Are You a Publisher? Here’s How to Boost Your Ad Revenue!
Do you own a website or blog? Looking for ways to generate revenue or increase what you’re already making? If so, you’re in the right place! Advertising has become a crucial step in growing a business, and this industry has become more prominent and profitable than ever. Many people are making significant money through it.
When you dive into the advertising world, there’s a lot to learn. You’ll encounter different models and ad formats. One interesting method for publishers, in particular, is header bidding, and that’s what we’ll focus on in this article. Want to learn more? Let’s dive right in.
If you’ve been exploring ways to increase your ad revenue, you’ve probably heard of header bidding. It’s a great option for publishers looking to boost earnings by 20-50%, especially when moving away from platforms like AdSense. Naturally, you’ll want to find the best header bidding provider to get the most out of it. So, let’s take a look at some of the top providers this year and who they’re best for. Ready? Let’s go!
What is Header Bidding?
Header bidding is a smart programmatic technique that lets publishers offer their ad space to multiple SSPs and ad servers before sending a request to their ad server. With programmatic bidding, multiple demand partners bid in real-time, giving every ad impression the chance to sell at its highest price.
These bids are filtered through settings the publisher controls on their ad server. The ad with the highest bid wins and appears on the user’s screen. Publishers know that more demand for their inventory means better profits. It’s simple: the more competition, the more revenue.
Are you working with a header bidding partner who offers strong demand? If not, you’re probably not maximizing your revenue. But don’t worry—you don’t have to choose just one bidder. You can work with multiple partners and include them all in your setup.
What Benefits Does a Good Header Bidding Platform Offer?
The best header bidding platforms should provide:
Access to High-Quality Demand
A broad range of demand sources means better-targeted ads, higher fill rates, and more revenue due to increased competition.
Consistent and Fair Revenue
Choose a platform with clear profit-sharing terms and a reliable payment track record. You don’t want hidden fees or missed payments.
Reliable Services and Support
Ad monetization is more than just displaying ads. Your provider should help you optimize and continuously monitor your strategy across various areas.
How to Choose the Right Header Bidding Platform
When looking for the best header bidding platform, it’s important to do your research. Everyone’s needs are different, so you should know what works best for you. Here are some things to consider:
Demand Sources
Ask your account manager about the demand partners they work with. A higher demand from SSPs means better CPMs and more revenue.
Payment Terms
Look for transparent payment terms. Some partners offer NET 30, NET 45, or NET 60 payment cycles. Be sure to pick a provider with payment terms that fit your needs.
Ease of Integration
Some providers take up to a week to approve your tags. Look for a partner that can get you up and running within 24-48 hours. Also, check if they offer ad optimization.
Existing Publishers
Check out the current publishers they work with. If they have premium publishers, it usually means higher CPMs and more revenue.
Ad Technology
Your provider should offer key ad tech features like server-to-server header bidding, viewability-based auto-refresh, and ad layout optimization. These features will help improve your site’s CPM.
Support
Support is essential. Make sure the platform offers 24/7 support, and that your account manager is easily reachable by email, phone, or chat.
Best Header Bidding Ad Networks 2024:
The Best Header Bidding Ad Networks for 2024 and 2025 are listed below. We have discussed the top header bidding networks in this list that you may trust.
- Mylead
- Index Exchange
- Rubicon Project
- Criteo
- OpenX
- AppNexus
- Amazon
- Newor Media
- AdPushup
- Sovrn
- Nitropay
- Yieldbot
- Mediavine
1. Mylead:
MyLead is a worldwide Header Bidding Ad Networks that has already paid more than $6 million to its clients and welcomes newcomers. It offers innovative tools and techniques for more advanced and beneficial affiliate marketing. You need not be worried about using these newer tools and techniques because MyLead also offers training programs for its new members.
It is one of the best and most famous affiliate marketing networks for advertisers and publishers. You can get a handsome commission on each sale you make possible the amount of commission depends upon the value of the product sold because of your contribution.
