Optimize Revenue with Header Bidding

Header bidding is an advanced programmatic advertising method in digital advertising. Header bidding allows publishers to offer ad inventory to many demand partners at once and enhance yield, so many of them utilize it to get more revenue.

As of the first quarter of 2022, header bidding technology adoption in the US has reached 70%.

This article goes into detail regarding the specifics of header bidding and how it optimizes the publisher’s revenue.

What is Header Bidding?

Header bidding, also known as pre-bidding or prebid, allows publishers to offer their ad inventory to multiple demand partners simultaneously. By increasing competition and allowing many demand partners (SSPs, ad exchanges) to bid on the same ad inventory, publishers can sell their ad inventory for the best price.

What is The History of Header Bidding?

Around 2014, header bidding replaced waterfall, another well-liked method of selling ad space, and it quickly became the industry standard. Daisy chaining, another name for waterfall, was first created for publishers to resell their leftover ad inventory. Publishers used to rely mostly on direct deals, which were given priority in their ad server. 

Once the publisher sells all of his direct campaigns, the remaining ad inventory will be given to demand partners, who bid on it using a waterfall (sequence) approach. The demand partners (SSPs/ad networks) are ranked based on their size and the average historical performance they have generated for the publisher. Thus, the top-ranking SSPs and ad networks will have the best eCPM, fill rate, latency, etc. records.

The impressions are then transferred between SSPs and ad networks until they are sold. CPM costs drop during this process, and advertisers can access more premium ad inventory for bidding.   

Due to waterfall-related inefficiencies, the industry demanded a better solution. Header bidding entered the picture in this way. After a year or so, more prominent figures began to discuss it, and this technique gained broad popularity.

Programmatic advertising entered a new era with the publication of an article by AdExchanger titled "The Rise Of 'Header Bidding' And The End Of The Publisher Waterfall" in 2015. There are two primary difficulties that the buy-side and sell-side were arguing over were successfully resolved by header bidding:

1. Publishers were able to increase their revenue from each sold ad impression.

2. It gave advertisers an equal opportunity to take part in the bidding process and place a bid on the desired ad inventory.

How Does Header Bidding Work?

Header bidding works this way:

1. Publishers must first paste the header bidding code into the website header. 

2. The wrapper calls each demand partner with an advertisement as soon as the user lands on the page.

3. Now, the demand partners make their bids available. To avoid page latency, bidders are typically given a time limit or timeout (typically, this period is roughly 200—600ms). 

4. Following that, the bids are transmitted by the wrapper to the publisher's ad server.

5. The real-time auction is won by the highest bidder, whose advertisement appears on the publisher’s page.

The Benefits of Header Bidding for Publishers:

1. Have control over pricing floors, timeouts, demand partners, and other aspects.

2. Minimum ad discrepancy because of a single auction.

3. Higher fill rate.

4. Revenue increased compared to Google AdSense by 30-80%.

5. Several demand partners compete for the same ad inventories.

6. Utilizing bid-level data for advanced analytics and reporting.

7. Reduced chance of underselling ad inventory.

The Benefits of Header Bidding for Advertisers:

1. Increasing the chance to place a bid on the premium inventory without interacting directly with publishers.

2. Advertisers can use bid-level data from publishers to modify their bidding strategies going forward.

The Challenges of Header Bidding:

1. Difficult setup and upkeep unless using a platform for monetization, like Ampliffy.

2. High page latency due to header bidding on the client side.

Choosing Your Header Bidding Platform

Platforms for header bidding, such as Ampliffy, are referred to as monetization platforms. These systems provide customer assistance and fully managed website monetization options to publishers.

What is Contextual Targeting?

Is contextual targeting better for advertising strategy? According to a recent report, the global market for contextual advertising is expected to reach $335.1 billion by 2026.

Many brands whose advertising depends on third-party cookies have been attempting to prepare for life without them. Contextual targeting is thus receiving increased attention, but what attention? Which kind of targeting—contextual or behavioral—is better for your advertising?

What is Contextual Targeting?

