Digital advertising lives in a fast-paced world. This means buyers have to keep up with it. Real-time bidding, or RTB, is the best way to do this. RTB has become a revolutionary tool for targeting the right audience and connecting ads to the right person.
But without data, real-time bidding wouldn’t exist. That’s why companies that offer advertising solutions like Pathlabs programmatic ad solutions are so helpful. But first, we need to understand what RTB is.
What Is Real-Time Bidding?
RTB can happen in literal milliseconds. This automated response allows advertisers to put accurate bids on impressions in real time. An impression happens when a user visits a particular webpage or an app. Real-time bidding triggers an auction for the space the user is occupying. This allows the company to display its ad, and the highest bid will win that impression of the user.
How does this help the advertiser? RTB leverages the data to make sure that ads are getting in front of the right audience so it produces engagement. This is how the right audience gets targeted.
The Role of Data with RTB
Now that we understand how RTB works, let’s dive into the role of data. Ultimately, AI has driven data to be more digestible because of it’s ability to sort through it faster. Because of this, a few things hinge on the role.
Audience Segmentation
Advertisers will need data to segment their audience when targeting the right clientele. This is done through three types of primary data.
- First-party data is when the information comes straight from the consumer. This typically includes purchase history, email engagement, and website behavior tracking. This helps make predictive analysis about the consumer’s immediate decision-making.
- Third-party consists of an external provider giving information on specific demographics and interests. It allows for a deeper understanding of what drives and influences the consumer.
- Contextual data gives insight into how the content is being viewed and helps guide the ads to be relevant. Using context helps advertisers fill in the blanks and gaps the other data can’t provide.
By honing in on these three key areas, advertisers can make ever dollar count.
Real-Time Insights
Because the data is collected in real time, advertisers can adjust their ads. This is how bids become dynamic. In years past, companies had to spend, wait, and find out whether their dollars were well spent. Now, they can make micro-adjustments to increase efficiency.
Behavioral Targeting
Ads go hand-in-hand with behavioral data. Behavior data looks at the actions of website users to determine what they are interested in and are not. This may include their search history, what they are clicking on, and past purchases.
Machine learning often interprets this data so that advertisers can try to make educated guesses on what will interest their audience. This is a big part of the AI push to simplify jobs.
Cross-Device Targeting
Many people have a computer and a smartphone. They may also have an iPad or another device. Ads that cross-device targets look at the different behaviors on different devices to increase the effectiveness of their strategy.
This improves consistency across messaging and advertising. It also allows for better targeting if specific decisions are more user-friendly than others.
Data Strategy and RTB
When it comes to incorporating data strategy, a lot less can go wrong with the process of real-time bidding. However, choosing the wrong company that doesn’t have the best data can lead to inconclusive results.
Companies that have experience with concepts like programmatic advertising are the companies that can run the process correctly. Without the right technology or data, RTB is non-existent because you may be bidden on incorrect data.
The key is to focus on quality measurements rather than quantity. In today’s world, this may seem like outdated advice. However, it is advice that will get the most accurate and efficient results. In today’s world, this may seem like outdated advice. However, it is advice that will get the most accurate and efficient results.