The Yield Blog
Practical guides on ad tech, header bidding and programmatic revenue, written by people who run ad stacks.
How header bidding works, why it replaced the waterfall, and what a modern Prebid stack looks like.
Read article →Open Bidding vs Header Bidding: Which Should Publishers Use?
Google's server-side alternative compared with Prebid — and why the answer is usually both.
Price Floor Optimization: From Static Rules to AI Floors
Why static floors leak revenue, how bid landscapes work, and what per-impression AI pricing changes.
ads.txt and the Authorized Seller Chain: A Practical Guide
How ads.txt, app-ads.txt and sellers.json protect your revenue — and the mistakes that filter your demand.
Google Ad Manager 360 vs GAM: What Publishers Actually Get
The differences that matter — AdX access, MCM, audience tools and API limits — without the sales gloss.
Programmatic Advertising 101: The Publisher's Mental Model
SSPs, DSPs, exchanges, auctions and where the money actually flows — explained from the sell side.
eCPM, RPM, Fill Rate, Viewability: The Metrics That Matter
A working glossary of yield metrics — and the traps inside each one.
Ad Refresh Without Wrecking Your CPMs: Best Practices
Time-based refresh is a blunt instrument. Here's how viewability-triggered refresh preserves demand quality.
Core Web Vitals and Ads: Making Speed and Revenue Coexist
Ads are the #1 cause of CLS and slow LCP — but a well-built stack can be both fast and lucrative.
Google MCM Explained: How Publishers Access AdX Through Partners
Manage Account vs Manage Inventory, the approval process, and how to pick a parent partner.
Prebid.js Setup: 12 Configuration Mistakes That Cost Money
Timeouts, price granularity, ID modules, lazy auctions — the settings that separate amateur and pro wrappers.
Publisher Identity After Third-Party Cookies: A Field Guide
UID2, SharedID, PPIDs, first-party data and contextual — what's actually moving CPMs in 2026.
The Science of Ad Layout: Placement, Density and Revenue per Session
Where an ad sits is worth as much as who bids on it. How systematic layout testing lifts session yield.
Q4, Q5 and the CPM Calendar: Planning Around Seasonality
Why January CPMs crash, how to ride Q4 demand, and what smart publishers do differently each quarter.
Invalid Traffic (IVT): How Publishers Protect Revenue and Reputation
GIVT vs SIVT, how clawbacks work, and the habits that keep your network standing clean.
PMPs and Preferred Deals: Selling Programmatic Like a Direct Seller
Deal IDs, floor strategy and packaging — turning your best inventory into negotiated revenue.
Video Monetization for Publishers: Instream, Outstream and Reality
Video CPMs are 3–8x display — when the inventory is real. The formats, the rules, and the traps.
Consent Management for Publishers: GDPR, TCF and Revenue
Your CMP is a revenue system. How consent rates work, what kills them, and the compliant ways to improve.
AMP Monetization in 2026: Still Worth It?
Where AMP still matters, how amp-ad and RTC work, and how to decide whether to keep or sunset AMP pages.
How to Choose a Monetization Partner: 15 Questions That Reveal Everything
Rev-shares, lock-ins, reporting honesty and holdout methodology — the due-diligence list publishers should run.
First-Price Auctions and Bid Shading: What Changed for Publishers
The 2019 auction shift still shapes every yield decision in 2026. Here's the game theory in plain language.