Are you wondering how to maximize your in-app ad revenue? Consider stepping away from old-fashioned strategies in favor of a better option—prebid auctions.
In this guide, we’ll explain how you can move beyond the traditional waterfall method to optimize latency, user experience, and, of course, improve monetization.
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Waterfall mediation: traditional and flawed ad bidding model
The classic waterfall mediation method works on a simple principle: the first acceptable bid wins. When a user opens an app with available ad space, the publisher’s server sends ad requests to multiple ad networks in sequential order. The server will send the request to partners in the “ladder” in turn, stopping at the first bid that meets the price floor (and other criteria).
Here’s how it works step-by-step:
The user opens the app with available ad space, and the integrated mediated SDK sends an ad request to the mediation platform.
The mediation platform collects line items and prioritizes them based on pricing, audience, keyword targeting, and other parameters. The platform then sends the formed chain of ad sources to the mediated SDK.
The mediated SDK sends ad requests to bidders in sequential order (according to the received chain).
If the demand partner lacks a suitable ad, the mediated SDK sends the ad request to the next bidder.
The first demand partner that meets the requirements sends an ad creative to the platform.
The mediated SDK renders the ad inside the app.
In the waterfall approach, the platform sells the ad impression to the first bidder that meets the requirements. As you can see, this method is far from perfect because there’s no guarantee that the highest bid will win. In other words, you always risk losing potential revenue.
Prebid: a means to maximize revenue
The prebid method is a better way to monetize ads because it works like an auction. The server sends ad requests to multiple demand partners at once, ensuring that the impression is sold to the highest bidder.
The process looks like this:
The integrated prebid SDK sends an ad request to the prebid server.
The prebid server creates a bidding auction and sends ad requests to multiple demand partners at once.
The prebid server determines the highest CPM and sends data to the prebid SDK.
The mediated SDK processes the data and sends the ad creative to the mediation platform.
The mediation platform responds to the app with the tag for the winning ad creative (the one with the highest bid).
The mediation platform sends the data about the winning ad creative (tagged as the highest CPM bid) to the app.
The mediated SDK renders the ad.
As you can see, prebid is the optimal ad bidding model to enhance your ad revenue. The best part—implementing prebid into your infrastructure isn’t hard with the right partner. Postindustria has the tools and experience to help you develop and implement a prebid, even if your team lacks the technical expertise.
Smooth prebid management
Prebid server hosted on GCP or AWS
Easily configurable UI
Actionable insights
Analytics tools to monitor and assess performance across several demand sources in one centralized UI
Scheduled and fully customizable reports and real-time alerts
Full technical support
Smooth onboarding with a team of vetted engineers
Assistance with adding direct demand partners and third-party integrations for prebid
Contact us if you want to learn more! Our team will gladly help you plan, build, and integrate prebid into your system.
