Introduction to Open Bidding

Only available in Google Ad Manager 360.

Open Bidding allows you to invite third-party demand partners to compete for your inventory in a single auction with real-time, server-to-server bidding. Open Bidding in Ad Manager also provides simplified trafficking, reporting, and billing.

View related Skillshop training course

Should I use Open Bidding or header bidding?

Open Bidding is easier to implement than header bidding. You can use your existing tagging on website or apps, or you can opt for an SDK implementation. Open Bidding in Ad Manager also reduces the latency historically associated with header bidding.

Ad Manager communicates directly with third-party demand partners in a server-to-server connection. Under header bidding, complex custom header bidding code is usually required to facilitate this communication. This causes latency for your websites or apps and is a suboptimal user experience.

Eligible inventory trafficked in Ad Manager can take advantage of Open Bidding with no additional technical development required.

Mediation for mobile apps

Ad Manager mediation for mobile apps uses a list of yield partners called individually, in sequence, from your mobile app after dynamic allocation. Open Bidding, on the other hand, is handled by the Ad Manager ad server which calls all yield partners at once so they can compete in real time during the dynamic allocation process.

Open Bidding and mediation yield partners can be included in the same yield group and compete in the same auction. Learn more about how open bidding works.

Pricing and protections

Pricing rules, including advertiser floor prices, apply to all remnant line items and to Open Bidding.

Protections, including blocking rules, do not apply to Open Bidding partners.

Reporting

Ad Manager reports display aggregated information about impressions, net revenue, bid requests, and bid responses transacted through Open Bidding. Ad Exchange revenue can be broken down by channel, including "Open Bidding", "Mediation", and more conventional "Ad Exchange" impressions.

Learn more about yield group reporting.

Google’s relationship to publishers and exchanges

Through the Ad Manager ad server, Google facilitates real-time bidding between exchanges and publisher ad requests. Google has contracts related to Open Bidding with both publishers and exchanges, but before a publisher can connect with an Open Bidding yield partner, the publisher must have an established contractual relationship with that partner. Google is not involved in the required contracts between publishers and exchanges.

Open Bidding partners

Below are a selection of exchanges configured for Open Bidding along with their supported serving environments and capabilities.*

Display support

	Desktop web	Mobile web	Mobile app		Native
Yield partner			iOS/Android	Interstitial
Ad Generation
AerServ
Fluct
Improve Digital
Index Exchange
Magnite
Media.net
MobFox
OpenX
PubMatic
ShareThrough
Smaato
Smart Adserver
Sonobi
Sovrn
SpotX
TripleLift
UnrulyX
Verizon Media
Yieldmo
YieldOne

* Some exchanges participate in Open Bidding, but have requested not to be listed in this table.

Video support

In-stream video is available to all exchanges. For out-stream video placements to be available, the exchange must opt-in to multi-format requests.

Yield partner	In-stream video	Out-stream video	Rewarded video
Ad Generation
AerServ
Chocolate Platform
Fluct
Improve Digital
Index Exchange
Magnite
Media.net
MobFox
OpenX
PubMatic
UnrulyX
Smaato
Smart Adserver
Sonobi
Sovrn
SpotX
Telaria
TripleLift
Verizon Media
Yieldmo
YieldOne

* Some exchanges participate in Open Bidding, but have requested not to be listed in this table.

Regional limitations

Some exchanges only support requests for certain regions or countries. Exchanges not listed below support requests globally.

• Ad Generation: Japan only
• AerServ: Americas only
• Improve Digital: Americas and Europe only
• MobFox: Americas and Europe only
• Sovrn: Americas and Europe only
• SpotX: Americas, Europe, Asia, and Japan
• Telaria: Americas only
• UnrulyX: Americas and Europe only
• YieldOne: Japan only