In today’s competitive advertising landscape, publishers might feel that they need to jump through fire hops to increase their revenue. Not to mention that traditional ad-selling methods are often daunting, but there is no need to stress out.
Luckily, as the technology progresses, multiple options, such as the Heade Bidding solutions, are on the market.
As a result, in today’s article, we will explore everything a publisher needs to know about Header Bidding solutions.
Starting from what this emerging concept is until discovering the many types and how each solution could help increase revenue.
So, let’s jump in!
What Is a Header Bidding Wrapper?
Header Bidding is a monetizing method in which publishers sell their inventory and ad impressions within their website or app by collecting multiple bids from different demand sources.
This approach is an alternative to the waterfall method, which will be discussed later.
For now, it is essential to understand that Header Bidding is a Programmatic Advertising method in which sellers offer their ad impressions to multiple demand platforms, such as ad exchanges, ad networks, demand-side platforms, and supply-side platforms, simultaneously through real-time auctions.
As a result, there is increased competition, besides the potential high revenue such methods impose.
Furthermore, it’s essential to understand that not all Programmatic Advertising solutions involve Header Bidding. Companies like Sevio offer Real-Time Bidding solutions, the core component of the programmatic niche, and part of the Open Real-Time Bidding protocol.
What is striking is that in October 2023, 1M large traffic websites, 3.3%, were using Header Bidding technologies, which also applies to 10% of the top 100,000 websites and 15% for the top 10,00 platforms.
So, these key insights give us a glimpse into the future of advertising and Header Bidding wrappers.
How the Header Bidding Wrapper Works
Header Bidding, advanced bidding, pre-bid, or pre-bidding works based on a JavaScript code snippet implemented within the header’s page and signals all demand platforms to bid on it before ad servers.
As each demand platform, whether a DSP (Demand Side Platform), SSP (Supply Side Platform), Ad Exchange, or Network, places its bid, the Header Bidding collects them and chooses the highest-paying one within a predetermined time frame. Usually, the process takes up to milliseconds.
Once the selected bid is passed to the publisher’s ad server, the server retrieves the advertiser’s creatives, deliverables, or ad content.
Indeed, you could say that many actions occur within split seconds, yet everything is done automatically. So, it is essential to understand that all sources simultaneously participate in the auction.
The Header Bidding Vs. The Waterfall Bidding
The Header Bidding technology is an upgrade to the waterfall bidding process, whereby the ad inventory is only sent to one demand source at a time.
Moreover, the highest bid should be above the publisher’s floor price; consequently, the ad inventory is sent to the following demand source. As you guessed, this method is done repetitively until the inventory is sold, and as you all think, it is a time-consuming process.
Additionally, this legacy bidding method imposes some downfalls:
1. Missing Revenue Opportunities
Since the bidding is chosen based on the consideration of the next highest bidding price above the floor price set by the publisher, there are many opportunities to be lost since the inventory is sold before it gets to it.
So, missing potential revenue is one big pitfall, yet it also depends on different factors such as demand sources, floor prices, and competition.
2. Lower Revenue
Another aspect is that the ranking system is usually determined by the size of the network rather than the incentive that an advertiser pays for a bid.
3. Slow Loading Speed
The more demand sources a publisher sends its ad inventory, the longer it will take to load.
So that’s why Header Bidding improves all these pain points, creating an open auction where multiple demand sources bid on the same ad inventory simultaneously. This method caters to price competition, thus leading to increased revenue.
The Location of the Auction
The workflow could happen on the server-side Header Bidding or the client-side Header Bidding. A publisher could choose based on its business strategies and preferences.
But let us explain it in detail.
1. The Client-Side Header Bidding
This process is done within the web browser of the publisher, thus opening up page latency downsides and deprecating user experience due to low computational memory.
Header Bidding demands high memory to process all the data that goes back and forth between publishers, SSPs, DSPs, and other Ad Tech platforms.
As such, any publisher would want to keep their loading speed short, so this is how the server-side Header Bidding was born.
Setting a client-side Header Bidding is more straightforward and doesn’t require much aid or maintenance on the publisher’s part.
2. The Server-Side Header Bidding
As the name says, this request addresses latency issues from a central server. However, a publisher could need more transparency since the auction is done directly on the server.
Moreover, the server-side Header Bidding limits cookie matching, meaning the amount of data passed to demand partners is limited, thus limiting the effectiveness of targeted advertising.
Not to mention that the setup could be more complex, opening up questions like purchasing a server or using 3rd-party cloud services.
5 Benefits of Header Bidding Solutions
1. Better Management
Since publishers can oversee and control which sources participate in the bidding, they have increased control, prioritizing specific advertisers.
2. Reach a Broader Advertiser Audience
It’s helpful for publishers to diversify their advertisers and not rely on what comes first — choosing businesses based on certain factors, such as revenue, adaptability, etc.
3. High Ad Quality
Here comes into place the niche and target audience of the publishers. As a result, advertisers in line with the publishers’ target audience will pay more.
Additionally, increased competition could result in higher ad quality and relevance.
4. Enriched Revenue
Since publishers can simultaneously make their inventory available to multiple advertisers, it increases competition and generates higher CPMs and revenue.
5. Faster Loading Speed
Who doesn’t appreciate a website with a higher loading speed? The Header Bidding method decreases the selling time, improving users’ experience and boosting the overall SEO score of the website.
3 Challenges of Implementing Header Bidding
1. Technical Setup
Indeed, integrating Header Bidding wrappers requires a certain degree of technical expertise besides understanding Programmatic Advertising.
2. Integration Challenges
You choose a Header Bidding solution, but ensuring compatibility between tech stacks requires constant troubleshooting, which could be costly.
