What is the Most Optimal Setup for Header Bid Networks?

Header Bidding
Last updated: September 26, 2019 | by Kean Graham
best setup header bidding networks

This post was most recently updated on September 26th, 2019

This is the last of our 3-part series on Header Bidding solutions from MonetizeMore. Be the first to test our header bid technology and receive the latest updates by signing up to our beta.

So you have the header bid network setup in the header of your site and you have already created and implemented the custom targeting. Now it’s time to create the setup within your ad server.

What is the most optimal ad server in combination with header bid networks?

Without a doubt, DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) is the best fit with header bid networks. Each header bid solution has a guide on how to implement via DFP because it’s so popular across publishers and for good reason. DFP is the most optimal because you can run Ad Exchange via dynamic allocation and compete it against all the header bid tiered line items.

This means that DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX) will only serve when it will pay the highest compared to all alternatives and so will the header bid network. The fairer the competition that you set up, the higher your RPMs and ad revenues will be. Other ad servers do not have the same capability of running dynamic allocation for AdX. For this reason, we will provide the header bid setup via DFP because you really shouldn’t be using another ad server.

Related Read: Top 8 Ad Servers for Publishers

How should I set up the header bid network order?

Make sure to request the tiered setup from your header bid network rep. The standard is to run increments of $0.50 up to $5 RPM for each ad size. For example, the 300×250 would have the following line items:

  • 300×250 $0.50 RPM
  • 300×250 $1 RPM
  • 300×250 $1.50 RPM
  • 300×250 $2 RPM
  • 300×250 $2.50 RPM
  • 300×250 $3 RPM
  • 300×250 $3.50 RPM
  • 300×250 $4 RPM
  • 300×250 $4.50 RPM
  • 300×250 $5 RPM

Using custom targeting, DFP will serve the line item based on the ad size and the RPM that the buyer wants to buy the ad impression at. For example, If AdX was going to pay $3 and the header bid buyer was going to pay $2.50, AdX would win the ad impression via dynamic allocation.

Related Read: Dynamic Allocation in DFP: A Step-by-Step Guide

DFP chooses the line item that is closest to the RPM that the buyer chooses to buy at. If a buyer buys at $3.20 RPM, it will choose the $3 RPM line item because it’s the closest. That means, the smaller the increments of RPM between line items, the more optimal your setup will be. For that reason, we recommend going by increments of $0.10. Some publishers can go as low as $0.01 increments but that might be a bit overboard for the average premium publisher.

One of the most important strategies to implement is running every header bid line item as a price priority line item type. This ensures the fairest competition with AdX via dynamic allocation. If you’re running network, standard or sponsorship line item types, AdX will not be able to compete at a fair level and you’ll lose out on some higher RPM impression.

What if your header bid network rep doesn’t agree with running just price priority line items?

It’s important to fight back on this. Keep in mind that the reps are incentivized to get max volume from your ad inventory at the highest priority possible. Convincing you to run the network, standard, and sponsorship line item types rather than price priority is a great way for them to get higher volumes than they deserve. The price priority setup gets you higher RPMs and ad revenues while giving them less volume than they could have with their suggested setup. Remember, these ad reps are self-interested, so don’t get intimidated.

Need help to set up and negotiate with header bid networks?

If so, MonetizeMore is experts in setting up header bid networks optimally. We negotiate better revenue shares, cut through their sales clutter to ensure the best setup for publishers and know-how to set AdX and third-party ad networks relative to the header bid networks. If you’re interested in having MonetizeMore optimally set up a header bid setup for your publisher network, register to the beta.


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