real time bidding (RTB)

Real Time Bidding (RTB) means real-time bidding. It is a term from online advertising in which ad impressions are marketed in real time in a bidding process. The advertiser with the highest bid for ad impressions can place its banner on the advertising space.

Similar bidding processes are familiar from text ads. However, there is a serious difference, which lies in the real time. If during the placement of an ad banner there is a higher bid from another advertiser, the ad server accepts the higher bid and places it. When the corresponding web page is called up, the banner with the higher bid is displayed to the banner.

The bid of the website participating in RTB bidding is fixed by a minimum price, which may not be undercut during bidding. The RTB process can react in milliseconds and thus display a different banner ad for each new user.

The RTB process can be controlled by budgeting based on the number of placements, times of day or days of the week. The technical effort required to implement Real Time Biddings is relatively high. However, the savings in switching costs can be significant.