The main focus of MyLead is to develop a large circle of more customers, advertisers, publishers, and purchasers so that everyone within the circle can get the maximum possible benefit from it. A vast range of opportunities available at the MyLead platform would be enough to bring you to that point in affiliate marketing you want to touch. You will be able to advertise your products and services through a wide range of social media networks that depend upon your area of interest.
Payment Details:
- Minimum Payment: The minimum payment for this network is $20
- Payment Method: Skrill, Bank Transfer, Revolut, Wire, WebMoney, Bitcoin, PayPal
2. Index Exchange:
Index Exchange is the next most well-known header bidding network after AppNexus. Many publishers and advertisers around the world believe in it. It is renowned for revolutionizing header bidding and enhancing its capacity for generating revenue. Index Exchange does not participate in the conflict of interest in the ad tech industry between Google and everyone else.
It isn’t doing anything special to obtain supplies; all it needs is to satisfy its extremely high demand. To give the publisher the most profit possible on each impression, it has offered cutting-edge tools and contemporary solutions. They utilize an algorithm in their variable timeout to decide on a Timeout for each user on each page view.
By directing more bids from the headers toward the publishers, it is claimed that this current plan will increase publisher earnings and improve page speed. After switching to this platform, several publishers saw a considerable rise in their profits. The beautiful part about this platform is that it gives publishers complete control over their pages and revenue.
Publishers gain a lot from this network in terms of earnings, rising demand, accessibility, and safety. Their dependable infrastructure and cutting-edge technology are ideal for publishers. Index Exchange is unquestionably the most effective option for publishers because it links to the digital market.
3. Rubicon Project:
In California, United States, Rubicon was established in 2007 as an advertising platform. It is a reputable business that many publishers and marketers choose to use globally. It is essentially a potent free bid monetization solution that provides publishers with greater authority over impressions and equips them with cutting-edge products and services.
With the use of its pre-bid service, it really has brought innovation to header bidding. In terms of generating income, this platform is excellent. Through their real-time bidding system, they monetize your customers and give you a higher payout per impression. Since their integration is so simple and quick, you can quickly reach thousands of new buyers through this platform.
Additionally, the formats they provide are ideally adapted to a broad range of arrangement kinds, and you can change them to match the structure and appearance of your website. Its superior performance and assistance are this company’s top qualities. Their staff assists publishers in resolving problems relating to their pre-bid services. Additionally, they offer a relevant tool that gives you important information and advanced analytics.
4. Criteo:
Criteo is a significant advertising network that was formed in Paris, France, 15 years ago in 2005. It is a fantastic advertising platform that has been shown to increase website conversions, app conversions, and in-store conversions. By guaranteeing the true benefit of each and every impression you receive, covering traditional display native ad units, video advertising, and even Adblocker impressions, Criteo increases profits for online and app publishers.
You have complete control over the integration techniques you use. Additionally, with a special CPA installed into your ad server, you can profit from the total sum of every impression. The nicest thing about this network is that it allows you to collaborate effectively with partners without adding extra steps and middlemen to the supply chain.
This provides the highest yield while generating no income loss. It’s app bidding capabilities and hyper-relevant advertising in highly entertaining formats, which don’t interfere with the user experience and increase revenues throughout all platforms, are another fantastic selling point of this platform. Additionally, their compact technologies are mobile environment-optimized. The ability to go around ad blocks and regain ad-block impressions is perhaps their most handy tool; it’s a neat trick.
4. OpenX:
OpenX was one of the first providers to offer header bidding to publishers. Even with OpenX Meta, they dabbled in server-to-server header bidding, which failed as a result of broad industry distrust. It was established in 2008 and has demonstrated strong open bidding performance in the digital market. California is home to the company’s headquarters.
It is one of the best header bidding systems available, well-known among publishers, and multilingual. It makes it possible for you to generate a healthy income thanks to heightened competitiveness and involvement from top-notch demand partners. It provides dynamic bids that properly enhance the benefits of each impression prior to almost any ad server action.
The amazing part about this platform is that it completely supports mobile settings by offering compact solutions that are compatible with current primary SDKs. A light adapter that integrates with your current primary SDK and offers greater revenue on each and every impression is the bidder for the app’s solution they give.
