Publishers rejoice, Google is set to relinquish the so-called ‘last look’ its own DoubleClick AdExchange had on auctions that mean it is able to bid on every impression and consequently always outbid others. The u-turn was revealed by Ad Exchanger, which posted a document that outlined the change for Google’s Exchange Bidding in Dynamic Allocation. While the move is still in beta, the online giant’s director of product management Jonathan Bellack confirmed the overhaul to the trade publication. “We are collecting the price each exchange would pay, including AdX, and then putting it in a unified auction where the highest price wins,” Bellack said. Previously, the DoubleClick AdExchange would wait for other exchanges to submit their bids before making its own, a dynamic that left it always in a position to outbid its rivals. By having the “last look”, Google’s exchange could simply bid $5.01 when the highest bid for a particular user from another exchange was $5. However, under the new auction news it would not be able to use that advantage to secure the bid. The move could be the start of a change in the way Google works with adtech partners. Exchanges and publishers have listed Google’s ‘last look’ as one of their chief concerns, with Trinity Mirror’s head of programmatic Amir Malik treating header bidding as a way for his business to resist Google dominating ad inventory.
Google has removed the "last-look" advantage its own DoubleClick AdExchange had on auctions. Previously, Google's AdX could wait for others to submit their bids before it made its own, meaning it was always in a position to outbid others. Now it will not use that advantage to secure a bid, resolving a key concern of adtech partners. The change is part of an effort by Google and other ad networks to make sure they are getting paid fair market value when ads appear next to each other.