How do you measure and optimize the performance of your header bidding setup?

1 What is header bidding and RTB?

Header bidding is a process where publishers send ad requests to multiple demand partners, such as ad networks, exchanges, or demand-side platforms (DSPs), before sending them to their primary ad server. This way, publishers can get the best possible price for their inventory and avoid losing revenue to the waterfall model, where demand partners are prioritized based on historical performance. RTB is a technology that enables the buying and selling of ad impressions in real time through auctions. RTB is the main mechanism behind header bidding, as it allows demand partners to bid on each impression based on various factors, such as user data, context, and inventory quality.

2 How to measure header bidding performance?

To measure the performance of your header bidding setup, you should track key metrics such as bid rate, win rate, revenue per thousand impressions (RPM), time to first byte (TTFB), and page load time. These metrics can help you evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of your header bidding setup. Google Analytics, Prebid Analytics, or PubWise are some of the tools you can use to monitor and analyze these metrics.

3 How to optimize header bidding performance?

Optimizing your header bidding performance requires fine-tuning some aspects of your setup. You should select demand partners that are relevant to your audience, content, and inventory, while also avoiding too many partners as this increases latency and complexity. Setting a reasonable bid timeout is important, as it is the maximum time you allow demand partners to respond with a bid. If the bid timeout is too low, you may miss out on bids, and if it is too high, it can delay page load time and affect user experience. Additionally, set a minimum price that you are willing to accept for your inventory to filter out low-quality bids and increase revenue. However, avoid setting the bid floor too high as this can reduce competition and the number of bids. Lastly, enable bid caching to store bids for future ad requests and reduce latency. Be sure to update bids frequently and respect the bid expiration time.

4 How to test header bidding performance?

To assess the influence of your header bidding setup on ad revenue and user experience, you should run experiments with tools such as Google Optimize, Optimizely, or Prebid Tester. Testing different variables, such as the number and type of demand partners, bid timeout and floor values, bid caching and expiration settings, placement and size of ad units, and page layout and design, can help you measure the impact of each variable on key metrics. Additionally, it is important to have a large sample size and run experiments for a sufficient amount of time to compare the results with a control group.

5 How to troubleshoot header bidding issues?

Troubleshooting issues with your header bidding setup can be done with tools such as Chrome Developer Tools, Prebid Debugger, and PubWise Inspector. These tools can be used to check the status of each ad request and bid, identify any errors or warnings that may affect the auction or ad delivery, inspect the network activity and latency of each demand partner, verify the compliance and quality of each ad creative, and debug any issues with page load time or user experience. Additionally, it is recommended to consult the documentation and support channels of your header bidding solution and demand partners for any specific questions or problems.