How the Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Ad Exchange Works [Infographic]
According to eMarketer, real-time bidding (RTB) ad spending was projected to reach $7.4 billion and account for 28% of total digital ad spending in 2016 — a figure that underscored just how central RTB had become to the programmatic ecosystem.
Originally built to move remnant inventory, RTB has long since expanded to cover the full spectrum of digital advertising — from remnant to premium placements. Most advertisers, digital marketers, ad tech vendors, and publishers have a reasonable grasp of why RTB matters, but fewer can clearly explain how the RTB ad exchange actually functions beneath the surface.
That's not surprising. The RTB ad exchange is a genuinely complex, virtualized process — one that unfolds in milliseconds and involves multiple platforms, data signals, and auction mechanics firing in sequence before a single impression is served. Because it all happens invisibly in the background, it can be difficult to picture without a clear visual guide.
The infographic below breaks down the mechanics of the RTB ad exchange in a way that makes the moving parts easier to follow.
