Implementation guide

Out-of-page ad

Out-of-page creatives

An Ad Manager slot for creatives that do not live inside the text, such as windows and floating ads, under strict Google rules.

Ad Manager
mobile and desktop

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Desktop

Mobile

Understand it in 1 minute

What an out-of-page ad is

Almost every ad lives in a little box inside the page, like a picture hanging on the wall. The out-of-page ad is different: it has no fixed place in the middle of the text. It is for creatives that appear on top, floating or in a separate window, like a flyer handed to you at the door instead of a poster on the wall. In Ad Manager, Google calls these out-of-page creatives and gives the pop-up, the pop-under and the floating ad as examples.

Because this ad has no space designed into the page, the site needs to say when it can appear. This is done with GPT, the Google Publisher Tag, using a dedicated function for out-of-page slots and then requesting the display inside the body. In Ad Manager, the line item uses the Out-of-page (interstitial) size, and the creative can be custom, from Campaign Manager 360 or from a template. A curious detail: the impression is only counted when the creative is actually shown, so it needs a small counting tag.

Now the most important part: just because the tool exists does not mean everything is allowed. Google's policies do not accept Google ads on sites that have or open pop-unders, or ads on pages that run hidden, off screen or while the person's attention is elsewhere. They also do not accept ads that cover content, not even a little and not even for a moment. And the Better Ads Standards, used by Google, reject the pop-up that appears after the page starts loading and blocks the main content.

So what is it for? The out-of-page slot is the way Ad Manager offers to deliver pop-up, pop-under or floating creatives, which do not fit in a regular rectangle. Even so, each creative must follow the policies you read above. Also remember that GPT has out-of-page formats it manages itself, like the interstitial, which have their own pages in this library. The custom slot is for cases where you control the creative yourself.

Step by step

How to implement

Create the line itemIn Ad Manager, open an order, add a line item and, under Expected creatives, choose the size Out-of-page (interstitial).
Add the creativeChoose the type: Custom creative, Campaign Manager 360, Standard creative template or Custom creative template. Adjust SafeFrame according to where the creative will appear, to avoid display errors.
Include the impression macroEvery out-of-page creative needs the impression count macro shown in the example. Without it, no impression is counted.
Generate the ad unit tagUnder Inventory, Ad units, open the unit, go to the Tags tab, choose Google Publisher Tag (GPT) and check the Out-of-page creative option.
Put the code on the pageDefine the out-of-page slot in the head and call the display inside the body. Target the line item only to pages that have this tag, so the inventory forecast is correct.

Implemented example

The code and how it looks on screen

The slot definition goes in the head and the div with the display call goes in the body; the impression macro goes inside the creative, in Ad Manager.

<!-- No <head> -->
<script async
  src="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js"
  crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<script>
  window.googletag = window.googletag || { cmd: [] };
  googletag.cmd.push(() => {
    // Slot fora da página personalizado: sem tamanho, só o caminho e a div.
    const slot = googletag.defineOutOfPageSlot(
      "/1234567/exemplo",
      "fora-da-pagina"
    );
    if (slot) {
      slot.addService(googletag.pubads());
    }
    googletag.enableServices();
  });
</script>

<!-- No <body> -->
<div id="fora-da-pagina"></div>
<script>
  googletag.cmd.push(() => {
    googletag.display("fora-da-pagina");
  });
</script>

<!-- Dentro do criativo, no Ad Manager (conta a impressão): -->
<!-- <img src="%%VIEW_URL_UNESC%%" style="display:none"> -->

On desktopIt does not take up a space in the middle of the text. The creative appears the way it was programmed, for example floating, and it cannot cover the content.

On mobileIt works the same way on mobile. On a small screen, the pop-up that blocks the main content is among the experiences rejected by the Better Ads Standards.

What Google recommends

Do and don't

Allowed

Use an out-of-page slot for creatives that do not fit in a rectangle inside the text.
Use Custom creative, Campaign Manager 360, Standard creative template or Custom creative template.
Turn SafeFrame on or off according to where the creative will appear.
Use the out-of-page formats that GPT itself manages, such as the interstitial.
Target out-of-page line items only to pages marked with this tag.

Not allowed

Place Google ads on sites that have or open pop-unders.
Show Google ads on pages that run in the background, off screen or while the person's attention is elsewhere.
Let the ad cover the content, fully or partially, for any length of time. An ad covering another ad counts too.
Use a pop-up that appears after the page starts loading and blocks the main content. The Better Ads Standards reject this experience.
Using out-of-page creatives in Programmatic Direct, direct programmatic sales. Google says they are not compatible.

Tips

To do it right

If the page requests the line item but the creative never appears, no impression is recorded.
When nobody fills the out-of-page request, that empty impression does not enter the reports or the Ad Manager invoice.
Build floating creatives that do not sit on top of the text, because the covered content rule applies even to a few seconds.
The GPT documentation has an official out-of-page ad example that works as a starting point.

Watch out

Common errors

Forgetting the impression macro

Without the impression count macro inside the creative, Ad Manager does not count any impression.

Wrong SafeFrame

SafeFrame comes on or off depending on the creative type. If it is not adjusted for where the creative appears, display errors can occur.

Different div name

In the custom slot, the name passed in the definition must be that of the div where the creative will live, and the same one used in the display.

Targeting pages without the tag

Out-of-page line items targeted to pages without this tag make the inventory forecast wrong.

Frequently asked questions

Are pop-unders allowed?

No. Google policies do not allow Google ads on sites that have or open pop-unders. The Ad Manager help mentions pop-under creatives, but the policy still applies.

Can I make an ad on top of the text?

No, if it covers the content. The policy prohibits Google ads that hide content, fully or partially, for any period.

Is out-of-page the same as interstitial?

The interstitial is a type of out-of-page ad. GPT has a version it manages itself; the custom slot is for your own creatives that do not use this ready-made format.

Do I need to provide a size in the code?

In GPT's custom slot, you pass only the ad unit path and the div name, with no size. In the line item, the size is Out-of-page (interstitial).

Library

Official Google source

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

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