cost-per-result goal and manage bids toward it.
What is a private marketplace (PMP)?
An invitation-only auction between selected publishers and buyers, often with better-known inventory and agreed floor prices.
Related
Try it on your own campaigns. Buy on CPC or CPM, set your goal, and see AAO recommendations from your real data.