What role does real-time bidding (RTB) play in online advertising?

Real-time bidding (RTB) is a fundamental aspect of the programmatic advertising ecosystem, where digital ad impressions are bought and sold in real-time through a competitive auction process. When a user visits a webpage, an ad request is sent out, which triggers a bidding process among advertisers interested in reaching that specific user at that moment. Each advertiser can submit a bid based on how much they are willing to pay for that impression, and the highest bid wins the right to display their ad to the user.

This mechanism allows for efficient and dynamic ad placements tailored to the individual user’s profile and context at that precise moment, optimizing the chances of engagement. As a result, advertisers can leverage extensive data insights to target audiences more effectively, maximizing return on investment. This is why the option that describes the auctioning of ad impressions in real-time directly captures the essence of RTB, making it the correct choice.