<b>Prebid timeout: the 1200ms vs 2000ms call</b>

<b>Prebid timeout: the 1200ms vs 2000ms call</b>

What it does: sets how long the auction waits for bids before letting Google's ad server decide. The single most-mistuned number in header bidding.

Setup effort: 2/5 — one Prebid config value, but you need analytics to tune it.

RPM lift seen: too short (800ms) and slow-but-rich bidders time out — you lose 5-15% of bid value. Too long (2500ms) and latency kills viewability and CWV. Right-sizing to ~1500ms commonly recovers +5 to +10%.

Pros
— Pure revenue with no layout change
— Tunable per device (mobile networks need more)

Cons
— Wrong direction silently costs money with no visible symptom
— Needs bidder-level timeout-rate data to do honestly

Verdict: pull bidder timeout rates, set so your top 3 bidders respond ~90% of the time. Usually 1400-1600ms. Lift: ★★★☆☆ — Risk: ★★☆☆☆
Best for: anyone running Prebid. Skip if you're on a managed wrapper with no console access.