What is Prebid? A Game-Changing Ad Tech Solution for Publishers

Publishers are constantly seeking innovative ways to maximize their ad revenue. One breakthrough solution that has revolutionized the digital advertising industry is Prebid. As an open-source technology, it empowers publishers to implement header bidding on their websites and apps, driving additional demand from leading ad exchanges and optimizing ad revenue.

In this comprehensive handbook, we will delve deep into the world of Prebid, exploring its components, how it works, and why it has become a cornerstone of the programmatic advertising industry. We will also discuss the benefits of Prebid for publishers, how to implement it, and how it compares to other advertising strategies.

What is Prebid?

Prebid is an open-source set of software solutions that enables publishers to manage and optimize their programmatic advertising strategies. It specifically focuses on header bidding, a process where publishers simultaneously offer their ad inventory to multiple demand sources, allowing them to compete in real time. This competition often leads to higher yields for publishers and better ad placements for advertisers.

A Paradigm Shift in Programmatic Advertising

Traditionally, programmatic advertising relied on a waterfall auction method, where ad impressions were offered to demand partners one at a time in a predetermined order. However, header bidding, the core concept behind Prebid, revolutionized this process. It enables multiple demand partners to bid on each ad impression simultaneously, fostering greater competition and potentially increasing ad revenues for publishers.

Transparency and Tailored Ad Strategies

One of the key advantages of Prebid is the level of transparency it brings to the table. It allows both large and small publishers to tailor their ad strategies to their specific needs, as they can see which demand partners are bidding and at what price. This transparency empowers publishers to make informed decisions about their ad space and pricing strategies, maximizing the utilization of their digital real estate.

Prebid’s Popularity and Adoption

Prebid has gained significant popularity in the programmatic advertising industry. As of 2024, it is the second most popular header-bidding technology in the world, being preferred by 1% of the top 1 million websites globally. Its widespread adoption speaks to the value it brings to publishers and advertisers alike.

How Does Prebid Work?

Prebid operates on the principle of header bidding, which represents a paradigm shift from traditional waterfall auction methods in digital advertising. By enabling multiple demand partners to bid on each ad impression simultaneously, it increases competition, potentially leading to higher ad revenues for publishers.

The Principle of Header Bidding

Header bidding allows publishers to offer their ad inventory to multiple demand partners at once, before making calls to ad servers. This contrasts with traditional waterfall bidding, where demand partners compete in real time only after the ad server has declined to choose a line item.

Prebid works by including a Prebid.js library in the website’s header through a script tag in the HTML code. Publishers need to configure the specific bidders they want to work with and set up the ad units on their pages. When a user visits the website, Prebid sends bid requests to the specified demand partners, who respond with their bid price and other relevant information. It then runs an auction to determine the highest bid for each ad impression. The highest bid, along with the bidder’s information, is sent to the ad server, which serves the winning ad to the user’s browser.

Versatility Across Platforms

Prebid is a highly versatile framework that works across several platforms. For mobile apps, it works similarly to desktop ads, allowing for in-app header bidding. It can also be implemented on accelerated mobile pages (AMP) to monetize them through AMP ads. Additionally, it supports video ads for both desktop and mobile ad platforms through video header bidding.

Step-by-Step Breakdown of the Prebid Process

To implement Prebid successfully, publishers need to follow a series of steps:

By following these steps, publishers can optimize their programmatic advertising strategies and drive higher ad revenues.

Benefits of Prebid for Publishers

Prebid offers several benefits for publishers, empowering them to enhance their ad revenue and gain greater control over their ad inventory.

Increased Revenue Potential

One of the primary benefits of Prebid is its ability to increase revenue potential for publishers. By enabling multiple demand partners to bid on each impression simultaneously, it fosters competition, driving up prices and leading to higher ad revenues. With real-time bidding, each ad space is sold at the best possible price, maximizing revenue opportunities.

Greater Control Over Ad Inventory

Publishers using Prebid tend to have greater control over their ad inventory. They can see which demand partners are bidding and at what price, allowing them to make informed decisions about their ad space and pricing strategies. This transparency ensures optimal utilization of their digital real estate, resulting in higher yields and improved profitability.

Access to a Wider Range of Ad Formats

Prebid supports various ad formats, including display, video, native, mobile web, and app-based ads. This versatility makes it applicable across multiple web properties and platforms, offering a consistent and comprehensive advertising experience. Publishers can leverage different ad formats to cater to their audience preferences and enhance user engagement.

