What is Viewability?
Viewability measures how long an ad is displayed on a user's screen after being served to an ad zone. With Indie Ads Manager, we classify an impression as "viewable" if it meets specific criteria established by the Media Rating Council (MRC).
To qualify as "viewable," a display ad must have at least 50% of its area visible for a minimum of one second. For video ads, the requirement is similar, with 50% needing to be in view and playing for at least two seconds.
This means that although an ad might be served on a web or mobile page, it's not necessarily going to be considered viewable.
As viewability increasingly becomes a standard for measuring ad performance, it offers several benefits:
Enhances transparency and builds trust with advertisers
Provides valuable insights into ad engagement and user visibility
Highlights areas for site content optimization if ads aren’t being recognized as viewable
Limitations of Viewability Statistics
It's important to note that viewability can only be tracked in Standard Zones using Asynchronous JavaScript or JavaScript zone tags. This means that viewability will NOT be tracked in email zones, native zones, or VAST zones.
Why can't I track viewability in email ads?
The inability to track viewability in email ads stems from the closed nature of email clients. Consequently, we don't have direct access to the viewing environment or the specific content being viewed by users.
Defining Viewability Metrics
Understanding the metrics surrounding viewability is crucial for optimizing your advertising strategy. Here's a breakdown:
Total Impressions: This metric records an impression whenever a zone tag requests an ad, and Indie Ads Manager's servers respond. It represents the broadest definition of an impression.
Eligible: An eligible impression is noted when an ad is successfully rendered on the page. This metric includes only the types of ads measurable for viewability.
Viewable: This is recorded when an ad is displayed in the user’s viewport and meets the criteria for a viewable impression, representing the strictest definition.
Viewable Rate: This metric calculates the percentage of viewable impressions out of all eligible impressions.
Statistic Reports for Viewability
Reports for viewability can be generated in the same way as any other report by enabling the viewability columns in the column configuration in the Statistics Reports page.
Improving Viewability
Place your ads above the fold
The average viewability rate across all ad formats and placements is approximately 50.2%. However, this figure rises significantly for ads located above the fold — the upper half of a webpage that is visible without scrolling. Here, the viewability rate averages 68%.
Optimize for mobile
The device used to access your content greatly influences viewability rates. Check your website and newsletter analytics; often, more than half your users engage with your content via mobile devices. Design your ads with this in mind!
Pick the right size for your ads
After analyzing the performance data of different ad sizes, there are some best practices to follow.
When possible, opt for horizontal ad formats instead of vertical ones
When it comes to video ads, the larger the ad is, the better its viewability rate will be
For display ads, the lower the height of your ad the better its viewability rate will be.
Consider sticky ad formats
Sticky ads are display or video ads that maintain a fixed position on a page, ensuring visibility as users scroll. For instance, a sticky footer ad remains accessible at the bottom of the page.
However, exercise caution: while sticky ads can boost viewability, they may negatively impact the overall user experience. Strike a balance to avoid compromising your readers' enjoyment!
Improve your sites loading speed
Slow loading speeds can adversely affect viewability rates. When ads load before the rest of the page, they may be served but not actually viewed. Additionally, sluggish load times can increase bounce rates, potentially driving users away.
In conclusion, understanding and optimizing viewability metrics can significantly enhance your ad performance, fostering better engagement and trust with your audience. By following these strategies, you can ensure that your ads are seen by more users, effectively maximizing their impact.