Additionally, the ad formats, such as leveraged banner advertisements, rich media, interstitials, or video formats, are easy to match. It increases the value of your inventory via public auctions or in dedicated online stores for Android customers, providing you with the opportunity to be ranked for traffic quality. Furthermore, they provide 24/7 live help.
5. AppNexus:
The most well-known and trustworthy header bidding ad network on the market, AppNexus, is well-liked by publishers for assisting them in maximizing profits. It is impossible to discuss header bidding without bringing up AppNexus. You have everything you require in the Prebid Pioneer to revolt vs. a “sketchy and dominating” Google.
It is thought to be the biggest independent marketplace for digital advertising in the globe, and it is located in New York City. In 2007, it was established. Since its founding thirteen years ago, it has achieved enormous milestones by offering top-notch marketing to publishers. As a result, millions of publishers and major corporations now view it as their primary priority.
Over 34,000 publishers and 177,000 businesses have selected Appnexus because it offers superior security, efficiency, transparency, and general quality. As a demand partner, AppNexus also performs admirably, but it only places a limited number of prebid or custom wrapper bids (like AOL and Index).
According to Roxot’s data, in terms of effectiveness and timeout rates, AppNexus is in the top 4 header bidding demand partners. WPP generates a lot of really unusual demand. Additionally, each of their advertisements is carefully scrutinized to assure the maximum possible levels of safety and reliability. Generally, it is a wonderful advertising platform that you should use.
6. Amazon:
Everyone is aware that Amazon is one of the most well-known and significant global online marketplaces. It is an excellent platform for major and mid-sized Publishers to generate income. Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM) and Unified Ad Marketplace are the two services that Amazon offers for header bidding solutions (UAM).
Amazon’s cloud-based header bidding system provides a set rate, cost, and data transparency that Google’s EBDA does not. With only one easy server-to-server to server header bidding integration, their truly united ad marketplace enables publishers to increase revenue. They provide distinct and unified demand, combining distinct product ads for Amazon with demand from SSPs to ensure that all bidders compete fairly and openly.
Almost six of the world’s biggest ad agencies are integrated with Amazon, and you have the ability to add other demand sources (not only ad exchanges) as you go. Amazon is extremely well-connected on the demand front. Amazon is also bidding on a sizable amount of merchandise. Their straightforward server-side connectivity enables you to connect with all customers instantly.
7. Newor Media:
Newor Media is a relatively young platform that is gradually acquiring recognition and a solid reputation. By utilizing top-notch ad technology to deliver you the most feasible income while staying faithful to user experience and fast loading, the company puts customer support and publisher experience above everything else.
They offer a broad range of services for ad management. So they provide a wide range of ad optimization services in addition to linking you to advertisers. For instance, publishers can benefit from Adblock income recovery, support for optimizing ad layouts, and a platform for authorization management, to mention a few. Since Newor Media is demand-neutral, no network is given more importance than another.
Additionally, due to the scale of their network, publishers have access to direct deals. They do not even demand contracts or exclusivity agreements from publishers, and they have a traffic minimum of 30,000 active visitors every month. They also provide guaranteed payment (completely genuine), which is uncommon for a business despite network deductions.
8. AdPushup:
The platform has unquestionably improved since the release of AdPushup 2.0 to become a leading competitor in header bidding. By raising their CPMs and CTRs, they promote themselves as a framework for revenue management that maximizes publisher ad revenue. AdPushup increases revenue by using techniques for quick website loads, optimized ad layouts, and a large network stack.
The business also places a strong emphasis on transparency, which is seen in its monitoring interface. Publishers can assess each demand partner’s success in addition to monitoring crucial indicators. They have a good payment record and work on a Net-45 basis. They exclusively collaborate with publications that currently bring in at least $5,000 per month from advertising, which makes them a fantastic fit for bigger blogs!
9. Sovrn:
Sovrn is another excellent advertising platform based on the header bidding approach. Higher CPMs are available, as well as simple integration that doesn’t call for any additional coding. The benefit of this network is that it is danger-free and trouble-free and benefits publishers of all kinds fairly. The finest header bidding ad network for newbies is this one, therefore.
