# Programmatic advertising

Concept · [Business and metrics](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/business)

Also called: programmatic, ad tech, adtech, programmatic ads, real-time bidding, RTB

Buying and selling online ad space automatically through software, often in auctions that run in a fraction of a second as a page loads.

**For example:** When you open a news site, software auctions the ad slot to advertisers before the page finishes loading.

## Connects to (10)

- [Demand-side platform](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/demand-side-platform): Software that advertisers use to buy ad space across many websites and apps automatically, with targeting and budget rules.
- [Supply-side platform](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/supply-side-platform): Software that websites and apps use to sell their ad space automatically to many buyers at once.
- [Ad exchange](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ad-exchange): The digital marketplace where ad space from sellers is auctioned to advertisers in real time.
- [Data management platform](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/data-management-platform): Software that collects and organizes audience data, such as interests and past behavior, so advertisers can target groups of people.
- [Tracking pixel](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/tracking-pixel): A tiny invisible image or snippet of code on a web page or email that reports back when someone views it or takes an action.
- [Pay-per-click advertising](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ppc): Online ads where you pay each time someone clicks, most often shown beside search results.
- [CPM](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/cpm): Cost per thousand impressions.
- [Retargeting](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/retargeting): Showing ads to people who already visited your site or used your app, to bring them back.
- [Geotargeting](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/geotargeting): Showing ads or content only to people in a chosen place, such as a city or a few miles around a store.
- [Offline attribution](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/offline-attribution): Connecting sales or sign-ups that happen outside a website, such as in a store or over the phone, back to the ads that led to them.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/programmatic-advertising