5 Elements Every Programmatic Strategy Should Have

First things first, you may be uncertain about what “programmatic advertising” means. We’re happy to break it down for you. Real-time bidding (RTB) is at the heart of programmatic advertising. Unlike traditional advertising methods where a fixed amount of advertising is purchased at a fixed price, RTB allows advertisers to participate in real-time auctions, serving the right ad to the right person at the right time. 

A robust programmatic advertising strategy is a carefully curated set of efficient processes and actions that your business will use to maximize the benefits of programmatic ads. Let’s explore the five key elements every programmatic advertising strategy should include. 

1. Solidify Campaign Objectives

When starting an advertising campaign, begin with a clear and reasonable outline of objectives. Consider what you aim to achieve with your programmatic advertising strategy. Do you want to boost website traffic, increase brand awareness, drive conversions, optimize performance, or reduce your cost per user acquisition? Answering these questions will help you create a more comprehensive strategy.

Another important factor to weigh in when outlining your campaign’s goals is your budget. Establishing a budget will help you determine the exact funds needed for the campaign and aids in efficient planning. We suggest leaving some wiggle room in your budget just in case you need to adjust your campaign if something unexpected occurs.

2. Embrace Real-Time Bidding and Bid Optimization

RTB and bid optimization are closely connected in programmatic advertising. Let’s break down their roles: 

• Real-time bidding is an automated process where software applications purchase ad inventory in real time for advertisers. 

• Bid optimization helps advertisers improve the RTB campaign performance by leveraging data and analytics to adjust bids for every impression. This optimization increases the likelihood of advertisers winning ad auctions and having their ads showcased to more viewers. 

Many factors are considered when optimizing RTB bids, including timing, users’ location and device, and their previous browsing history. By incorporating these elements, advertisers can create more targeted campaigns that are more likely to deliver desirable results. 

3. Use Different Targeting and Retargeting Strategies

To optimize your programmatic advertising strategy, it’s important to use a combination of targeting methods, including behavioral, contextual, and lookalike audience targeting. They can create a comprehensive advertising strategy. 

Behavioral targeting is a powerful tool to connect with potential customers who are more inclined to be interested in your product or service. Using this tool, advertisers can significantly increase their conversion rates by ensuring their ads are displayed to those likely to make a purchase. 

Contextual targeting is another helpful tool that considers the visitor’s current location when serving ads. For instance, if you’re an advertiser looking to promote your sunscreen company, you would focus on targeting visitors located in Miami Beach, a city renowned for its sunny and warm climate. 

Lookalike audience targeting is a unique method that allows advertisers to reach new visitors who resemble those who exhibit the same attributes as your existing website visitors. This method analyzes the common traits of your best customers and then sources similar individuals. 

Your programmatic strategy should also include retargeting. Retargeting works by displaying ads to those who have already visited your website or interacted with your brand online. This is made possible by placing a pixel on your site, which drops an anonymous cookie in visitors’ browsers.

By leveraging intent, demographics, and behavioral signals, advertisers can create more effective campaigns that guide potential customers from the upper funnel through the middle funnel to the low funnel, which is the purchasing stage. We recommend including all of these elements into your programmatic advertising strategy to experience optimal conversion rates. 

4. Strive for Creative Excellence

No robust programmatic strategy can succeed without ads that are both eye-catching and relevant. Creativity is crucial, especially considering the constant exposure audiences have to ads. A strong creative approach will help you stand out from the crowd!

At the beginning of your marketing journey, you should experiment with different creative types. Over time, you will notice which ones perform best. Take note of the top-performers through consistent testing, and make sure to prioritize those creatives.

5. Prioritize Brand Safety

If you don’t take the proper precautions, your ads can be displayed on inappropriate websites. This is why allowlists and blocklists are useful: They help prevent your ads from being shown on websites you wouldn’t want associated with your brand. Allowlists include reputable sites for displaying your ads, while blocklists include sites where your ads should never appear. 

Choosing the right DSP will help ensure brand safety, as many respected DSPs exclusively collaborate with authorized and reputable publishers. 

Turn Clicks into Conversions with AdRoll 

Mastering the essential elements to include in your programmatic advertising strategy is key to maximizing your ROI and targeting the right customers. By incorporating these five elements into your programmatic strategy, you’ll start achieving the initial goals you outlined in the introductory step.

At AdRoll, we understand that programmatic strategies can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why we help you seamlessly place online ads across an abundance of desktop and mobile inventory, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, Instagram, AppNexus, OpenX, and other leading exchanges and publishers. AdRoll’s programmatic platform engages with over 850 million shoppers every month. We can help you get started on building your programmatic strategy today!

Last updated on August 2nd, 2024.