Key Takeaways

• A bid request is a data packet sent from publishers to advertisers that kicks off the real-time bidding process

• Bid requests contain critical information including user data, page context, ad placement specs, and device details

• The typical bid request is processed in under 100 milliseconds as part of the programmatic advertising ecosystem

• Bid requests follow OpenRTB specifications that standardize how this information is structured and exchanged

• Publishers can optimize their bid requests to attract more relevant advertisers and potentially higher CPMs

The Building Block of Programmatic Advertising You Might Not Know About

If you've ever wondered what happens in those milliseconds between when a user loads a webpage and when an ad appears, you're about to find out. Bid requests are the unsung heros of the programmatic ecosystem, quietly passing crucial data that makes or breaks advertising campaigns.

Let's break down what a bid request actually is: it's essentially a digital signal sent from a publisher's website to multiple potential advertisers saying "Hey, I have ad space available right now - interested?" But it's way more sophisticated than just that simple message.

What Information Does a Bid Request Include?

A typical bid request is packed with data points that help advertisers decide whether they want to bid on that particular impression. Think of it as a comprehensive dossier that gets assembled in real time:

User-Related Information

• Demographics (when available)

• General location data

• Browser type and version

• Operating system

• Language settings

• Anonymized IDs or cookie information

Context and Placement Details

• Website URL and domain info

• Content category of the page

• Ad unit size and format specifications

• Viewability potential

• Minimum bid floor price

• Allowed creative types

Tom Kershaw, CTO at Magnite, explains it well: "The bid request is where the magic starts - it's the first step in connecting publishers with the right advertisers who value their specific audience."

The Bid Request Lifecycle: Faster Than You Can Blink

When a user visits a webpage, here's what happens in those split-seconds:

1. The publisher's ad server recognizes an ad slot needs to be filled

2. It generates a bid request with all available data

3. This request gets sent to an SSP (Supply-Side Platform)

4. The SSP forwards the request to multiple DSPs (Demand-Side Platforms)

5. Advertisers' DSPs analyze the request data

6. If the impression matches their targeting criteria, they submit a bid

7. The highest bidder wins, and their ad is displayed

All of this usualy happens in less than 100 milliseconds - literally faster than you can blink!

OpenRTB: The Technical Standard Behind Bid Requests

Bid requests don't just come in any random format. The industry relies on OpenRTB specifications, which is basically a standardized language that ensures all ad tech systems can communicate effectively.

The current OpenRTB specification includes various objects and attributes that provide structure to bid requests:

{
  "id": "1234567890",
  "imp": [{
    "id": "1",
    "banner": {
      "w": 300,
      "h": 250
    },
    "bidfloor": 0.5
  }]

This JSON-formatted example is greatly simplified, but it shows how structured the information is. According to the Microsoft Learn documentation, there are specific fields that must meet volume thresholds to ensure buyers have sufficient information to bid intelligently.

Why Bid Requests Matter to Publishers

If you're a publisher, bid requests are your first impression to potential advertisers. The quality and completeness of your bid requests can directly impact your revenue in several ways:

1. Better Targeting = Higher CPMs: When you provide rich, accurate data in your bid requests, advertisers can better target their desired audiences and are willing to pay premium rates.

2. More Bidders = More Competition: Comprehensive bid requests attract more advertisers to your inventory, potentially driving up prices through increased competition.

3. Faster Decisions = Better Fill Rates: Well-structured bid requests allow DSPs to make faster decisions, reducing timeout issues and improving fill rates.

Sarah Johnson, ad operations specialist at Blockthrough, notes that "publishers who invest in optimizing their bid requests often see a 15-20% lift in programmatic revenue without changing anything else about their setup."

Common Bid Request Challenges

No technology is perfect, and bid requests come with their own set of challenges:

Privacy Regulations

With GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations, publishers must be careful about what user data they include in bid requests. Finding the balance between providing valuable targeting information and respecting privacy requirements is tricky.

Data Bloat

Some publishers stuff their bid requests with unnecessary data, making them larger and slower to process. This can lead to timeouts and lost opportunities.

Missing Information

Conversely, bid requests missing key information like device details or accurate content categorization may be overlooked by advertisers looking for specific targeting parameters.

How to Optimize Your Bid Requests

If youre looking to improve your programmatic performance, here are some actionable tips:

1. Implement proper page categorization: Make sure your content is accurately categorized so advertisers know exactly what they're bidding on.

2. Provide viewability signals: Include information about the placement position and viewability history to attract quality-focused advertisers.

3. Clean your data: Remove unnecessary parameters that slow down processing without adding value.

4. Stay current with OpenRTB specifications: The IAB Tech Lab updates these specs regularly - the latest update was in January 2024.

5. Test and learn: Work with your ad tech partners to A/B test different bid request configurations and see what drives the best results.

The Future of Bid Requests

As third-party cookies phase out, bid requests are evolving. We're seeing the rise of contextual signals, first-party data integration, and privacy-preserving identifiers becoming more prominent in bid requests.

The introduction of OpenRTB 3.0 aims to address many of these challenges with improved structure and additional fields designed for a privacy-first advertising ecosystem.

Understanding bid requests might seem technical, but it's foundational to successfully navigating the programmatic landscape. Whether you're a publisher looking to optimize your yield or an advertiser wanting to understand where your targeting data comes from, bid requests are worth your attention.