In recent years, concerns over ad effectiveness have given rise to speculations on whether the traditional ad impression-based buying accurately reflects the true value of advertisers' campaigns. Ad impressions remain the primary metric for measuring ad performance and inventory value, with advertisers typically paying based on CPM. But with the perpetual strive for better informed, data-driven decisions, many advertisers are placing greater emphasis on the discrepancies between ad impressions and ad viewability.
Impressions are recorded each time an ad is loaded on a webpage, however, they do not necessarily indicate that the ad was actually seen. For instance, despite being registered, the ad might’ve appeared below the fold, loaded too late, or simply quickly scrolled past by the user.
On the other hand, ad viewability measures whether an ad had the opportunity to be seen, with industry standards defining a viewable impression as one where at least 50% of the ad’s pixels are visible for at least one second for display ads and two seconds for video ads.
Advertisers keep a close watch on viewability data, attending to it when determining which sites are worth allocating their ad budgets to— with websites averaging a viewable impression rate of 60% or higher attracting more lucrative ads. In addition, we are also seeing the growing popularity of Viewable Cost Per Mille (vCPM), a pricing model where advertisers pay only for impressions that meet the industry’s viewability standards.
What's clearly visible is that taking early measures to optimize ad viewability can only work in your favor, making your website more attractive for higher CPM/RPM and keeping it competitive in an ever-evolving digital landscape. With that said, here are some effective ways to enhance ad visibility and guarantee that your placements drive maximum value.
Keeping it in Sight
To ensure ads on your site achieve better visibility, it’s important to place them in areas where readers will naturally spend the majority of their time. For this reason, publishers should pay careful attention to their website’s design, prioritizing a clean layout that allows for strategic ad placement and optimized load times for a seamless user experience.
An effective way to make use of your website’s white areas is by implementing sticky ads. True to their name, these are the ads that remain fixed on the screen as users scroll through the page, staying visible for longer and maximizing viewability from the moment they load.
You must certify that these ads do not obscure website content, only placing them where no content appears below the sticky ad. For optimal placement, here at Nitro, we’ve identified that sticky anchor, side rail, and sticky stack ad units tend to perform best.
Another important factor to consider is the placement of above-the-fold ads. Ads that load at the very top of the page often get scrolled past just before the ad is even finished loading. A simple yet effective adjustment is to place the ads just above the fold rather than at the absolute top— a slight tweak for a strong impact.
Nitro Knows Viewability
At Nitro, we have in clear sight all the subtle factors that influence revenue across our ecosystem, taking every step to ensure our network of over 500 premium gaming and entertainment websites is optimized for sustained growth and optimal performance—this includes taking measures to keep ad viewability rates high for better revenue opportunities.
As previously mentioned, it is common for ads to be scrolled past before they’ve even had the chance to finish loading, especially when placed at the very top of the page. To mitigate this, Nitro enables publishers to implement lazy loading—meaning that ads won’t load until it's considered viewable. On top of that, publishers can also toggle a setting that refreshes ads only when they are actively visible, further preventing viewable impressions from going to waste.
When it comes to ad placements, we ensure that publishers have complete control over every decision involving their website, offering full flexibility to choose exactly where each ad should be placed. But while publishers are free to experiment and determine the best areas for user experience and viewability, Nitro is always on standby to provide any required help and guidance.
For those seeking a more hands-off approach, our platform offers managed service, where our team of experts handles placement optimization—identifying the best locations for ads and implementing them for enhanced ad viewability and overall maximized performance.
Nitro is dedicated to reinventing website monetization for the gaming industry. Our ad tech platform combines uncompromised user experience and nitro-speed revenue and service with Net 7 Payouts, same-day support and the industry’s fastest ad loading.