Google Taking Steps To End Header Bidding

[CCarter]

So you know why all those viral sites are so slow? It is because they utilize a technique that queries the ad server first in the header of the page, then figures out what ads to serve. AFTER ALL THAT then it decides to load the rest of the page.

One reason people state to defer javascript to the end of the page aka remove it from the header is so the page loads faster. So in essence loading javascript in the header does the exact opposite of speeding up the site. And you always notice the advertisements load first right? Of course cause they've got first priority cause they've already got the logic behind them while rest of the page has been sitting around waiting.

Here is the thing, Google's always had the technology to go around this and they utilize it only for themselves. But since the demand is so great and publishers are looking for a way to bid, Google now realizes if they want a faster internet they'll have to give up the advantage they've held for years and open that sucker up:

Sauce: Header bidding was the latest trend in ad tech designed to take on Google — now Google has effectively stamped it out

In addition, Google also announced on Wednesday that all of its DFP clients will now be able to use a new product called "First Look," which allows publishers to give all of its programmatic ad buyers the chance to bid on 100% of their inventory, including ahead of sponsorships and reservations. The product had previously only been available to a test group of publishers.​

What this means for average visitors is faster loading on those viral sites. Yay?

 

[contract]

DFP is such a clusterfuck. As much as I want to use it, I can't. Every time I try to figure it out, it doesn't work.

A great deal of features are there but the UI is just terrible and support is non-existent. Even 3rd party training guides/videos/etc aren't enough. Analytics > DPF is a whole new ballgame. There's just no comparison. It's truly complex and far over complicated.

I was so happy to hear there was header bidding, because any 3rd party solution is going to have a super easy UI/great support. But this changes things.

Funny how First Look rolls out right when there's blood in the water. In reality it's most likely been reserved for prem publishers.

Will this make site loading times faster?

I don't think so.

ADs today load a shit ton of scripts, tracking codes/pixels, etc. Even a single banner from 1 network alone can pull in easily 100+ requests. I feel like a lot of these networks are selling data on the side. The AD banners are almost a front for the data collection.

In a fantasy world, I'd love to see 1 banner image load, 1 tracking script and that's it.

Take for instance:

https://publisheruniversity.withgoo...t/fundamentals/administrator/admin/page2.html

It shows 3rd party services for enabling Adsense.

But...

Setup an account and it's missing, lol.

http://dfphelp.in/helptopics/what-is-dynamic-allocation/

"You’ll need to reach out to DFP support, asking to enable the Line item dynamic level dynamic allocation. Once they’ve enabled it you’ll have to go and link your AdSense/AdX account in DFP. You can find the option to link it manually under the DFP Admin tab, at the bottom of the screen. You’ll also have to ensure that you disable the Inventory level allocation by going into the Network settings found under DFP Inventory tab."

But the training doesn't mention that lol, ugh.

 

[CCarter]

It's crazy, just because Google is big enough they can put out shitty UIs and give zero fucks. But 3rd party guys and smaller guys cannot afford to lose customers cause of bad UIs so they keep innovating to make things simpler. In the end it creates a market in between for people integrating with Google's APIs and creating a better UI experience. $$$

 

[contract]

Looks like they bought Admeld back in 2011.

They were a major player: http://www.admeld.com/

I guess if you can't beat them, buy them? lol.

 

[Future State]

Header bidding, CPM stacks with 10+ advertisers in them, 5000+ HTTP requests per page load, and then to add insult to injury people paginate content.

There's so many better ways to monetize your content without running off your users. No wonder Ad-Blocking is such a huge thing.

This is one situation where I thank Google for saving certain corners of the internet from themselves.

I'd rather have my page not crash the browser and make $2.00 CPM's than crash and make $0.00 CPM's while pretending to get $10.00 CPM's. I'd rather respect my users and have them load up another page or two and return later, than be like Forbes is doing where people actively block their website.

This will solve some of the problem but not all of it.

In the meantime, I suggest anyone fighting their own website over additional pennies should consider better ways of monetizing, especially ways that ad blockers don't care about, like affiliate links and pushing your own products.