What is Programmatic Advertising (in Plain English)?
- Josh Levine
- Jun 17
- 2 min read
Imagine hiring a super-fast, always-on marketing assistant who finds the best websites, apps, and times to show your ads to the right people—automatically, in real time. That’s programmatic advertising.
It’s how the big brands like Nike, Target, and Amazon buy digital ad space—but now it’s available to small businesses too, and we use it every day at Wise Roots.
Why Should a Small Business Care?
Because it can:
Put your ad in front of your perfect customer (even if they're not Googling you)
Show your ad on popular websites and apps your customers already use (like ESPN, Weather.com, or Words with Friends)
Use smart targeting to show your ad only to people who actually care—so you don’t waste money
Example: A local restaurant could show their ad only to people within 3 miles who are known foodies, frequently dine out, and have recently visited a competitor’s restaurant.
How It Works (Without the Jargon)
Here’s the simple 4-step breakdown:
You define your dream customer
Age, interests, location, behaviors (e.g., dines out, shops online, owns a pet, etc.)
The platform uses AI to find those people across the internet
Not just Google or Facebook—but thousands of websites and apps.
Your ads show up wherever they are online
Think banner ads, mobile ads, even digital billboards and TV.
It optimizes automatically
It stops showing ads in places that don’t perform well—and doubles down where it’s working.
Real Talk: What Makes This Better Than Boosted Posts?
Boosted posts on Facebook are like fishing with a wide net. Programmatic is more like a smart missile—targeted, data-driven, and always learning.
And the best part?
It’s all done for you.
We use tools like AdRoll, Simpli.fi, StackAdapt, and Google DV360 behind the scenes—so you don’t have to. You get more exposure, more clicks, and more calls… without becoming a marketing nerd.
Bottom Line
Programmatic ads = smarter ads.
They run 24/7, target exactly who you want, and waste less money. It’s how we get 6–8x returns for our clients.
Want to see what this could look like for your business?
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