What is In-App Bidding?

A real-time programmatic method of buying and selling ad inventory where multiple advertisers bid simultaneously on the same inventory.

In-app bidding – also known as in-app header bidding or mobile header bidding – is a real-time programmatic method of buying and selling ad inventory. This form of bidding allows multiple advertisers or demand sources to bid on the same inventory simultaneously, and the highest bid wins within milliseconds.

Why It Matters

In-app bidding provides greater revenue for publishers through increased competition, ensures fairness as the highest bid always wins, offers more transparency into bid values, and delivers greater efficiency compared to waterfall bidding methods.

How to Calculate

In-app bidding operates through SDK integration where demand sources submit real-time CPM bids, and the highest bidder wins the impression. Revenue is calculated as: Winning CPM × Number of Impressions.

Industry Benchmarks

Best Practices

Integrate reliable in-app bidding SDK, diversify demand sources to maximize competition, monitor real-time performance metrics, gradually transition from waterfall to bidding, and ensure proper floor price settings to maintain revenue quality.

Examples

A mobile game app integrates an in-app bidding solution. When a user opens the app, the SDK sends ad requests to 10 demand sources simultaneously. Network A bids $2.50 CPM, Network B bids $3.20 CPM, and Network C bids $2.80 CPM. Network B wins with the highest bid and their ad is displayed to the user.

Notes

In-app bidding is considered more democratic and transparent than waterfall mediation, as all demand sources have equal opportunity to compete for inventory. The technology requires proper SDK integration and may have a learning curve for publishers transitioning from traditional waterfall setups.