Publisher Monetization

Waterfall — Definition & Explanation

A legacy ad serving model where impression opportunities are offered to demand partners sequentially in a predetermined priority order. The first partner willing to pay the floor price wins. Replaced by header bidding/unified auction due to lower yields.

How Waterfall Works

In a waterfall, the ad server calls demand partners in priority order. The first partner that returns a bid meeting the floor price wins, regardless of whether a lower-priority partner would have paid more.

Why Waterfall Matters for Publishers

Waterfalls consistently underperform header bidding because the highest bidder doesn't always win. Publishers still using waterfall-only setups typically leave 20-40% of revenue on the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are waterfalls still used?

Some publishers use waterfalls for direct deals and passback inventory. Header bidding has replaced waterfalls for most programmatic demand.

How much revenue does header bidding add over waterfall?

Publishers switching from waterfall to header bidding typically see 20-40% CPM increases due to true competitive bidding.

Does Stellor Media work with publishers still on waterfall?

Yes. Stellor Media supports both waterfall passback and header bidding integrations, with migration assistance for publishers moving to header bidding.

Related Terms

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