Not all ads placed on top of the page could mean they’re always viewable.
- A display ad is counted as viewable when at least 50% of its area is visible on the screen for at least 1 second.
- A video ad is counted as viewable when at least 50% of its area is visible on the screen while the video is playing for at least 2 seconds.
Tips
Step 1: Choose a spot that fits the website design and attracts your user’s attention.
Step 2: Per Google’s policy, avoid site layouts in which the ads push content below the fold
Step 3: A/B test to compare different ad spots & ad size combinations to determine which one performs best.
Step 4: Run a report on Ad Manager choosing the “Total Active View % viewable impressions” as a metric → this gives you the viewability rate of your ads
Step 5: For mobile, usually you want a single ad unit at the bottom (sitting just above the fold), then skip a screen height, then another ad unit, another screen height, another unit, up to 5 units.
Step 6: Use these questions as a guide when deciding on placements:
- What is the user trying to accomplish by visiting the site?
- What do they do when viewing a particular page?
- Where is their attention likely to be focused?
Step 7: Check out Google’s guide to ad sizes: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/6002621?hl=en
