What is programmatic ad buying?

Programmatic ad buying refers to the automated purchasing of digital advertising space, typically done  in real time.

Instead of manually negotiating and purchasing ad spots, programmatic ad buying uses software, algorithms, and data to automatically optimize when and where to show ads to specific audiences across various channels (mobile, desktop, CTV, etc.)

This automation allows for more efficient ad targeting, but also can enable fraudsters to manipulate the system.

A When a brand uses a demand-side platform (DSP) to purchase ad space across various websites based on real-time data.

This includes targeting specific demographics, behaviors, or locations without manual negotiations.

Examples of programmatic ad formats include the following:

• Display banners: Ads placed on a website page to monetize the content on that web page. These ads normally stand out from the rest of the web page content and typically invite  users to act with a call to action.
• Video ads:  Video placements across OTT (Over-the-Top) platforms, websites, and CTV, including pre-roll ads in streaming services and embedded ads in digital content.
• Native ads: Paid ads designed to blend with the host platform’s look, whether on social media or website content, to enhance engagement.

Fraudsters can manipulate automated ad buying and selling processes to generate fake impressions, clicks, or conversions. Techniques include domain spoofing, ad stacking, and pixel stuffing.

This leads to wasted ad spend and skewed performance metrics, making it difficult for companies to trust their campaign results and optimize their ad strategies.

Ad fraud can be detected through multiple techniques with various levels of efficacy. Basic techniques include:

• IP and device filtering: Blocks traffic from suspicious IPs and devices.
• Frequency capping: Limits interactions from a single source to avoid repetitive fraud.
• Domain allowlisting: Ensures ads display only on approved sites.
• Post-bid verification: Confirms ad viewability and compliance after serving.
• Pre-bid filtration of fraud across mobile, desktop, CTV, and audio environments

More advanced solutions, such as HUMAN Ad Fraud Defense are able to take a more active role in ad fraud mitigation via

• Deterministic decisions delivered automatically through an API
• Actionable insights offering comprehensive view of fraudulent activity and a strategic blueprint for effective response
• Flexible integrations deliver detailed reporting via robust dashboards or data downloads for use within client systems
• A robust dashboard shows supply source compliance signals to a collection of industry standards

HUMAN sits at the heart of programmatic advertising—to protect with scale, speed, and decision precision.

HUMAN Ad Fraud Defense analyzes bid requests—before bid initiation—to help clients actively mitigate invalid traffic. With HUMAN, you also can:

• Prevent ad fraud with real-time pre-bid mitigation across environments in 12ms or less.
• Improve ad performance by safeguarding critical inventory across mobile, desktop, CTV, and audio.
• Eliminate fraud and increase transparency across all inventory to protect revenue.

Ad Fraud Defense is part of HUMAN’s Advertising Protection Package, a suite of solutions purpose-built to secure digital advertising.

• How bot defender uses HUMAN’s visibility advantage to stop sophisticated bots
• Ad fraud in audio: The promise and challenges of audio advertising
• How to stop the cycle of credential stuffing