Second-price ad auctions explained in plain English
· 4 min read
Idlebid shows ads in a live priority auction: the highest bid is shown first. The winner then pays the second-highest bid, not their own. This is called a second-price auction.
An example
Suppose three advertisers bid on the same audience. If the top bid is higher than the second bid, the top bidder wins the slot but is charged the second bid. They never pay more than what was needed to win.
What it means for advertisers
- Bid what a counted view is really worth to you. You will not be charged more than the competition requires.
- There is no need to guess the lowest winning bid or to keep nudging your price.
- You pay per 1,000 counted views, and only qualified views are counted.
What it means for earners
Earners receive 50% of the price paid for each counted view. More advertisers competing for the same audience tends to raise that price, which is why Idlebid runs a live auction rather than a fixed rate.