Large sticky ad
Large Sticky Ads · experience 14 of 23
An ad stuck to an edge of the screen (the test used the bottom one) that does not move when you scroll. It covers more than 30% of the screen all the time.
Understand it in 1 minute
A large sticky ad, on mobile, is an ad stuck to one edge of the page, no matter how far the person scrolls. They move down the text, but the ad stays in the same place. While the person browses, this fixed, motionless ad takes up more than 30% of the screen. It is like reading a message on your phone with a sticker covering a good part of the screen all the time.
The Coalition for Better Ads explains that this ad is a problem because it keeps blocking part of the page view, and its position messes up and hides the main content. The number that decides is 30% of the screen. A sticky ad that takes up more than that is a large sticky ad. A sticky ad that takes up 30% of the screen or less does not fit this definition. The official page lists no exceptions for this case.
In the Coalition's tests, the experience evaluated was the large sticky ad at the bottom of the screen. But the definition talks about an ad stuck to an edge of the page, so what matters is the size and the fact that it stays still while scrolling. When checking, look at the ad as it really loads, on a phone screen: if it is sticky and takes up more than 30% of the screen, it is below the standard. Also remember that, in the mobile density calculation, each sticky ad counts once.
Allowed
- A sticky ad on an edge that takes up 30% of the screen or less.
- A large ad inside the text that scrolls with the content and leaves the screen.
- An ad at the end of the page that does not stay stuck to the edge while scrolling.
Not allowed
- A sticky ad at the bottom that takes up more than 30% of the screen throughout the scroll.
- A sticky ad at the top that takes up more than 30% of the screen while the person scrolls.
- A sticky ad that expands and ends up taking up more than 30% of the screen.
In practice
Imagine a news site open on a phone, with an ad stuck at the bottom that takes up more than 30% of the screen. The person scrolls the article, but the ad stays put and covers part of the text the whole time. This is the large sticky ad. If the sticky ad took up 30% of the screen or less, it would not fall under this definition.
Why it's annoying
On mobile, a large sticky ad eats a huge slice of the screen throughout the read.
How to fix
- Use a small anchor ad (320×50 or 320×100).
- A close button does not fix a large sticky ad: what counts is going over 30% of the screen.
- Don't combine an anchor ad at the top and at the bottom.
In ConsentMode
The report shows the anchor ad and asks you to check its actual height.
Run an audit