How to optimise advertising campaigns with demand side platforms

DSPs: What they are and how they improve online advertising

Demand Side Platforms (DSP) are technological platforms that allow advertisers to buy and manage digital advertising spaces in an automated and real-time manner. Instead of negotiating directly with sites or networks, DSPs connect with multiple ad exchanges to bid for impressions in milliseconds. This is known as programmatic advertising.

By 2025, it is expected that 90% of digital advertising investment will be done programmatically. Its advantages include:

• Smart real-time bidding: AI automatically adjusts the price of each impression according to objectives, audience, and available budget.

• Multichannel reach: Allows access to inventory in display, video, social media, and even television, all from one interface.

• Precise segmentation: Targets micro-segments of the audience, based on demographic data, online behaviour, or even purchase intentions derived from CRM or data from associated platforms.

For SMEs, this translates into more efficient campaigns, avoiding irrelevant impressions and maximizing impact with every pound invested.

Benefits of using DSPs with integrated AI

The integration of AI greatly enhances the value of DSPs. According to IAB Spain, 72% of SMEs already use AI tools for digital advertising, being key to optimizing costs by up to 40%.

But what specific advantages does AI provide when combined with DSPs?:

• Automatic budget adjustment: AI learns in real-time which segments convert better and redirects funds towards them.

• Optimisation of bids and placements: Algorithms decide when and where to display ads to achieve the greatest possible impact.

• Dynamic creatives: Thanks to creative optimization, DSPs generate variations of ads (images, texts, formats) to test which style works best with each audience.

• Advanced prediction: Anticipate which users are more likely to convert or return on investment, helping to focus efforts on profiles with a higher probability of success.

• Total campaign automation: AI can handle generating the complete creative proposal, i.e., text, image, call to action, and its distribution.

Additionally, the IAB Spain report highlighted that 85% of Spanish SMEs attribute their growth to personalized digital advertising strategies, and 75% say it allows them to compete with large companies.

Simple steps and affordable platforms to get started

If you own an SME or are self-employed, implementing a programmatic demand platform (DSP) with artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be complex. These four steps are specifically designed to facilitate success in getting started:

1. Organise your data: Gather relevant information such as customer data, website visits, or purchase history. A CRM is a good starting point.

2. Choose an affordable and user-friendly DSP: There are self-serve solutions with accessible prices. Some recommended options include The Trade Desk or Display & Video 360 (by Google).

3. Define objectives and segment: Use your data to create customized audiences, whether by age, interests, purchase history, or cart abandonment. AI will optimize investment on these bids.

4. Launch pilot campaigns: Start with low-budget campaigns in display or networks. Then, let about two weeks pass for the algorithm to learn.

5. Improve with data: Finally, analyze metrics (cost per acquisition, conversions, ROAS return) and adjust creatives, segmentation, and bids according to machine learning. You can use Google Analytics to help you with obtaining and analyzing metrics.

Are you ready to boost your business with smart advertising? Access our content section to learn more about SEM strategy among others!