Everything You Need to Know About Programmatic Purchasing

Programmatic buying is an automated, technological approach to buying and selling advertising space online. Traditionally, in advertising deals, advertisers negotiated directly with publishers or platforms. However, today, these purchases use algorithms and automated systems to carry out advertising transactions in real-time.

Steps of a programmatic purchase

This process involves several steps:

Target audience identification: Advertisers define their target audience using demographics, interests, and online behaviors.

Auction in real-time: When a user loads a web page, an auction is started in real time ( Real Time Bidding ). In it, advertisers compete to show their ads to the user based on their profile.

Automated Decision Making: Algorithms evaluate available user information and ad relevance to determine which bid is most likely to win the auction.

Show the ad: Once the winning bid is selected, the ad is shown to the user. All this in a matter of milliseconds.

Measurement and optimization: After displaying the ad, data about its performance is collected. For example, clicks, conversions, and engagement metrics. This data is used to adjust and improve future advertising strategies.

Benefits of programmatic purchasing

Programmatic buying offers several significant benefits for advertisers and publishers in online programmatic advertising. Some of the key benefits include:

Efficiency: Programmatic buying automates much of the ad buying and selling process, reducing the need for manual trades and streamlining the transaction process.

Precise targeting: Allows advertisers to target particular audiences based on demographics, online behaviors, interests, and other factors. This increases the likelihood of reaching people more interested in the advertised products or services.

Real-time: These are done in real time, which means ads are shown to users at the right time and in the proper context. This can increase the relevance and effectiveness of your ads.

Continuous optimization: Algorithms and programmatic systems collect real-time data on ad performance. This information is used to adjust and optimize ongoing advertising campaigns, improving effectiveness over time.

Greater transparency: Programmatic purchases provide greater visibility in the purchasing process and campaign results. Advertisers can track where their ads are shown, how many impressions they receive, and how they translate into actions (clicks, conversions, etc.).

Other particularities of programmatic purchases

Access to diversified inventory: Advertisers have access to a wide range of websites, apps and online platforms where they can display their ads. This allows them to reach different audiences in various contexts.

Cost savings: By automating the ad buying process, programmatic buying can reduce the costs associated with human brokerage and traditional negotiations.

Flexibility and agility: Advertisers can adjust their real-time advertising strategies based on audience response. This allows you to quickly adapt to market or public preferences changes.

Preventing ad fraud: Programmatic technologies can also help detect and prevent fraudulent activity online. For example, fake clicks or fraudulent impressions. In this way, the aim is to protect advertisers’ advertising investment.

Taken together, these benefits make programmatic buying an attractive strategy for advertisers looking to maximize the impact of their online ad campaigns and improve the efficiency of their ad spend.

Programmatic Ad Formats

Several programmatic ad formats allow advertisers to reach their audiences effectively.

Main formats in programmatic

Some of the most common formats include:

• Display Ads: These are visual ads displayed as static or animated images on websites and apps. They can appear in different sizes and locations on the page, such as banners, rectangles, or pop-ups.
• Video Ads: These are displayed before, during or after video content on platforms such as YouTube, websites and applications. They can be pre-roll (before the video), mid-roll (in the middle of the video) or post-roll (after the video) ads.
• Native Ads: These ads integrate organically with the surrounding content, making them less intrusive and more relevant to users. They can be sponsored articles, social media posts, or related content recommendations.
• Social Media Ads: Advertisers can use programmatic buying to display ads on social media platforms. For example, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. These ads can range from images and videos to promoted posts and News Feed ads.

Other relevant formats

• Rich Media Ads: These interactive ads offer more functionality than standard display ads. They can include sprawling videos, interactive surveys, mini-games, etc. All of this increases user engagement.
• Audio Ads: Audio ads play on music and podcast streaming platforms. They can be pre-roll ads on music platforms or interspersed between podcast segments.
• Search Ads: Although less common, purchasing programmatic ads on search engines is also possible. These ads are displayed in search results based on specific keywords.
• Ads in Mobile Apps: Advertisers can display ads in mobile applications. These can be banners, interstitial video ads (full screen between content transitions), or native ads.

Each format has its advantages and challenges, and the choice of format will depend on the objective of the campaign, the target audience, and the platform on which the ads will be displayed. The right combination of programmatic ad formats can help advertisers achieve their advertising goals effectively.