• by Evan Simeone , Op-Ed Contributor, March 22, 2016

“Header bidding” represents the next step toward an efficient, entirely automated advertising ecosystem that not only reaches consumers at scale with targeted, relevant marketing messages, but also supports publishers’ businesses, allowing them to focus on providing compelling, engaging content.

The technology behind header bidding has been around for several years, but it’s been a hot topic over the past year primarily because header bidding isn’t a straightforward technology. Debates have emerged (especially in trade media) on its efficacy, implementation complexity — and, more broadly, whether it is the natural next step in the evolution of digital advertising.

Given these debates, what should publishers know before embarking on a header-bidding-driven ad-sales strategy?

The Keys to Success are Internal Education and Dedication to Testing

All members of a publisher’s digital ad sales team should be educated on header bidding and what it means to their organization. The sooner key members of the team are on board, the better positioned the company will be to take advantage of increasing advertiser demand.

Also, every header bidding setup should be treated individually.  Embrace fully the “test and learn” culture, with constant testing and tracking of metrics to refine your header bidding strategy and drive major gains in average CPM and ad revenues.

Commit Sufficient Technical Resources to Implementation and Optimization

A typical header bidding implementation is not a plug-and play solution. It requires dedication from several members of a publisher’s technical team. This can put pressure on ill-prepared publishers that may not have the resources in ad operations and engineering.

Header bidding is also an iterative process that requires close monitoring, through analytics and reporting. Once implemented, success will depend heavily on a publisher’s ability to efficiently manage all the bids coming in. If the setup isn’t tuned and monitored, that may not be the case. Technology partners with consultative services can support publishers in these efforts.

It’s Only a Matter of Time Until Header Bidding is the Standard

Publishers shouldn’t be thinking about if they should be adopting header bidding; they should be considering when and how they will adopt it. Media-buying behavior is shifting to expect header bidding setups at all publishers. Publishers that don’t have header bidding enabled will miss out on major revenue opportunities from more advanced buyers.

“We think that because of header bidding, buyers will see us as ‘the good guys,’ offering true programmatic,” noted a media group client of PubMatic. “We’ve heard that agencies are starting to give preference to publishers that offer header bidding, so we believe this will be a differentiator.”

Additionally, new developments in wrapper solutions (which are container tags that house multiple header tags) and more flexible, custom ad servers that enable ad serving of multiple formats, on multiple devices, mean that publishers need to keep up with current trends, or they might fall behind over the next six to 12 months.