3. Limited Control Over Bids
Indeed, on the bright side, Header Bidding brings more control over the publishers’ ad inventory, yet they might need more visibility over the bids received, limiting their strategies.
As you can see, Header Bidding wrappers bring pros and cons, so choosing some of the best solutions on the market could be challenging.
However, by reading further, you can discover multiple types of wrappers, along with tips on choosing the Header Bidding solutions that fit best.
3 Types of Header Bidding Wrappers
For all publishers looking to adopt Header Bidding, there are three main types anyone can choose from – open-source, proprietary, and managed wrappers.
These wrappers bridge the publisher’s website and different demand sources. Let’s see each other’s offerings and how to use them better
1. Open-Source Header Bidding
The open-source Header Bidding wrapper is a free solution usually built by a community of dedicated developers. As such, it caters to better customization.
As a result, a developer can modify the JavaScript code to his liking and for its business needs.
One such solution could be Prebid.js, a free, open-source JavaScript library for publishers, and as a result, more and more vendors are supporting it.
Moreover, Prebid.js offers pre-built adapters and APIs for different networks, but as you guessed, it does require advanced technical knowledge, which can be costly.
So, this Header Bidding solution could not be your cup of tea if you’re an independent publisher with limited financial or coding resources.
2. Proprietary Wrapper
This type of Header Bidding wrapper is pre-built, closed-source, and owned by different SSP and Ad Tech platforms, and they are offered as services or paid licenses.
As a result, you can understand that such an option lacks transparency and independence and comes with specific requirements, such as target monthly traffic, content types, and others.
Indeed, since they are pre-built and pre-configured, these solutions are easy to use, especially compared to open-sourced ones
One example could be Index Exchange, which offers cross-chain monetization focusing on Ad Exchange quality, maintaining a demand relationship between leading agencies.
3. Managed Wrappers
Managed Header Bidding wrappers are made explicitly for those publishers who don’t have technical knowledge but wish for better customization options, as they are often built on Prebid libraries.
As such, publishers can enjoy complete transparency and other added benefits from third-party providers, such as dedicated account managers, support implementations, and others.
A managed wrapper solution could be PubMatic, whereas their built-in wrapper offers additional features, such as A/B testing, in-depth analytics, and an identity management tool.
RTB: A Header Bidding Alternative
If Header Bidding isn’t your top choice, we have a different solution for your business, but let’s take a broader perspective.
As Programmatic Advertising, Header Bidding, and Real-Time Bidding are all part of a broader concept, some key aspects must be clarified.
Header Bidding is a subset of the RTB, based on the Open RTB protocol, a subset of the Programmatic Advertising.
The RTB is a mechanism for buying and selling ad impressions through auctions, just like in Header Bidding, since it’s part of it.
Moreover, it’s called real-time because it starts as soon as a user leads the webpage and ends in milliseconds as the ad is delivered after the page is loaded. The term biddingshowcases that multiple advertisers are placing their bids simultaneously.
Even though this alternative takes the bids individually, instead of Header Bidding, it offers multiple benefits that could interest publishers.
First, implementing RTB is simpler than Header Bidding, which requires technical knowledge or a developer. Then, it solves the inefficiencies of selling inventory in bulk to multiple Ad Networks.
A to option is Sevio Ad Manager, which offers an RTB solution that uses the Open RTB protocol to provide real-time ad impression auctions.
While it’s not the same as Header Bidding, it could be a more straightforward way of managing and selling their ad space, thus maximizing their revenue.
How to Choose Header Bidding Solution That Fits Best
Upon deciding on some of the best Header Bidding wrappers, it is essential to consider the following aspects.
The Header Bidding Type
What do you choose: great customization but techy, pre-built but expensive, or managed? Each type has pros and cons, so choosing the best requires dedicated attention.
Publishers Budget
As discussed, open-source wrappers are free but require costly implementation resources; proprietary ones are licensed or service-based, and managed ones may require additional fees for usage or impressions.
Additional Features
It is mandatory to analyze whether the chosen Header Bidding offers additional features, such as A/B testing, analytics, etc. Of course, these aren’t the ones and only aspects of choosing the best solution for your business needs, as a balance between them is required.
Additionally, you could start by defining your goals, then go up to them and see which one corresponds.
FAQ
Is Header Bidding Good?
We cannot say whether Header Bidding is good or bad, as it offers a unique way in which a publisher can increase its revenue. Indeed, it may come with various downfalls, such as requiring additional technical knowledge, but it comes down to each publisher’s goals.
Is Header Bidding Free?
Depending on the chosen type of Header Bidding, a publisher may be required to pay additional costs. Suppose publishers are choosing an open-source wrapper that is free.
If they don’t have the technical knowledge to implement the solutions, paying a developer to implement the resource may be necessary.
Which Platform is Best for Header Bidding?
There isn’t a good or bad platform for Header Bidding; it all comes down to a simple, cost-quality report. As such, the publisher must analyze each product’s offering based on its business goals.
What Is the Main Benefit of Header Bidding?
It is known that the main benefit of a Header Bidding strategy is to increase a publisher’s revenue by collecting multiple bids from different demand sources.
How Do You Implement Header Bidding?
This process might vary depending on the chosen type of Header Bidding wrapper since open-source is free, but you must manage it, and the rest are from 3rd party vendors, which their customer service department can work.
Final Thoughts on Header Bidding Solutions
By now, we’ve learned more about the Header Bidding wrappers and how they are changing how publishers monetize their inventories.
While you can find multiple solutions on the market, each has advantages and disadvantages, so choosing them based on careful considerations is mandatory.
First, you can start by listing your business goals and seeing which Header Bidding solution fits best. Please remember that no Header Bidding comes with no challenges, yet it can be a powerful tool.
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