What is a Header Bidding Solution?
Header bidding is the programmatic technique of serving ads simultaneously to multiple SSPs or ad networks so the winning bid goes to the highest CPM. This is an alternative to the traditional waterfall method (or daisy chaining) of serving ads.
Set Up Hybrid Header Bidding
Adapex recommends a hybrid approach and Prebid setup, which most publishers now have. This allows you to combine a server-side header bidding solution with a client-side one for maximum efficiency and yield. With that in place and your Prebid setup, you can take advantage of the bidding wrapper features to really boost performance.
Benefits of Header Bidding
The benefits lie in the header bidding wrapper which offers key features to drive your ad revenue. Some of the features that can really drive revenue include:
- Smart Auto Refresh – increases ad impressions and can improve viewability and fill, leading to increased revenue from your web pages
- Lazy loading – decreases page load times and improves viewability (important for maintaining strong Core Web Vital scores.)
- Dynamic Ads Insertion – injects an ad onto a specific location on the page
- Device detection – automatically sends the properly sized ad units for the device
This ad tech increases demand for your inventory by creating competition among demand sources and selling the ad space to the highest bidder. Adapex clients who have implemented header bidding have seen their revenue grow 40-520%.
Publishers retain control of their inventory and can prioritize certain bidders in the auction. Additionally, publishers can also increase CPMs for their premium inventory for further revenue increases.
Ongoing Optimizations Drive Growth
The technology should be easy to implement, but it is important to regularly keep up with all updates and advances in Prebid versions and adapters. This will ensure that your site is primed to maximize revenue on your inventory.
Additionally, we recommend analyzing your data to improve performance and optimize yield. It’s also important to make sure you are providing the best possible user experience. It is helpful to understand how your content drives demand and who are the better partners for specific content or audiences.
Regular analysis of the metrics provided in the on-page console can lead to easy adjustments. Making these optimizations can really drive up your revenue. A few to consider:
- eCPM
- Bid rates
- Time outs
- Bid load time
- Bid rate
- Win rate
Monitoring the performance of bidders can help you identify the most valuable demand partners.
Header Bidding is Key to Maximizing Revenue
Many advances have been made to header bidder solutions in the past few years. It is the best way to optimize your monetization and drive as much revenue as you can, and there is no downside to implementing a solution. There are several partners (like Adapex!) who offer easily implemented tech and provide account services to keep your monetization on track. Make sure you are using a header bidder solution on every channel: display, mobile, in-app, and CTV.
To make header bidding work for your site, make sure you are using a best-in-class technology suite. It should offer a wrapper with the key features noted above and an on-page console to track your data in real-time. With these products in place, you will be able to make adjustments that will lead to better performance.
Basically implementing a comprehensive technology suite that includes not just a header bidder wrapper but all the components you need to accelerate your revenue is a game changer. This includes analytics, the wrapper, an on-page data console, and an identity axis. The Adapex m4 Tech Suite™ is sophisticated, yet easily implemented and gives you all the tools you need to stay current, and competitive.
