As mobile usage continues to grow, mobile app publishers are always looking for ways to monetise their apps effectively. Prebid Mobile is a popular choice for that. So what is Prebid Mobile and how can you, as a publisher, take advantage of it? In this blog post, we will dive into the details of Prebid Mobile and carefully evaluate the pros and cons, so you can decide if it's the right solution for you.

What is Prebid Mobile?

Before going into Prebid Mobile, publishers should familiarise themselves with Prebid Server as they work in conjunction to request and receive bids. It is required to have a Prebid Server account in order to use Prebid Mobile. Learn more about Prebid Server and how to get started with it here.

Prebid Mobile, by definition, is an open-source library that provides an end-to-end header bidding solution for mobile app publishers (Prebid.org).

What are the benefits of Prebid Mobile?

• Open-Source: Being an open-source solution, Prebid Mobile provides publishers with the ability to customise and modify it to meet their specific needs.
• Option to monetise with or without an Ad Server: If a publisher does not have a direct sales team or an ad server, they can still access Prebid’s mobile demand stack using Prebid SDK without relying on any 3rd party's SDK. This makes Prebid Mobile suitable for publishers of all sizes.
• User Experience: Prebid SDK renders ads immediately when demand is returned from Prebid Server, which vastly reduces ad delivery latency, ensuring a positive user experience.
• Revenue: Multiple demand sources bid on ad inventory leads to increased competition and hence, higher revenue for publishers. For instance, one of our clients started monetising with Prebid Mobile using Relevant Yield in August 2022 and immediately saw an uplift. Starting from below 50 000€/month, their revenue is now stable at approximately 390 000€/month, on average.
  
  
• Ad Fill Rates: More demand sources, more inventory sold for publishers. Higher Fill Rates attract more buyers to your inventory.
• Total Control of Inventory with Transparency: If managed in-house, publishers can have better control over their ad inventory and choose which demand sources they want to work with. Additionally, publishers can see which demand sources are bidding and how much they are bidding.
  
  

How to manage Prebid Mobile in-house effectively?

Operating programmatic in-house bears the reputation of being resource-consuming, however, it is still the favourite option for leading publishers to stay in control. Let's brainstorm on the solutions for some of the most common challenges publishers face with in-house operations.

• Technical Complexity:

Integrating demand sources/SSPs with mobile apps can be more challenging and may require additional development resources than integrating them with websites. Normally, developers need to integrate the SSP's SDK into the app's code. This SDK provides a set of tools that allow the SSP to access the app's inventory, ad requests, and user data. This process can be time-consuming and requires a thorough understanding of the app's codebase and the SSP's SDK. However, by using a tool like Relevant Yield, it can be simplified to some switches.

• Resource Requirements:
  
  Prebid Mobile requires additional resources to manage, including technical support and ongoing optimisation. Not every publisher can or want to afford these additional costs.
  
  Understanding this, Relevant Digital makes sure that Relevant Yield adds efficiency to the operations, maximising the capacity of your specialists so you can do more with less. With high efficiency, publishers can save a great deal of operational costs and therefore, stay financially competitive.
  
  Besides the financial advantage, Relevant Yield allows the adops and yield specialists to deepen their knowledge and broaden their skills. Without the dependence on engineers, they can freely experiment at their own pace and thus, optimise yield with creative ideas. The more hands-on experience they get, the more efficient they become.
  
  
• Performance Issues:
  
  To grow digital advertising revenue sustainably, publishers need to prioritise user experience. Although Prebid Mobile's auctions are handled on the server side, latency can still happen. Besides creating smart and strategic placements, publishers should monitor latency and response rates closely. Even better, have real-time alarms that notify your specialists immediately whenever abnormalities happen to ensure the visitors are always engaged and your Viewability does not go below your preferred benchmark.
  
  

• The wrapper:
  
  One of the most important criteria to look for in a wrapper is neutrality. This is to ensure transparency in operations and maximise publishers' earnings. Relevant Yield uses Prebid SDK to provide publishers with a flexible monetisation strategy with no strings attached. As a result, Relevant Yield's publisher clients have the freedom to manage not only Prebid but also other solutions like Criteo all from the same platform. Skalden Media is a great example of tech autonomy.
  
  Utilising an agnostic and neutral product like Relevant Yield, publishers have total control of their operations and inventory without the tech burdens.

In conclusion

Prebid Mobile is a powerful solution for mobile app publishers looking to boost their programmatic ad revenue. However, implementing and managing it can be a complex and time-consuming process that requires technical expertise and ongoing optimisation. Relevant Yield is here to help publishers overcome those challenges. It is an easy-to-use yield tool that automates the heavy technical work required for Prebid integration, saving publishers time and reducing costs. By using Relevant Yield, publishers can focus on revenue-generating strategies without worrying about tech and resource burdens.