The Ultimate Guide to Open Bidding or EBDA

 Open Bidding, also known as Exchange Bidding in Dynamic Allocation (EBDA), is a server-side unified auction that enables various supply-side platforms (SSPs) and ad exchanges to compete for the finest ad space and inventory in real-time bidding auctions.

Dynamic allocation in programmatic advertising aids in the optimization of the advertising income produced by an ad impression. A publisher will submit a bid request to various ad networks and exchanges when they have an ad impression, and these entities will then bid against one another in a live auction to serve the impression. The winning ad network or exchange is automatically chosen by publishers' ad servers, and the winning ad is then served.

Open Bidding enters the picture in this situation. Publishers can use Open Bidding to make bid requests to several DSPs that participate in a live auction. As a result, the publisher receives a bigger payment and the value of the impression increases.

What is Open Bidding

Google offers an auction called Open Bidding or Exchange Bidding in Dynamic Allocation (EBDA) where SSPs can place bids for ad space. Normally, rather than in the user's browser, the auction takes place within the ad server (in this case, Google Ad Manager). With the launch of EBDA, SSPs now have an easy but competitive option to access Google's Ad Exchange for impressions.

Why did EBDA first come into play

Before any other platform could enter the auction in 2016, the programmatic sector saw Google Ad Manager successfully compete with publishers' direct sales teams. Ad ad auctions on DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) gave Google Ad Exchange (Google AdX) a competitive advantage over other ad exchanges and SSPs. The premium inventory was managed by Google AdX, and other SSPs made do with unsold ad units.

This frustrated competing ad exchanges and SSPs since publishers that utilized DFP automatically selected Google as their preferred ad exchange. Rival ad exchanges like AppNexus and Rubicon developed header bidding technologies to level the playing field.

Header bidding made it possible for several ad exchanges and SSPs to participate in an auction simultaneously without having to wait for Google to decide first. It made sure publishers make more money by choosing the most popular advertising. Header bidding began to catch Google's notice as it grew in popularity.

Soon after, Google developed Open Bidding, also known as Exchange Bidding Dynamic Allocation (EBDA), as a substitute for header bidding. Because it enables many ad exchanges and SSPs to take part in an auction at once, EBDA functions similarly to header bidding.

However, EBDA also enables publishers to access many demand sources, such as Google Ad Manager, with a single tag and obtain the most lucrative ad. The distinctions between Open Bidding and Header Bidding will be covered in more detail later.

How does Open Bidding work

Although the EBDA operation may appear complicated, it can be grasped in a few easy steps.

1. When a user opens a website, an ad request is made. This is an inquiry for Google Ad Manager.
   
   
2. From this point on, GAM manages the request. To determine the best offer for the inventory, GAM conducts an auction.
   
   
3. Google AdX analyzes various aspects of the ad, like the size, format, traffic, and more, and determines the best fit for the ad and places them in line.
   
   
4. The other advertising and yield partners (in this case, the SSPs and ad exchanges) are requested to put in their bids.
   
   
5. The yield partners submit the bids and the highest bid is returned to GAM.
   
   
6. Once a winner is selected, GAM completes the auction.
   
   
7.  The winning ad is placed on the publisher's page.
   
   

How to get started with Open Bidding

Step-1: Set up a GAM account:

A GAM Publisher account should be made. If you have access to AdSense, this will be accomplished. If you already have a Google MCM partner account, you can open a GAM account without first setting up an AdSense account. If not, a Google AdSense account is necessary. Your AdSense account will often be approved in less than a week.

Make an Ad Exchange account as well. Create a new account on the website of the Ad Exchange if you do not already have one.

Create an account by going to the GAM Login page next. Please be aware that after your account is created, the data you put here cannot be modified, so double-check the information before submitting it.

You will be notified once GAM determines your content to be eligible.

Step-2: Set up the ad units:

The next crucial step is to create ad units. Ad units are the containers that hold the ads that you wish to display to your users. To create an ad unit, click on the "Inventory" tab in the Ad Manager dashboard.

Next, click "Ad units" and then on the "New ad unit" button.

Follow the prompts that succeed in this action and configure your ad unit settings - ad size, ad type, and targeting options.

Step-3: Enable Open Bidding in GAM:

You may quickly enable Open Bidding once your Ad Exchange account has been created. In the Ad Manager dashboard, first, select the "Admin" tab.

"Global settings" and "Exchange Bidding" should be clicked.

Configure the demand sources you wish to use in your unified auction by entering the required information.

Step-4: Add your demand partners:

Your demand partners can participate in your unified auction only if you add them to your Ad Manager account. Go to the "Admin" tab in your Ad Managers dashboard to do this.

