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For the seventh installment of the #SuccessStack, we’ll explore the topic of viewability for video ads and take a look at how mastering this could boost your earnings from video ads on your site.

Why is viewability for video important? On YouTube, over 50% of viewership happens on a mobile device and the number of hours people spend watching videos on mobile is up 100% YoY. So, adding video content represents a huge opportunity for publishers and advertisers alike. But as with display advertising, advertisers are now looking to transact only on viewable video. This means that publishers looking to grow their earnings from this dominant media type will have to ensure they are delivering viewable ads.

How do we classify viewability for video ads? A video ad is viewable when at least 50% of the ad’s pixels are visible on a screen for at least two consecutive seconds, as defined by the Media Rating Council (MRC), in conjunction with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

What factors affect viewability for video ads?

  • Device: Video ads are more easily viewed on mobile (73%) or tablet (81%) devices than desktop (64%).1
  • Location: 76% of non viewable video ads were never on screen at all, for instance because they are on tabs situated behind the one the user is looking at.2 Additionally, videos positioned in the center of the page and towards the top are the most visible locations on the page.3
  • Player Size: Bigger players deliver better viewability. The most popular player size of 300x250 offers only 20% viewability whereas the 848x477 is the second most popular size but offers a huge improvement of 89% viewability.4

What can you do to improve viewability in your video content?

  • Choose a bigger player: Larger player sizes have been shown to have a positive correlation with viewability and other key metrics that advertisers care about, so advertisers are increasingly targeting them. In Q1 2016 on DBM, growth in spend on large players outpaced all other player sizes combined by 17%.5
  • Spread your content: The average viewability of video ads across the web is 66%, whereas YouTube offers 93%.6 Hosting your video content on YouTube as well as on your site could allow you to benefit from this uplift.
  • Be more mobile: Mobile friendly sites that encourage traffic from mobile devices and tablets can increase viewability for video ads. For example YouTube viewability rises to 95% on mobile devices.7
  • Give video content top billing: As we’ve seen above, placing content at the top of the page in the center and using a larger player size both increase viewability. So give your video content the highest possible profile on the page to increase viewability.

Next steps

Alongside your work on video viewability, you’ll want to make sure you have the right tools in place for managing the video ads you serve. To make sure you’ve got the right tools in place, have a chat with one of our experts. They can offer a personalized consultation to help you make the right choice for your business. Book a slot.


https://goo.gl/c5MWaa
  1. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://storage.googleapis.com/doubleclick-prod/documents/State_of_Play_-_Video_Insights_Report__v23.pdf 
  2. https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/5-factors-of-video-viewability.pdf
  3. https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/5-factors-of-video-viewability.pdf
  4. https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/5-factors-of-video-viewability.pdf
  5. https://www.doubleclickbygoogle.com/articles/global-state-play-programmatic-video-insights-report/
  6. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://storage.googleapis.com/doubleclick-prod/documents/State_of_Play_-_Video_Insights_Report__v23.pdf
  7. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://storage.googleapis.com/doubleclick-prod/documents/State_of_Play_-_Video_Insights_Report__v23.pdf






Not using AdSense yet? Once you’ve watched the video, here’s how you can get started:

  1. Make sure your website is compliant with the AdSense program policies.
  2. Sign up for an AdSense account by enrolling your site.
  3. Add the AdSense ad code to your site.

Stay tuned for other #AdSense101 videos and if there’s something else you’d like to learn more about let us know in the comments below.  

Check out YouTube playlist #AdSense101 to learn more about...

  • AdSense payment process
  • Control the ads displayed on your site
  • Monetizing for Multi-Screen
Have a topic you'd like to see covered? Leave us a comment on the YouTube video page.

Posted by:
Barbara Sarti
Google AdSense team




Stay tuned for other #AdSense101 videos throughout the year.

Did you find this video useful, or is there something else you’d like to see? Please let us know in the comments below. And be sure to follow us on Twitter and Google+ for more tips and tricks.

Posted by:
Barbara Sarti
Google AdSense team.



Stay tuned for other #AdSense101 videos throughout the year.

Is there something else you’d like to learn more about? Let us know in the comments below.  

Check out our previous videos to learn more:


Posted by Barbara Sarti, from the Google AdSense team

A picture is worth a thousand words, even in the digital age. Today, we're excited to announce the first of a series of videos addressing some of our most frequently asked questions:

When Will I Get Paid?
Watch it to learn more about how to get paid, and let us know what you think. #AdSense101





Stay tuned for other #AdSense101 videos throughout the year.  Is there something else you’d like to learn more about? Let us know in the comments below.






Posted by Barbara Sarti
Google AdSense Team

Games
If you'd like to serve ads on your gaming content, check the Game ad source interactive guide and find the best video ad solution based on factors like the platform your games run on and if you use a video ad management solution.

Ad formats for Video and Games
For both video and games, learn which ad formats are available across video and gaming products for AdSense and DoubleClick Ad Exchange with the Video and Games formats interactive guide. The guide shows you how to implement each ad format, provides requirements for each, and even supplies sample tags to get you started.

Start exploring your options to earn money from your video or gaming site today with our new interactive guides. We'd love to hear your feedback - tell us what you think in the comment section of this post.

Posted by Greg Sanders, AdSense Optimization Specialist
Was this blog post useful? Share your feedback with us.



Posted by Courtney Richardson - Optimizing AdSense Team
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(Don’t forget to enable english captions using the Captions button under the YouTube video)

The team also partnered with DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) Small Business to manage their advertising and save them time. Erick is pleased with this decision stating “the process from start to finish is very fast and easy to use. I’d highly recommend this tool for publishers seeking more detail and control of their advertising campaigns”.

According to Erick, these products have been fundamental in the growth of the site. With the structure they bring, he’s ready to focus further on taking his passion for racing to an even wider audience.

Posted by Barbara Sarti - Inside AdSense Team
Was this blog post useful? Share your feedback with us.


Every Friday, we’ll meet a publisher from around the world who has grown their business with Google. Take inspiration from their stories, learn about how they’ve successfully integrated Google tools into their strategies and hear about their plans for the future. To keep the momentum going with our new year’s resolutions, we’ll hear from a new publisher every week for the next 14 weeks. So let’s get started and meet Malte Schiebelmann from Doodle.com.

As the largest scheduling service in the world, Doodle is a free service that helps people manage their time. The company started in 2007 and today it has over 15 million monthly users.

Doodle started working with Google early on, using AdSense and then DoubleClick Ad Exchange to monetize their service and grow their business. Malte tells us that their partnership with Google has been “essential in helping Doodle increase our revenue”. Since then, they’ve continued to partner with Google, regularly using other products like DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) along the way. 
According to Malte, aside from the monetization opportunities they bring, Google products are “low maintenance and easy to use”. They give him lots of handy features to help him make decisions on changes to the site. Looking to the future, he’s looking forward to helping many more users save precious time, all the while continuing to partner with Google.

Have a Google success story you’d like to share? Tell us about it. 

Posted by Suzy Headon - Inside AdSense Team
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View our Hangouts schedule

Posted by Pamela Malone - AdSense Policy Team
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Husband and wife team Tim and Victoria van Brugge run i-do.com.au, an Australian wedding directory. Their original business plan was to sell diamonds online, but in creating the wedding directory to build an audience of potential customers they discovered that media and advertising was an easier business model, and they've never looked back. Recently we sat down with Victoria and Tim to learn about how they use AdSense on their website. Watch this video to learn more.



Posted by Amelia Walkley, Strategic Partner Manager