by Sarah Sluis //
Header bidding, make way: In the next year, more publishers will switch to server-side header bidding.
The solution offers clear advantages – while introducing other disadvantages – with which the industry will grapple as publishers update their tech.
Like with header bidding, publishers run a pre-auction before the ad server to create a level playing field for demand. However, server-to-server header bidding is much faster because all the heavy lifting happens on a remote server, not on a user’s browser.
“Header bidding is great, but it’s not a panacea,” said Chip Schenck, VP of programmatic sales and strategy at Meredith. “It has its own warts, including the latency in the call. Server-to-server is the next step in the evolution of auction dynamics.”
Other industry experts agree that server-side header bidding represents an improvement from client-side header bidding.