The Viewability of Digital Advertising

"Viewability" is something you might have heard about in digital advertising.

It’s one of those buzzwords that gets tossed around a lot, but what does it really mean?

Why is it important, and how can it affect your online marketing efforts?

If you’re running ads or planning to, understanding viewability is key to making the most out of your ad budget.

Let's break it down into simple, everyday language so you can get a clear picture of viewability in digital advertising.

What Exactly is Viewability?

Imagine you’ve placed an ad on a website, hoping people will see it and take action, like clicking on it or convincing users to make a purchase.

But here's the thing—just because your ad appears on a webpage doesn't mean it was actually "seen" by the user.

Sometimes ads are loaded but are buried far down on the page, where the viewer never scrolls. This is where viewability comes in.

Viewability refers to whether or not an ad is actually in view on a user’s screen. An ad is considered "viewable" if at least 50% of it appears on the screen for a minimum of one second for display ads or two seconds for video ads.

So, it's not just about placing an ad online; it’s about making sure that people can actually see it.

Why Does Viewability Matter?

If your ads aren’t being seen, what’s the point?

Imagine spending a chunk of your budget on ads that never even appear on someone's screen.

That’s wasted money.

Advertisers need to ensure that their ads have the best possible chance of being viewed. This is where viewability becomes a vital metric. When you optimise your ads for viewability, you’re making sure they have the highest possible chance of engaging with potential customers.

Not only does this help increase brand awareness, but it also boosts the chances of conversions—whether that’s getting a sale, a lead, or simply getting someone to interact with your ad.

How is Viewability Measured?

Measuring viewability is pretty straightforward but relies on some clever technology behind the scenes.

Publishers (the websites where the ads appear) use special tools to track whether ads are in view or not.

Some common platforms and services that measure viewability include:

1. Google Ad Manager: This is widely used for tracking ad viewability across Google’s platforms.

2. Comscore: A third-party company that helps advertisers and publishers measure viewability.

3. MOAT: This tool provides detailed analytics on ad performance, including viewability.

These tools use small pieces of code (called tags) that get added to the webpage where the ad is being served.

They monitor how long an ad remains on screen and whether or not it meets the threshold to be considered "viewable."

Key Metrics to Watch For

When tracking viewability, there are a few key metrics that marketers should pay attention to:

- Viewable Impressions: These are the number of times your ad was in view on a screen, based on the standard we discussed earlier (50% of the ad is visible for at least one second for display ads or two seconds for video ads).

- Viewability Rate: This is the percentage of your served ads that were actually viewable. For example, if you served 100 ads and 60 of them were viewable, your viewability rate would be 60%.

- Average Time in View: This metric shows how long, on average, an ad stayed in view on a user’s screen. Obviously, the longer an ad is in view, the better the chances it will make an impact. 
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