Header bidding is similar to a super-advanced auction in which publishers can sell their ad space to several bidders before turning to ad servers for assistance. Assume you’re selling a really fantastic toy, and instead of asking one friend, you ask all of your friends at once. This allows you to see who is willing to pay the most!
What is Header Bidding?
Header bidding is a type of auction in which everyone has the opportunity to bid on an ad space at the same time, and the highest bid wins. This process is extremely fast, taking only a fraction of a second! To accomplish this, a little piece of code is uploaded to the page, allowing publishers to construct bids utilizing the browser’s resources.
What is a waterfall setup?
There was something called the waterfall setup before header bidding. It was like descending a ladder, each tier providing a different fee for ad space. However, there were several issues with this strategy. It took a long time, didn’t always provide the best value, and wasn’t always equitable. That’s when header bidding entered the picture and transformed the game. It allowed everyone to bid at the same time, making things far more transparent and fair.
Header Bidding Effects on Publisher Revenue
Header bidding has significantly increased publisher earnings. Some news websites have witnessed a 70%+ increase in earnings simply by introducing header bidding. Header bidding is used by around 80% of the top 1,000 US publications, according to reports.
How Header Bidding Works: Client-side vs. Server-side
Header bidding can occur on both the client and server sides. Client-side auctions take place in the user’s browser, allowing for more precise targeting. However, it may cause the webpage to load more slowly. The auction is done on a separate server server-side, which makes the webpage load faster but is less effective for targeting. Some publishers combine the two to get the best of both worlds.
Advantages of Header Bidding
Here are some of the benefits of header bidding:
1. Increased demand: When you have many demand partners, the rivalry for inventory grows, resulting in higher revenue.
2. Open exchange: Publishers may simply see which parts of their goods are sold to which demand partners.
3. Greater control: Publishers can change auction settings including the floor price and timeouts.
4. Minimal discrepancy: Concurrent auctions help to lessen discrepancy.
5. Advertisers benefit as well: Advertisers are also investing in inventory offered through header bidding.
6. Compete with Google AdX: Both AdX and header bidding partners can bid at the same time.
Disadvantages of Header Bidding
Header bidding is not without flaws. Header bidding can be difficult to set up and operate, and client-side auctions can cause the page to load slowly. There’s also the added cost of administering the auction, and the server-side solution is opaque.
Header Bidding and AMP
Header bidding is now compatible with AMP pages. AMP removes redundant JavaScript from web pages to make them load faster, but it also removes header bidding JavaScript. There are two approaches to this problem: real-time configuration (RTC) and wrapper-based integration. RTC is a Fast Fetch functionality that allows publishers to add up to five demand partners. Wrapper-based header bidding routes bids through a single RTC slot, allowing for more demand partners.
Video Header Bidding and Its Working
Video header bidding, like normal display advertisements, allows publishers to sell their video ad inventory to the highest bidder. Many existing wrappers, such as Prebid.js, can be set up to sell video inventory using both client-side and server-side auctions.
Google’s Response to Header Bidding: Open Bidding
Open Bidding is Google’s server-side version of header bidding. It provides publishers with a server-to-server auction, allowing them to employ both their own demand and Google’s demand. Publishers can use Google Ad Manager to execute header bidding and Open Bidding at the same time.
Amazon’s Header Bidding Solution: UAM and TAM
UAM (Unified Ad Marketplace) and TAM (Transparent Ad Marketplace) are two server-side header bidding technologies offered by Amazon Publisher Services. TAM is intended for large publishers, and UAM is intended for small to medium-sized publishers. For optimal results, Amazon advises combining UAM/TAM with Open Bidding and Prebid..
How to Set Up Header Bidding
Setting up header bidding entails multiple steps, including adding code to your site, selecting demand partners, and configuring auctions. It can be difficult, but there are resources available to assist you in getting started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is header bidding?
A1: Header bidding is an auction procedure in which numerous buyers have the opportunity to bid on ad space at the same time, resulting in a more equitable and transparent system for selling ad inventory.
Q2: What is a header bidding wrapper?
A2: A header bidding wrapper is a container that holds all of the code from various demand partners in one location, making the process more efficient and manageable.
Q3: What is the difference between client-side and server-side header bidding?
A3: The auction occurs on the user’s browser in client-side header bidding, whereas it occurs on a separate server in server-side header bidding. Client-side targeting allows for more precise targeting but can slow down page load times, whereas server-side targeting is faster but less effective.