Resources for Testing and Debugging

Prebid provides publishers with access to tools and resources for testing, debugging, and troubleshooting within the framework. These resources simplify the process of managing advertising clients and streamline the marketing process, making it more efficient for all stakeholders. Publishers can optimize their ad inventory and ensure the best possible performance.

Reduced Latency and Efficient Ad Serving

Prebid minimizes the need for multiple ad calls, enabling faster and more efficient real-time bidding. This efficiency leads to quicker page loading times, enhancing the overall user experience and potentially improving SEO rankings. Publishers can deliver ads seamlessly without compromising website performance.

Transparency and Flexibility

Being an open-source solution, Prebid offers transparency and flexibility to publishers. They can tailor the solution to their specific needs, making necessary customizations and optimizations. Its open nature also fosters a community-driven approach to development and problem-solving, ensuring ongoing improvements and advancements.

Economic Rationality

Prebid adopts a more economically rational approach than traditional ad-serving methods. By allowing all demand sources to bid simultaneously, it ensures that the highest bidder wins each impression, leading to a more efficient allocation of ad space. Publishers can maximize their revenue potential while providing optimal value to advertisers.

With these benefits, it has become an essential tool for publishers looking to optimize their programmatic advertising strategies and drive higher ad revenues.

Implementing Prebid

Implementing Prebid involves several crucial steps that publishers need to follow to set up a successful header bidding system. Let’s explore the key steps:

Integrating the Prebid Header Bidding Wrapper

The first step is to integrate the Prebid header bidding wrapper, also known as Prebid.js. This open-source JavaScript file enables header bidding on publishers’ websites. To integrate it, publishers can download the Prebid.js file and add the Prebid.js code snippet to their website’s HTML code.

Configuring Ad Units and Requesting Bids

Next, publishers need to configure their ad units and request bids from demand sources. Ad units should have unique codes, specifying the type of ad they can accept (e.g., banner, video, native). Publishers can use the _pbjs.requestBids_ function to send bid requests to all defined bidders and collect their responses.

Setting Up Price Floors

To ensure that the highest bidder wins each impression, publishers can establish price floors. They can set their own logic or collaborate with third-party vendors to optimize floors based on data and algorithms. Price floors help publishers maximize their ad revenues and maintain control over pricing strategies.

Testing and Optimization

After implementing Prebid, publishers should thoroughly test their setup to ensure everything is working correctly. They can monitor revenue before and after implementation to gauge the success of their Prebid integration. Prebid also offers a debug functionality that provides detailed information in the console, helping publishers troubleshoot any issues.

Completing Ad Server Setup

For publishers using Google Ad Manager (GAM), it is essential to create line items that match the key-value pairs received from Prebid (e.g., bidder name and bid amount). These line items should be correctly set up in GAM for ad selection. Proper ad server setup ensures smooth integration between Prebid and the ad server, leading to efficient ad serving.

By following these implementation steps, publishers can unlock the full potential and optimize their programmatic advertising strategies.

Is Implementing Prebid.js Challenging?

Implementing Prebid.js can be challenging, especially for publishers who are new to the world of programmatic advertising. While Prebid.js has streamlined the header bidding process, it still requires a certain level of technical expertise and resources.

Publishers may encounter several challenges during the implementation process:

Setting Up Line Items

Setting up line items manually can be a significant challenge, particularly for smaller publishers. It is a time-consuming process that requires expertise to ensure accurate configuration. Incorrect setup can lead to discrepancies and revenue losses.

Handling Google’s API

Implementing Prebid.js often involves working with Google’s API, which requires some coding knowledge. Smaller publishers without a dedicated development team may face difficulties in navigating and leveraging Google’s API effectively.

Setting Up Real-Time Analytics

To maximize revenue, publishers need in-depth data on their creatives’ performance. Creating a system compatible with all demand partners for collecting and analyzing this data can be complex and require technical know-how.

Despite these challenges, publishers can overcome them with the right resources, expertise, and support. Advergic, a leading ad tech solution provider, offers best-in-class services to simplify the implementation of Prebid and ensure publishers can leverage its full potential.

Prebid vs. Post Bid

When it comes to programmatic advertising, publishers have two primary approaches: Prebid and post bid. Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of each approach:

Prebid

Advantages:

• Increases competition, potentially leading to higher ad revenues.
• Offers more transparency and control for publishers.
• Ensures that the highest bidder wins the impression, maximizing the value of each ad slot.

Disadvantages:

• Requires technical knowledge for setup and management.
• Can be time-consuming to maintain, especially for publishers with high traffic volumes.
• Necessitates relationships with multiple ad exchanges, which can be challenging to manage.

