What the Heck are Programmatic Display Ads?

Have you ever visited a website, and then noticed ads for it are following you around the internet? That’s programmatic advertising in action. It’s a powerful tool that’s like having your own personal digital marketing robot that helps you put your ads in the right places online.

But what even is it?

To learn what programmatic ads are, how they work, and how they can help your business, read on.

What is programmatic advertising, and how does it work?

“Programmatic” means it’s programmed to buy and sell ad space automatically, without you having to lift a finger. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how it works:

1. Ad Request

First, there’s the ad request.

When you visit a website that has open ad space, that triggers a request to show you an ad. The request includes information about you like your location, demographics, and what device you’re using.

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2. Ad Exchange

That ad request is sent to an ad exchange, which is basically a real-time market where ad spaces are bought and sold. The details about you that are included in the request help advertisers decide which ad spaces to bid on.

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3. Real-Time Bidding (RTB)

Then advertisers like you place bids on that available ad space. This is like having a personal shopping robot that automatically finds and buys the best advertising spaces at the best prices.

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4. Ad Placement

Finally, the winning bid gets immediately sent back to the website, and boom, the ad pops up on the page you’re visiting!

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This sounds like a lot of steps, but it all happens in the few seconds while the web page is loading.

Imagine if we had to sit there and wait to make those bids ourselves; that’s why the programmatic part is so game-changing.

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What Are the Benefits of Programmatic Display Ads?

Now that you understand how programmatic ads work, why are they so helpful for business owners?

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1. They're Cost Effective

Programmatic ads automate all those tasks we were talking about, from ad placement to targeting the right potential customers.

You don’t have to do this manually anymore, which means not only do you get more time back, but it’s way more cost-effective when you don’t have to figure out which ad space to buy.

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2. They Use Super Specific Targeting

These ads are “programmed” to target your customers super precisely.

It uses data about your website visitors, like their demographics, interests, and browsing history, to make sure your ad is being shown to the right person in the right place, bringing you better leads and more customers.

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3. They Give You Tons of Transparency

Since it’s all handled by your friendly neighborhood ad robot, the process of buying and selling ad space is transparent. Plus, you get detailed reporting and real-time insights into your ads and how they’re performing.

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4. You Get Great Optimizing & Reporting

After your ad gets shown, the programmatic platform collects that data about the potential customer, and how they interact with your ad. Then it takes that data and makes your future ads even more hyper-targeted.

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Start Using Programmatic Ads with EZMarketing

I know as a small business owner, you need results to maximize your marketing dollars and reach more customers. Programmatic ads are powerful and cost-effective.

If you want to learn more about programmatic ads, schedule your FREE consultation. We're happy to walk you through it and talk about how we can grow your business.