Online advertising is evolving at a rapid pace. Methods that worked fine just a few years ago are not as effective today. If you want to get the best possible returns from your online marketing efforts, you should explore the potential offered by real time bidding. Here is what you need to know about this process and what it can do for your revenue generation.

What is Real Time Bidding?

The function of real time bidding is to automate something that used to be done manually. Instead of pays for ad displays and impressions and going through the effort to figure out where to place them, the right RTB platform uses the marketing specifications you input and finds the right places to display those ads. The platform also makes use of the financial data you’ve supplied and bids on the ad placement without you having to intervene.

Consider the growth in real time bidding. Since 2013, at least one out of every five online advertising dollars was allocated to the use of RTB. In some industries, that average is close to three out of every five online advertising dollars. Without a doubt, more business owners are using this approach each year.

Ad Displays and Impressions That Reach Your Audience

A few years ago, your online marketing efforts focused on ad placement on various websites, email campaigns, and maybe even some online classified ad sites. While those are still viable, think of the other places you can reach your desired audience. Online gaming is stronger than ever and you certainly want to reach out to those users. There’s also the matter of having ads display to prospective customers on social media sites. Don’t forget the growth in text marketing over the last few years.

With the use of RTB, you can more efficiently determine where your ads need to be placed in order to reach the greatest number of targeted consumers. Instead of spending time evaluating the potential of a website or other online location, you get to specify the type of setting you want for your ads. That is much more effective than having to conduct constant evaluations in hopes of finding one or two new places to run your ads.

Controlling Your Marketing Costs

One of the other advantages of RTB is that you set how much you are willing to pay for each ad display. With a ceiling on the cost of each display, you are able to allocate your resources to better effect. In other words, you don’t end up making the mistake of using too much of your budget to display on a site that seems to be a good choice but ultimately does not produce the results you want. Instead, real time bidding makes it possible to target sites with established demographics and know you are reaching the right customers.

Improving Your Online Marketing Strategy

Another benefit of using RTB is providing feedback that is organized and helps you understand what appeals to the target audience and what needs to be revised or replaced. As you receive more information about how many ad impressions are generated and compare that to the sales figures tracked back to displays on each web page, you will know if the time has come to make some sort of change. That gives you the opportunity to move faster with those changes and make sure your AcuityAds are positioned to reach and appeal to the right target audience.

There’s a number of other benefits associated with real time bidding that you should explore. Whether you are with an international corporation or operating a small business, RTB can help you build an online reputation, reach the right consumers, and understand how to structure a campaign so that it’s more competitive in the ever-changing world of the Internet.