ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Header bidding

Header bidding is like when you're playing catch with your friends, but you have a bunch of different balls and you want to make sure you catch the best one. Instead of throwing just one ball and hoping it's the best, you throw all the balls at the same time and catch the one that's the highest in the air.

In the same way, when you go to a website, there are different ads that could show up. Some ads might be better than others, and the website wants to make sure they get the best ads so they can make the most money. With header bidding, instead of just showing one ad and hoping it's the best, the website asks all the advertisers at once if they want to show their ads. That way, the website can choose the highest-paying ad and show it to you.

It's kind of like you have a bunch of different stores selling candy, and you want to make sure you get the one with the best deal. You could just go into one store and buy whatever candy they have, but with header bidding you ask all the stores at once what their deal is, so you can get the best candy for the best price!