The rise of header bidding in mobile app monetization In 2024, the rise of Header Bidding was a standout monetization trend in mobile gaming, headlined by Google Ads, with other networks like Moloco following suit and making that transition as well. Header bidding is a process where mobile app publishers offer their ad inventory to multiple advertising networks simultaneously, allowing them to bid on it simultaneously. This creates more competition for each ad impression, increasing revenue for the app publisher by ensuring they receive the best possible price. Seow describes header bidding as similar to a single-slot auction house, where bidders offer their bids side-by-side instead of offering competing bids, one after the other. Header bidding differs from the alternative ‘waterfall model’, a programmatic approach in which ad requests are sent sequentially to ad networks in order of their historical performance until one fills the ad slot.