This article describes Authorized Buyers as an ad exchange that is an online, auction-driven marketplace where ad impressions are bought and sold in real time. Just like ad networks and yield managers, an ad exchange connects buyers with publishers looking to sell their ad inventory
Authorized Buyers can increase Return on Investment (ROI) through targeting, defined bids, defined budgets and frequency caps on inventory purchases. A real-time bidding system can let buyers use their proprietary data (for example, user data) and bidding technology for even more control over media spend.
Buyers have access to a real-time marketplace that helps buyers, such as ad networks, agency holding companies, and demand-side platforms maximize return on investment (ROI) across millions of seller sites. The sell side of the marketplace and inventory pool is for sellers to provide supply, and the buy side is for buyers to provide demand.
Who uses Authorized Buyers
Buyers who act as an ad network, trading desk, or demand-side platform can buy inventory. These companies must buy on behalf of multiple advertisers.
The most common buyers:
- Ad networks are companies that collect publisher ad space. They sell it to advertisers wanting to advertise in that space.
- Trading desks are divisions at agency holding companies that perform exchange buys for all the company’s agencies.
- Demand-side platforms (DSP) make buying across multiple exchanges easier and more transparent using sophisticated targeting capabilities and optimized algorithms. DSPs help advertisers and agencies determine the value of incoming impressions, and then place a bid to win that impression.
How Authorized Buyers works
Authorized Buyers can buy inventory for advertisers through real-time bidding.
Real-time bidding (RTB)
Using real-time bidding, buyers build their own system (called a real-time bidder) that connects to Google servers to get a constant stream of "callouts" or bid requests.
Examples
- When an impression becomes available on a seller’s site, Authorized Buyers sends all real-time bidders information about the impression and user. The real-time bidder analyzes it, selects an advertiser from the buyer’s base of clients, and then responds with an ad creative and bid for that advertiser.
- If the Authorize Buyers don't wish to bid, they can place an empty bid. The bid is then entered alongside all other bids in the auction.
This all happens within a few hundred milliseconds or in real time.
Note: Buyers can interact directly with the Authorized Buyers platform using the buyer API. Buyers can manage their large Authorized Buyers accounts and campaigns more efficiently and creatively with these applications.
The buyer API is an adaptation of the Google Ads API. If you're interested in using the buyer API, contact your account manager.
Authorized Buyers supports diverse ad buyer business models by providing multiple ways to access and buy impressions, including programmatically. Buyers can:
- Automate real-time bidding and manage creatives through the Buyer REST API.
- Bid for inventory in real time with applications using the Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Protocol.
Buyer REST API
The Buyer REST API allows buyers to access real-time bidding account information, submit and check the verification status of creatives, find available deals, retrieve pretargeting configurations, and performance reports.
Get started with the REST API.
Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Protocol
The Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Protocol specifies how your application can evaluate and bid on each impression as it becomes available in real time, in response to bid requests.
Get started with the Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Protocol.
Learn more about real-time bidding and how to access and buy impressions using an API.