Background
HilltopAds is a leading global advertising network delivering high-quality traffic for advertisers, agencies, and affiliate teams.
The company provides scalable Popunder, In-Page Push, Banner, and Video ad formats across both web and mobile environments. With precise GEO, OS, and device targeting, fraud prevention mechanisms, and postback-driven optimization, HilltopAds enables clients to test, scale, and reach their performance goals efficiently. Their hallmark is a client-first approach, offering dedicated account managers, hands-on support, and rapid response times.
In an evolving AdTech landscape, accurate device intelligence has become critical. Rapid changes in user agents and the reduction of legacy UA data have made traditional detection methods unreliable without support for User-Agent Client Hints (UA-CH). Additionally, hosted, low-latency APIs with continuous data refreshes are now the standard expectation for performance-driven platforms. 51Degrees’ advanced device-detection engine, which fully supports UA-CH and offers a cloud-based, frequently updated API, aligned directly with these needs.
The Challenge
As HilltopAds continued to scale, the company recognized a need to modernize its device detection infrastructure. Growth demanded faster time-to-value and consistent accuracy to match creatives with users in real time, reduce wasted impressions, and protect margins. The team sought a solution that could deliver low-latency, real-time signals without compromising security or compliance.
HilltopAds deliberately opted for a hosted platform backed by ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 27001 certifications, ensuring both quality and data security. Their ideal partner needed to offer responsive support, continuous updates, and deep expertise in UA-CH adoption — all while allowing their engineers to focus on innovation rather than infrastructure maintenance.
Why 51Degrees
HilltopAds selected 51Degrees for several key reasons:
- Hosted deployment that’s fast to roll out and easy to maintain.
- High-accuracy detection with robust UA-CH support.
- Exceptional team responsiveness and clear, developer-friendly documentation.
- ISO 9001 & ISO/IEC 27001 certifications providing peace of mind, supporting compliance needs and partner requirements.
- Regular data updates to ensure continuous coverage for new devices and browsers.
The Solution
HilltopAds integrated the 51Degrees Device Detection Cloud API, which provides device, OS, browser, and capability data in real time. These insights now power several critical functions within HilltopAds’ platform:
- Aligning creatives and landing pages with the detected device type.
- Optimizing bidder and blacklist logic based on device family or OS version.
- Enabling higher-confidence split-testing across environments.
Because 51Degrees manages data updates and UA-CH evolution within its hosted infrastructure, HilltopAds no longer needs to maintain local data files. The integration ensures continuous accuracy with minimal operational effort.
Keys to Success
- Seamless onboarding and proactive, expert support from the 51Degrees team.
- Smooth UA-CH transition without performance regressions.
- Automated, daily dataset refreshes maintaining high detection accuracy.
Results
The collaboration delivered tangible improvements across several dimensions:
- Enhanced targeting reliability, leading to smoother user experiences and fewer mismatched ad flows.
- Reduced engineering overhead thanks to the hosted and automated update model.
- Stability through user-agent changes, ensuring uninterrupted targeting precision.
- Improved analytics consistency, enabling better decision-making and more confident A/B testing.
- Lower eCPA variance, achieved through refined device-aware routing and creative pairing.
While HilltopAds cannot disclose specific performance metrics, the company reports sustained improvements in traffic quality and reduced operational complexity compared to previous solutions.
Interested in achieving similar results?
Get started with 51Degrees Device Detection today.
“51Degrees gives us a hosted, ISO-certified backbone for device intelligence. Integration was smooth, updates are seamless, and the team’s response time is consistently fast. Most importantly, detection is accurate and keeps pace with UA-CH changes – exactly what a modern ad network needs.” RomanBusiness Development Manager, HilltopAds
About Device Detection
Device Detection empowers websites and ad platforms to truly understand their audiences—revealing details such as browser type, screen resolution, and processing power before content is delivered.
With 51Degrees’ comprehensive Property Dictionary, which defines over 280 unique device properties, businesses can uncover deep insights into every user’s digital environment. Unlike user registration or preference sharing, device detection offers a seamless, non-invasive way to personalize experiences, optimize performance, and drive higher engagement through perfectly tailored content delivery.
Conclusion
HilltopAds’ adoption of 51Degrees Device Detection Cloud demonstrates how ad networks can achieve both scalability and precision in the privacy-first era.
The partnership delivers a powerful combination of technical rigor, ease of use, and proactive support — enabling them to focus on delivering value to clients while maintaining a modern, resilient infrastructure..