Header Bidding from Zero

So, you are using multiple SSPs in a waterfall model to get more value from your inventory, and you would like to make your fillrate, revenue, ad latency, and user experience better (yes, at the same time). Don’t you? Well, you should. But wait for a second, there’s a better way, and it’s called header bidding.

What is header bidding?

Header bidding is a technology, an idea, which is implemented quite handy with a piece of software which is called header bidding wrapper. From quite a wide range of possible solutions, let’s focus on the free one – prebid.js.

However, there are some elements you need ensure in advance:

To start with header bidding you need accounts on different SSP (Supply Side Platforms) or at least at one that works with prebid.org or a wrapper of your choice.

You need to have access to an ad server that serves key values. This is required because the ad server needs to trigger the sending of a relevant line item. Usually, you can use DFP (DoubleClick for Publishers by Google).

Header Bidding from Scratch: how to do it?

1. Implement codes (tags) on your website – there are plenty of examples on prebid.org. If they seem challenging, and you decide an external front-end developer, the examples will be a great source of knowledge you can share with her/him.
2. Set up your ad server – that may be pretty time-consuming. And ad servers are barely intuitive. If you have a choice, let an AdOps who spent hours clicking in a particular ad server to do it for you. If not, be patient and don’t give up easily. Setting up your server may be frustrating, and it’s pretty easy to make a mistake, so be heedful and don’t give up!
3. Run tests with your ad exchange. You should know how much time it is needed for bidders to get an answer from SSP before the request to the ad server would be sent. We Yieldbird recommend to start with 600 ms, but it may vary in each case.

Please notice: The tags implementation you can do by yourself with little prior experience, but an error in ad server and/or ad exchange setups may cost you severely – you may get less from bidders than your ad server thinks you actually do. What’s more, advantages of the header bidding are seen if it is applied with a scale. Which means any of your mistakes would be multiplied.

On the other hand, header bidding when implemented correctly will give you great benefits. So don’t hesitate to ask a professional for assistance when you decide you need it. Feel free to contact us and ask about it. We will be glad to help you with anything header bidding related.