Ad Viewability

What Is Ad Viewability?

Ad viewability refers to the measurement of how much of an ad is actually visible to a user on a webpage or in a mobile app. Advertisers want their ads to be seen by users, but many factors can impact whether an ad is actually visible, such as ad placement, page layout, and user behavior.

To measure ad viewability, advertisers use specialized tools that track when an ad appears on a user's screen and for how long. Ad viewability is typically measured as a percentage, with the percentage representing the proportion of the ad that is visible to the user.

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has established guidelines for what constitutes a viewable ad impression. According to the MRC, a display ad must have at least 50% of its pixels in view for at least one second, while a video ad must have at least 50% of its pixels in view for at least two seconds.

Measuring ad viewability is important because it helps advertisers to determine the effectiveness of their ads. If an ad is not viewable, it cannot generate clicks or conversions, and the advertiser will have wasted their ad spend. By measuring ad viewability, advertisers can optimize their ad placements and formats to ensure that their ads are more visible and therefore more effective.

Ad viewability is also important for publishers because it helps them to understand how their website or app layout is impacting the visibility of ads. By optimizing their page layouts and ad placements, publishers can improve the viewability of ads and therefore generate more revenue from their ad inventory.

Overall, ad viewability is a key metric in digital advertising, as it helps advertisers and publishers to understand how much of an ad is actually visible to users and optimize their ad placements and formats accordingly.