Header bidding

header bidding is a programmatic advertising strategy where publishers offer their ad inventory to multiple ad exchanges simultaneously. This process contrasts with the traditional waterfall method, where inventory is offered to one ad exchange at a time. Its significance lies in its ability to increase visibility for advertisers while ensuring that publishers get fair value for their ad spaces. In the first quarter of 2022, 70 percent of online publishing websites and 16 percent of the top 100 thousand websites in the United States were already using header bidding. It is a real-time bidding on ad inventory before making a call to their ad servers. It allows publishers to maximize their revenue by letting multiple demand sources bid on the same inventory, driving up the price in a competitive environment. The highest bid is then passed to the ad server, which decides which ad to display based on the winning bid. The process is executed in real time, as the webpage loads, ensuring that every impression is sold at the highest price available at that moment. The primary distinction from traditional methods is the level of competition and the transparency it provides. This transparent marketplace ensures that inventory is fairly priced in acompetitive environment, which is beneficial to both publishers and advertisers.