What is header bidding?
Header bidding (also called advance bidding or pre-bidding) lets publishers solicit bids from multiple demand sources in parallel before the ad server makes its decision. It replaced the inefficient waterfall model where exchanges were called sequentially.
Implementation
- Client-side: Prebid.js running in the browser
- Server-side: Prebid Server, Amazon TAM — lower latency, better cookie matching
- Hybrid: combined client + server-side wrappers
Header bidding typically lifts publisher CPMs 10–40% by ensuring every impression is competitively priced. C Wire integrates as a demand source through Prebid and direct SSP integrations.