Next, click on "Companies" and then on "New company".

Under this click on “Yield group” and then on “Yield partner”. Now select your partner.

Configure your line item setting by adding the necessary details- ad type, size, targeting options, and price.

Add the necessary details of your demand partners and configure their settings on Ad Manager.

Step-5: Set up reporting:

Tracking your ad revenue and performance is crucial once your Exchange Bidding auction has begun to run. Ad Manager offers reporting tools to track the success of your auctions and improve your ad campaign.

Go to "Reports" on the dashboard to access the reporting tools.

After that, select "New report" and "Create report."

Enter the necessary information for your report settings, such as the date range, the metrics you want to monitor, and the filters you want to use.

Advantages of Open Bidding

1. User-friendly:
   
   Opening an Open Bidding account is simple and only takes a few minutes. Since it integrates with your current tags, minimal to no coding experience is necessary.
   
   
2. Low latency:
   
   The EBDA bidding procedure is conducted inside Google's infrastructure. It occurs through server-to-server communications, making webpages and advertisements load more quickly on a user's device. It improves the user experience. The website will automatically time out if a request takes more than 160 milliseconds.
   
   
3. Error-free process:
   
   The billing procedure is entirely handled by Google, making it extremely accurate. In Open Bidding, multiple bids are submitted simultaneously as well. Since everyone can access to the same information and the ability to check the number of impressions, this helps decrease discrepancies or inaccuracies.
   
   
4. Detailed reporting:
   
   In-depth analysis is produced via the EBDA procedure taking place within the Google ecosystem. This information includes the amount bid, the number of impressions gained, and performance indicators like click-through and conversion rates. By doing this, you may maximize the value of your inventory and make data-driven decisions.
   
   
5. High eCPM:
   
   You can invite several demand sources to bid on an inventory at once via open bidding. The cost of each ad impression may increase as a result of the competition. Larger bids and better eCPMs are what you can expect when more demand sources are vying for available ad space.

Challenges in Open Bidding

1. Managing ad fraud:

In Open Bidding, ad fraud comes into play when fake or fraudulent demand sources participate in the bidding process and place bids on ad inventory using fake data or traffic. This can inflate the bid prices and makes it difficult for authentic demand sources to win the auction. Ad frauds also take place when bots are used to generate fake clicks or impressions.

To resolve this issue, you must work with credible demand partners who provide high-quality ads. You can also use fraud detection tools to monitor your inventory and detect any suspicious activity.

2. Ad viewability:

Ad viewability describes how effectively and how much of an advertisement is visible. Because many demand sources are concurrently bidding for the same ad inventory in Exchange Bidding, ad viewability may become a problem. This causes numerous ad calls to be made simultaneously, which has an immediate negative effect on the app's or website's speed and functionality. Other issues with viewability include ad blockers that can interfere with displayed adverts and bots that produce fictitious views.

Due to the Media Rating Council's accreditation of the metrics and assurance that they are up to par, this issue typically does not arise in the GAM interface.

3. Ad transparency:

Ad transparency refers to the capacity to observe the manner in which the auction is conducted and the participants. Since numerous demand sources compete for the same ad inventory simultaneously in EBDA, ad transparency is a problem. Because of this, it is challenging to comprehend who is taking part in the auction and how the bidding process operates. Publishers may find it difficult to estimate the fair market value of their ad inventory as a result.

You can manage bids from several sources by using header bidding wrappers or other tools to solve this problem. This can guarantee the fairness of the bidding process. Demand sources can potentially address difficulties with transparency by offering comprehensive information about their bidding procedure.

4. Competing with other bidders:

Since numerous bidders are participating in Exchange Bidding at the same time, it would be challenging for one bidder to continuously prevail. By making your ad inventory more effective, you can combat this. This can be accomplished by focusing on niche markets or in-demand placements.

How to run Open Bidding with Header Bidding

Running both Exchange Bidding and Header Bidding together is possible since these auctions run separately on the server side and client side. This type of auction is called hybrid header bidding. This will help you maximize ad earnings by increasing their auction's efficiency and performance.

Let's closely examine the workings of hybrid header bidding.

The header bidding server will return the highest bid from the unified auctions. And, the header bidding auction's best bid is shared as a priority line item. Next, these bids are compared and the highest bid is selected. It will then proceed to deliver the ad creative to the publisher.

The two auctions run independently. Configuring and monitoring them can get slightly complicated. However, they are still proven methods against the traditional waterfall method.

Last words

To sum up, Exchange Bidding is an essential process for publishers who seek to optimize their ad revenue. You can increase competition and maximize revenue potential by allowing multiple demand sources to bid on the same inventory.