Open workspace

Implementation guide

In-feed ad

In-feed ads

A native ad that slips into the middle of a list of articles or products, looking just like the items in the list.

  • AdSense
  • mobile and desktop, inside content lists (feeds)
Learn the formatCheck my site
Desktop
Mobile

Understand it in 1 minute

What the in-feed ad is

The in-feed ad is an ad that joins the line. Think of a shop window with several products side by side. In the middle of them appears a product from another shop, arranged the same way. This is what the in-feed does on the site. It appears in the middle of a repeating list, called a feed, such as the latest news list on the home page or a shop's product list.

Heads up: here, feed has nothing to do with RSS. For Google, a feed is a sequence of similar blocks that the person scrolls through. It can be a list of articles or news, a list of products or services, or even a text-only list. The ad can go between the items, at the start or at the end of the list.

It is native, which means you make the ad look like the items in the list. When creating it, AdSense can look at your page and suggest a style on its own, or you can build the style by hand, choosing the layout most similar to your list. The code AdSense gives you at the end has a layout key, so copy and paste the code exactly as it was generated. The ad width is always the same as the list and must be at least 250 pixels. AdSense adjusts the height on its own.

Google created the in-feed to open a new ad space inside lists, without bothering people who are scrolling the page. It works well on mobile, where space is small. It is worth it if your site has a home page with a list of posts, category pages or product lists. Google recommends leaving at least three content items between one ad and another.

Step by step

How to implement

  1. Open the right menuSign in to AdSense, click Ads, then By ad unit and choose In-feed ads.
  2. Let Google suggest the styleUnder Let Google suggest a style (recommended), type the address of the page that has the list, choose Mobile or Desktop and click Check page.
  3. Or create the style by handIf you prefer, use Create style manually, choose the layout similar to your list and adjust the ad style to match it.
  4. Get the codeName the unit, preferably starting with Native, and click Save and get code.
  5. Paste it inside the listPaste the code between the list items, or at the start or end of it. To repeat the ad, use a counter in the loop that builds the list, as in Google's example that places the ad every 3 items.

Implemented example

The code and how it looks on screen

Paste this code inside the list, between two items, using in place of xxxxxxxx the layout key AdSense generated for your unit.
<script async
     src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-0000000000000000"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-format="fluid"
     data-ad-layout-key="xxxxxxxx"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-0000000000000000"
     data-ad-slot="1234567890"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>
On desktopIt appears as one more item in the list, with image, title and text in the same format as the surrounding posts or products.
On mobileIt appears between the list items. If the mobile list is different from the desktop one, you can create a separate in-feed for each screen size.

What Google recommends

Do and don't

Allowed

  • Place the ad between the list items, at the start or at the end of it.
  • Place several in-feed ads in the same list, by creating different units or repeating the same code.
  • Create one in-feed for mobile and another for desktop, if the list changes appearance between them.
  • Keep turned on the option that shows selected display ads in the unit. It is under Global options, in the in-feed ad settings.
  • Write a label above the ad. Google's policy only allows the labels Advertisements or Sponsored Links.

Not allowed

  • Do not put the code outside the list. Google says this can lead to poor performance and may go against AdSense policies.
  • Placing the ad under a misleading heading, such as Resources or Useful links.
  • Do not ask people to click the ad or offer any reward for clicking.
  • Placing the ad right next to links or to play, download or navigation buttons, where the person can click by accident.
  • Do not have more ads than content on the screen.

Tips

To do it right

Watch out

Common errors

Code outside the list

Pasting the in-feed outside the feed can lead to poor performance and may go against policies. It must sit between the items, at the start or at the end of the list.

Box without width

If the box has no defined width, as in a floating element, the ad does not appear.

Fixed height

A box with a fixed height can distort the ad. Leave the height variable.

Confusing it with RSS

The in-feed is not for RSS feeds. It goes in the lists that appear inside the site's pages.

Frequently asked questions

How many in-feed ads can I place?

As many as you like, along with other ad types, as long as the ads do not outweigh the content. In the same list, Google recommends at least three content items between one ad and another.

Is feed the same as RSS?

No. For the in-feed, a feed is a list of similar blocks inside the page, such as articles or products.

My list is different on mobile. What do I do?

The in-feed is responsive, but if the list style changes between mobile and desktop, create a separate in-feed for each screen size.

Why does a display ad sometimes appear?

Because the option to allow display ads is turned on. This can help you earn more, and you can turn it off under Global options.

Library

Official Google source

Everything on this page follows Google's official documentation. Read it straight from the source:

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