Sovrn also participates in Google’s open bidding for videos and aids in increasing revenue from videos. Additionally, Amazon is also compatible with it. As a result, adding SOVRN to Amazon’s TAM demand stack is simple and offers two advantages. When it comes to header bidding, SOVRN offers three alternative solutions. The complete heating model, which is the first, contains built-in features, full Demond stack control, and wrapped header bidding.
The second is a pre-bid adaptor called a header adapter that provides real-time updates. The third option is called Sovern Header API, and it is a very adaptable solution for publishers with specific requirements and independent technical resources. Sovrn may be an excellent option if you’re seeking a profitable header bidding network that is easy to use and safe.
It offers straightforward integration. Simply paste the JavaScript into your website’s header to get started. This gives you the ability to run an ad auction to increase the value of your goods. So, you can load an advertisement afterward and get paid.
10. NitroPay:
NitroPay is committed to offering publishers a straightforward, reliable method. By developing close bonds with clients and offering suggestions on how publishers might perform better, they put a clear but successful emphasis on getting outcomes. They can accommodate a variety of ad types such as sticky stack, anchor, IAB Display, etc.
They also provide access to numerous top-tier ad networks, a content protection layer, and an incredibly powerful reporting interface. Publishers that want to work with them must possess a “high-quality original website,” three months of traffic statistics, and more than 100,000 monthly visitors. You won’t need to worry about getting paid on time or at all because they have a good track record of payments.
11. Yieldbot:
Yieldbot is another header bidding ad network that offers premium intent-targeted advertisements in a variety of formats. It was essentially established in New York City in 2010. The unique and outstanding feature of this platform is that it collaborates with some of the most significant and influential brands around the world, including Quikr, Pepsi, GSK, and Coca-Cola.
However, this makes it a little less appropriate for small publishers. With the help of Yieldbot’s free and open-source header bidding platform, publishers can manage and effectively use their ad stack. Yieldbot delivers an optimizing service based on immediate performance evaluations to increase relevance. Engagement is assessed and analyzed as advertisements are displayed.
Additionally, they provide direct publisher site connections, which opens up a wide range of creative types who specialize in particular contexts. It also has a variety of advertising layouts with the latest conveniences like dynamic text, dynamic mobile branding, Pharma Comma product listings, responsive cards, click-to-pin to pin, and click-to calendar, which is more profitable and works better.
12. Mediavine:
Mediavine is unquestionably one of the most popular header bidding providers amongst larger websites. This is due to their expertise in providing publishers with high-quality advertisements while maintaining a commitment to brand security and top-quality visitors. They are picky and choosy about the websites and ad networks they want to collaborate with.
They take great pride in the verticals and ad networks (networks appropriate for particular niches) they provide in the Food, Parenting, Travel, Home, and Lifestyle sectors. If you are accepted into their program, you can anticipate high-quality and appropriate advertising, as well as elevated fill rates, because of their partnerships and the rigorous process of selecting which publications to work with.
In addition to smooth, verifiable, whitelisted traffic, they demand publishers have 50,000 engagements per month and original and compelling content. Regrettably, this does not ensure approval.
Conclusion
Header bidding is a fantastic way for publishers to increase their ad revenue. By choosing the right platform and demand partners, you can maximize your earnings and make the most of your ad space. Just remember to do your research, and pick the best fit for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is header bidding in advertising?
Header bidding allows publishers to offer ad space to multiple buyers simultaneously, ensuring the highest possible bid wins.
How does header bidding increase revenue?
By inviting more demand sources to bid on your ad space, competition increases, leading to higher bid prices and more revenue.
Can I use multiple header bidding partners?
Yes! You can include multiple partners to maximize demand and boost your CPM rates.
What should I look for in a header bidding platform?
Look for strong demand sources, transparent payment terms, easy integration, and reliable support.
How long does it take to set up header bidding?
Some platforms can set up within 24-48 hours, while others may take a week. Look for a partner that meets your timeline.