In Ad Manager, header bidding trafficking is a feature that enables publishers to integrate their header bidding demand.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some answers to questions you may have about header bidding trafficking and how it works:
What are the requirements for using header bidding trafficking?
Currently, Ad Manager 360 supports the Prebid wrapper for header bidding trafficking. While header bidding allows for a lot of customization, the Prebid implementation must be “standard” enough such that the Google Publisher Tag (GPT) is able to integrate with it. Web inventory and the Banner ad format are currently supported. Learn more about the requirements for header bidding trafficking.
What’s a “standard” implementation of the Prebid wrapper?
The majority of Prebid implementations are supported, but some customizations that change the way that Prebid works may prevent Ad Manager 360 from collecting bids to compete in ad serving. Note that failure to fetch data will prevent the bidder from competing, causing ad requests to fall back to status quo Price Priority line items targeted for header bidding.
To use header bidding trafficking, the Prebid implementation must meet the following requirements:
- GPT can find the Prebid global object.
- The global object has a getEvents() function that works properly.
- For each slot using header bidding in yield groups, the Prebid AdUnit is set to a GPT slot's ad unit path or element ID.
How can I get help with my Prebid setup?
Prebid recommends a number of resources to get assistance with your Prebid implementation. Whether it's related to header bidding trafficking functionality or general header bidding setup issues, please work with your web developer to address any issues, and reference the Ad Manager requirements for header bidding trafficking.
Do I have to use header bidding trafficking or can I continue using my current header bidding setup?
Header bidding trafficking is an optional feature. Traditional header bidding setups will continue to function as they have in the past. The two implementations of header bidding can be used in tandem; however, impressions will only be counted once.
Why isn't one of the header bidders I use listed as an option for header bidding?
Not all header bidders are currently supported for header bidding trafficking. The list of bidders in the "Header bidding" tab is automatically populated with the supported bidders that Ad Manager detects from your sites. Contact your account manager if you want to suggest a new header bidder be added to the list of supported bidders.
Does everything through header bidding trafficking compete at the same priority?
The winning bid sent from Prebid will compete in the auction based on price.
What happens to all of the Price Priority line items that have been set up for header bidding?
You can leave Price Priority line items as they are. If a matching header bidder is competing, the Price Priority line item will be removed from the auction because it's not necessary. Price Priority line items, if they remain in your network, will still compete as usual when there is no matching coverage from header bidding trafficking.
What happens to my header bidding deals?
You can enable Optimized Private Auction deals. When a publisher enables this feature for a bidder, bids associated with deal IDs will enter the auction and compete at the same priority as an Ad Manager optimized Private Auction.
If header bidding trafficking fails to serve due to a misconfiguration, will my header bidding setup be broken?
No, any header bidding Price Priority line items that are set up will continue to serve as normal.
What does Ad Manager return as the creative in the ad response if a header bidder wins the auction via header bidding trafficking?
It's very similar in terms of functionality to the Prebid universal creative, but only the relevant portions of the Prebid universal creative are inlined in the ad response (for example, web banner with or without SafeFrame rendering). Ultimately, Ad Manager instructs Prebid on the publisher's page to render the appropriate ad by calling
pbjs.renderAd().Are bidder aliases supported?
Prebid allows publishers to set up bidder aliases, which enables a publisher-defined alias to be passed instead of the standard bidder code. As of May 2023, Ad Manager supports bidder aliases in header bidding. This requires Prebid version 7.35.0 or later, and for the "aliasRegistry" not to be made "private". For more information about defining an alias for a bidder adapter, see pbjs.aliasBidder in the Prebid Publisher API Reference.
How do I add a new header bidder after I've enabled header bidder trafficking?
When you add a new bidder to your Prebid configuration on your site, the new bidder will be automatically detected. To review and enable the new bidder, click Delivery, then Bidders, and then Header bidding. Detection can take up to one day from when you add the bidder to Prebid. If a bidder is not detected after one day, please contact your account representative.
Will header bidding trafficking run on all ad units, even those where I’ve blocked Open Auction?
Header bidding will compete in all programmatic auctions unless you set up a protection to block header bidding from competing on specific inventory. In some cases, specific ad units or inventory may not be available for auction demand, such as when no yield group or Ad Exchange line item is targeted. These are usually cases when an ad unit is reserved for a direct reservation deal. Enabling header bidding trafficking does not mean that header bidding will now compete in these circumstances.
How do I report on performance with header bidding trafficking?
Header bidding trafficking impressions will have a Demand channel dimension value of “Header bidding.” You can also use the Bidder dimension to see performance by exchange.
In header bidding yield groups, you could use the Yield partner dimension to see performance by exchange. Now, in header bidding trafficking, you must use the Bidder dimension.