Contextual targeting is placing ads on a website based on its content. When done correctly, contextual ads will appear next to the relevant material. Additionally, your target audience will be those who visit the website and read its material. For example, contextual advertisements for computers, smartphones, or headphones can appear on a tech website. 

How Does Contextual Targeting Work?

Contextual advertising is usually set up and placed by brands and advertisers using an ad network or demand-side platform (DSP). Depending on the platform you are using, the specific steps may vary, but this is how they usually work.

1. Keywording Based on Topics

For contextual marketing to be effective, advertising must appear on websites that are relevant to them. You can accomplish this by selecting topics and keywords, and the platform will place your advertisement on websites that meet your requirements. 

Topics are broad categories, like travel, leisure, fashion, etc. By selecting a category, the ad can appear on relevant websites. Subcategories like "SUVs and Trucks" or "Motorcycles" may emerge from more general categories like "Automotive." 

Keywords are specialized subtopics, such as "travel yoga mats" or "trail running shoes," that are related to your particular good or service. Advertisers may use keywords like "travel bags for women" or "travel toiletry bag" if they want to launch an ad campaign with the objective of selling travel accessories. 

For every campaign, it is suggested to use between 5 and 50 keywords, including negative keywords. Negative keywords are terms you want to avoid appearing on unrelated but possibly similar-sounding websites. For example, the phrase "glasses" is similar to "wine glasses" which are a different product, so you shouldn't want advertisements for them around.

2. Time for the platform to analyze the site

When advertisers choose the targeted parameters, the ad platform will search its display network to find the website with the most relevant content. In addition to topics and keywords, the parameters can also be languages or other demographic aspects.

3. The Ad Campaign is Listed on Several Relevant Websites

Ultimately, the display network uses the information to select websites that work with the ad. Once activated, advertisers can see contextual adverts on different websites. Performance is measured similarly to other digital ad formats. For example, monitoring overall return on investment, conversion rates, and cost per click. 

Why Contextual Targeting?

According to a new study by Dentsu Aegis Network and GumGum, contextual targeting appears to be more effective than behavioral targeting. Contextual targeting reduced cost-per-click (CPC) by 48% and cost-per-mille impressions (CPM) by 36% in ads. 

GumGum and SPARK Neuro also looked into how contextual relevance affects customers. They found that contextual advertisement produced 10% more engagement and 2.2 times greater ad memory than the main content. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant rise in the intention to purchase.

We at Ampliffy have direct knowledge of contextual targeting. Our client used contextual advertising to target in-market populations.

When you match an advertisement with the content of a webpage, you may target the right customers at the right moment without risking their privacy. These five factors make contextual targeting popular. 

1. It’s Engaging Your Audience

More action can be generated when brand messaging and content are in line. Users find advertising more organic and integrated when they see appropriate adverts adjacent to the content they are reading, viewing, or listening to. Because people see your advertisements when they are already in the correct frame of mind, at the right place, and at the right time, they may find them more compelling and memorable.

2. Enabling Advertisers to Reach Wide and Specific Audiences

Greater audiences draw in new clients. You may immediately spread a wider net and interact with qualified leads as they move through the sales funnel. Contextual targeting can help you locate difficult-to-reach audiences.

3. It Makes Advertisement Less Intrusive

People get irritated by seeing advertisements so frequently and may eventually tune them out. Intrusive ad is a phenomenon that contextual targeting can avoid. It allows you to reach many individuals at once at a reasonable price. When done correctly, you reach the customers who are most likely to make a purchase, which lowers the total number of wasted impressions.

4. It Adheres to Laws and Guidelines

Contextual targeting targets ads based on content found on a website or app. It is a practical targeting strategy because it avoids the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), other privacy laws, and browser-specific restrictions.

Contextual targeting may be applied to almost any programmatic ad channel. It protects user privacy and is frequently less expensive than purchasing audience data from external parties.

5. It Gives Advertisers Total Control

Ad placement is more customizable when contextual targeting is used. You may compile a list of websites where you want your ads to appear. To extract the keywords from every page, use keyword scraping. Select the keywords most relevant to your offering from the list and use them as the foundation of your campaign. 

Your keywords are controlled, and you may easily change them whenever necessary. You can use already-made contextual segments or make your own.