Ad-Juster Blog Optimizing for Viewability: A Guide for Publishers

Last time in our none!important;"="">viewability series, we took a look at the creation and evolution of viewability standards and why it's important for publishers to optimize for viewability. Viewability is a vital digital advertising KPI that is now considered table stakes for buyers in the measurement of campaign success. Today, we will take a look at how publishers can improve viewability to reduce friction with advertisers and monetize a larger portion of their inventory.At the outset of any push towards viewability improvement it is important to establish a baseline and system by which your team can gauge progress. Decide first on the viewability metrics you are looking to improve, and then determine the best tools to help you ingest and analyze that data. Once that is in place, you can begin making measurable changes. For the purpose of this article, we will be sharing some visualized metrics that DV Publisher Suite users have available to measure viewability.Designing for ViewabilityPublishers have a chance to start improving their ad viewability before a page even loads by designing and optimizing their site for viewability. These are some tips you can follow to help design for optimal viewability.Be conscious of ad placement, size, and layoutThe way ads are placed on a web page and the size of the ad unit has a large impact on viewability. Some placements and sizes produce much better viewability outcomes than others. Ad units typically perform better when placed just "above the fold" (or the bottom of the web page before the user scrolls down) rather than at the top of the page, as this positioning allows for the greatest visibility.Best & Worst Performing Inventory Metric Chart by Creative Size*Ad unit size and layout also play a role. Vertical ad units are typically considered the most viewable as their layout allows them to stay in view even as a user scrolls. In terms of sizing, there are specific ad units that are considered more viewable than others; in particular the 728x90, 300x250, and 300x600 and vertical ad units like the 120x240, 240x600, and 160x600. Using this knowledge, publishers can intentionally design their available ad inventory for maximum viewability.Consider and optimize for mobile devicesMobile ads accounts for nearly three quarters of total advertising spends, according to an eMarketer report, and spending worldwide is projected to reach none!important;"="">$1 trillion by 2024. With a share of the market that large, publishers need to make sure that their inventory is optimized for mobile viewing.Ad Distribution by Device*Publishers can choose to utilize none!important;"="">responsive ad units, which aid performance by loading optimally sized ads for the screen the ad is being viewed on. Ad placement also impacts viewability on mobile devices, for example, publishers often find that a 320x100 unit size ad is best positioned above the fold, while a 300x250 ad unit below the fold can often meet viewability criteria and is also known to have high fill rates, as it is a preferred size among advertisers. Taking mobile into account when strategizing for improved viewability ensures you won't lose out on this huge sector of the market.A/B test ad layouts frequently to ensure maximum viewabilityPublishers know that every bit of data helps unlock the full revenue potential of their inventory. A/B testing a combination of ad layout variants can help you determine which layout and ad types perform the best. Publishers benefit from having this viewability data on hand, as it helps optimize performance and also proves the value of ad inventory to advertisers and digital marketing teams.Optimize for Page Speed and ResponsivenessSpeed and responsiveness have a high impact on viewability rates. Ads that load faster have a higher viewability rate, and data shows that with every 1 second of added delay, viewability rate dropped none!important;"="">3.6% for mobile and 2.9% for desktop traffic. Here are