Post Bid

Advantages:

• Offers faster page load times as all ad calls are handled by the ad server.
• Simpler to implement for some publishers, especially those with existing relationships with specific ad servers.

Disadvantages:

• May result in lower revenue compared to Prebid, as the bidding is not conducted in real-time.
• Less competitive, as it does not always ensure the highest possible bid for each impression.

The choice between Prebid and post bid depends on publishers’ specific needs, technical capabilities, and revenue goals. Both approaches have their merits, and publishers should carefully consider their options before making a decision.

Prebid vs. Waterfall

Prebid and waterfall represent two fundamentally different strategies for managing and selling ad inventory. These approaches offer varied options for publishers in the programmatic advertising space. Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Prebid

Advantages:

• Increases competition, potentially leading to higher ad revenues.
• Offers more transparency and control for publishers.
• Ensures that the highest bidder wins the impression, maximizing the value of each ad slot.
• Allows easy tracking of ad performance through integration of analytics adapters.

Disadvantages:

• Requires technical knowledge for setup and management.
• Can be time-consuming to maintain, especially for publishers with high traffic volumes.
• Necessitates relationships with multiple ad exchanges, which can be challenging to manage.

Waterfall

Advantages:

• Simpler to implement and manage compared to Prebid.
• Familiar and traditional methods for many publishers.

Disadvantages:

• Often results in lower revenue than Prebid, as it does not leverage real-time bidding.
• Less competitive than its Prebid counterpart.
• Can lead to latency issues, as each demand partner is called sequentially.

The choice between Prebid and waterfall depends on publishers’ specific needs, priorities, and existing infrastructure. While Prebid offers greater revenue potential and control, waterfall may be a more straightforward solution for certain publishers.

Prebid vs. Header Bidding

Prebid and header bidding are often used interchangeably, as they refer to specific aspects of the same technology. However, there is a subtle difference between the two:

Prebid

Prebid refers to a specific open-source software (Prebid.js) that facilitates header bidding. It is a framework that allows publishers to integrate multiple demand partners into their ad inventory auction process. Prebid.js, a popular implementation of Prebid, streamlines the setup of header bidding on websites and mobile apps.

Header Bidding

Header bidding is a broader term that describes the overall technique of offering ad inventory to multiple demand partners simultaneously before making calls to ad servers. This approach contrasts with traditional waterfall bidding, which aims to maximize revenue by letting demand partners compete in real-time.

While Prebid is a specific implementation of header bidding, the terms are often used interchangeably due to the close relationship between the two concepts.

Final Thoughts

The Prebid platform has evolved from a simple concept to a comprehensive suite of products, including Prebid.js, Prebid Server, and Prebid Mobile. This evolution reflects the dynamic nature of the advertising industry and the pivotal role Prebid plays in addressing its challenges.

Implementing Prebid can be complex, particularly for publishers who lack the technical resources to handle it effectively. However, partnering with Advergic, a leading ad tech solution provider, simplifies the process. Advergic offers expert services to enhance ad revenue and streamline ad management, ensuring publishers can maximize their revenue potential with Prebid.

In conclusion, Prebid has emerged as a game-changing ad tech solution for publishers. By implementing Prebid, publishers can optimize their programmatic advertising strategies, increase revenue potential, and gain greater control over their ad inventory.

FAQs

Is Prebid an Ad Exchange?

No, Prebid is not an ad exchange. It is an open-source software solution designed to facilitate header bidding. Prebid enables publishers to offer their ad inventory to multiple demand partners simultaneously, increasing competition and driving higher ad revenues.

Is Prebid Free?

Yes, Prebid is free to use. As an open-source project, Prebid is available at no cost. Publishers and developers can access its source code, contribute to its development, and customize it to fit their specific needs.

Is Prebid a Wrapper?

In some ways, Prebid can be described as a wrapper. In the context of programmatic advertising, a wrapper is a tool that encapsulates or “wraps” around various demand sources or bidder adapters. Prebid.js, a popular implementation of Prebid, integrates multiple bidder adapters, allowing them to participate in a unified auction on a publisher’s website.

Conclusion

Prebid has transformed the programmatic advertising landscape, empowering publishers to maximize their ad revenue potential and gain greater control over their ad inventory. By embracing Prebid and partnering with industry-leading providers like Advergic, publishers can unlock new revenue streams, enhance user experiences, and thrive in the competitive digital advertising landscape.

If you’re a publisher looking to optimize your programmatic advertising strategies, consider implementing Prebid with Advergic’s expert services. Contact us today to learn how we can help you grow your site and achieve exceptional results.