Get started with Unity Ads in-app bidding in Unity LevelPlay
To set up Unity Ads for in-app bidding in Unity LevelPlay, you can either:
- Use the automated setup, which is the recommended best practice. For more information, refer to the Unity Ads integration guide in the ironSource Knowledge Center.
- Use the manual process outlined in this guide.
Manual in-app bidding setup
1. Install the required adapter version
Install a LevelPlay adapter that supports Unity Ads SDK version 4.6.1 or above for the best performance on bidding. Get the adapter from the Unity Ads Change Log in the ironSource Knowledge Center.
2. Create a Bidding Placement in the Unity Ads Monetization Dashboard
Use a Bidding Placement for third-party-mediated projects to receive the most competitive bid for your ad space. Unlike traditional waterfalls, where mediation platforms prioritize ad networks based on manual targets set by the publisher, bidding allows for a fair auction where multiple ad networks can compete in real-time for impressions. The ad network with the highest bid wins the bid request.
To create a Bidding Placement:
Important: A single Ad Unit can’t include both Bidding and Waterfall Placement types at the same time. The recommended best practice is to add a new Ad Unit to create a Bidding Placement type. To create a Waterfall Placement type, the recommended best practice is to add a new Ad Unit, archive the preferred Ad Unit’s Bidding Placement type, or move the Placement to a different Ad Unit.
Go to the Monetization dashboard and select Placements > Add Placement.
Select Bidding and enter the Placement Name.
Note: You don’t need to set up a price or geo target for Bidding Placements.
Select Add Placement.
Managing Placements
On the Placement Management page, select the more menu next to the preferred Placement to:
Edit Placement, including Placement Name
Archive Placement
Note: You can’t unarchive a Bidding Placement for an Ad Unit that already supports a Waterfall Placement. You also can’t unarchive a Waterfall Placement for an Ad Unit that already supports a Bidding Placement.
Change Ad Unit
Note: You can change or move a Placement to a different Ad Unit with the same platform. Moving Placements won’t change Placement IDs, so you do not need to update the IDs in your mediator.
Troubleshooting Placements
If a Placement doesn't switch from bidding to a traditional waterfall after you change from LevelPlay to another mediation partner, this will cause the following load error to display when trying to load a placement:
> Header bidding load invocation failed: adMarkup is missing; objectId is missing
This error indicates that the adMarkup and objectId parameters are missing when requesting ads for a bidding type Ad Unit/Placement.
- If you are using bidding, check that your integration is correct.
- If you are not using bidding, use the traditional waterfall Ad Unit/Placement to request ads. You can create traditional waterfall Ad Units/Placements on the Monetization dashboard.
3. Create a bidding instance in the LevelPlay dashboard
The Unity LevelPlay in-app bidding solution enables you to sell your ad inventory in an automated auction by allowing ad sources to bid for each impression in real time.
To create your bidding instance in the LevelPlay Dashboard, refer to How to set up in-app bidding in the ironSource Knowledge Center.
4. Run a bidding test
A bidding test is an A/B test that helps you decide if using in-app bidding is the right monetization strategy for your app business. The test enables publishers to compare the performance of their current waterfall (A) versus one that includes in-app bidding (B).
To ensure your setup is correct and the test runs accurately, refer to A/B test in the ironSource Knowledge Center.
You're now ready to use Unity Ads for in-app bidding in Unity LevelPlay. For more information, contact your Unity representative or refer to Unity Support.