what is rtb

Real-time bidding (RTB) is a form of programmatic advertising that allows for the buying and selling of digital ads in real time. When users go to a website or mobile app, a real-time auction is conducted where advertisers bid and compete for an ad space. If the advertiser has the highest bid in the auction, their ad is displayed on a publisher’s website or mobile app. RTB is a per-impression way of bidding, whereas static auctions are groups of up to several thousand impressions. RTB lets advertisers manage and optimize ads from multiple ad-networks, allowing them to create and launch advertising campaigns, prioritize networks, and allocate percentages of unsold inventory, known as backfill. RTB is promoted as being more effective than static auctions for both advertisers and publishers in terms of advertising inventory sold, though the results vary by execution and local conditions.