Viewability of Advertisement had never become so important than the current times when the market and the publishers are feeling the heat of merging their interests with that of the consumers. A displayed or served advertisement serves no purpose till it is viewed regularly by a long line of masses.
The shift in the advertisement industry post the change in user behavior is astonishing and the publishers are rushing to catch up. In these times Ad Viewability becomes of central importance-an online advertisement metric that tracks seen impressions rather than served or displayed impressions. For example, if an ad is placed in the bottom of an article or a website, the user will only see the advertisement if reaches the bottom of the article. If the user does not scroll down, the ad is not viewed and the ad is not counted under the Viewable impression. Many of the Advertisements on the web never appear on a screen and their impression does not get counted at all.
So, how is viewability of advertisement impacted then? Let us find ours through a survey conducted on its display advertisement platforms including Google and DoubleClick. Some of the breakthrough points which impact viewability are as follows:
State of Publisher viewability
Often a small number of groups of publishers serve most of the non-viewing impressions. 56.1% of all impressions are not seen as viewable impressions and thus are null in order. But the average publisher viewability is around 50.2%. The figure is inconclusive of the result that they produce. While their ad viewability should be high, their own viewability should be correlating enough.
Position of Ad on the Page
This is the most important aspect of viewability these days. With a buzz in the internet world and users going all frenzy, it is important the ads get posted at the right place in the right frame. If the user does not get to the bottom of the article or the page, he won’t be able to see the Ad and its viewability will be impacted. The most viewable position in the page fold is the right above the fold and not on the top of the page. If the user gets interaction with the Ad first, it is highly likely that he will get frustrated and might bump out. So, right place and right frame are a must have necessity.
Size of the Ad
Not only the position of the Ad but also its size matter a lot when we count on its viewability. The most viewable ad sizes are the Vertical Units because they stay on the screen for longer times. The aptest size of the ad remains at 120 x 240 while the next best size for the Ad remains at 240 x 400. 160 x 600 size ads are also in use these days while the users completely abandon the ad sized 300 x 250.
Ads always viewable when posted above the fold
It was found that the ads were always visible when they were posted above the fold. 68% of the ads are nowadays posted above the fold that gets them viewable impressions. But it is also ironical that not all the above fold ads are visible while some of the below the fold ads are also visible. This is pure mysticism of the user behavior or the quality of Ads! Well, who knows!
Viewability varies across the industry
If that is not popular, that is not ad worthy. This is the line which gets through the publisher’s mind while publishing ads. A better content oriented website has more chances of getting good impressions than those with more hobby or leisure-oriented ones.