Visibility
Place units where the reader stops: after the first paragraph, in the middle of the text, near the main answer.
Use case · Revenue
More ad revenue, within the policies
Adding more ads does not always increase revenue, and sometimes it leads to a violation. The safest path is to have ads that people actually see, in the right places. This guide shows where to gain and where the trap is.
- ✓Based on Google's official policies
- ✓Mobile and desktop measured separately
- ✓Possible gains marked as moderate
50%of the ad's pixels must be on screen to count as viewable in Active View
1 scontinuous display time is the minimum for display ads
2 scontinuous seconds is the minimum time for video ads
30%of the screen is the limit for a sticky ad on mobile under the Better Ads Standards
The idea
Revenue comes from ads that are seen, not ads that are loaded
Ad Manager considers a display impression viewable when at least 50% of the ad's pixels are in the screen area for 1 continuous second. For video, the time is 2 seconds. A banner at the end of a page that nobody scrolls to the bottom of counts for little to the advertiser.
That is why improving revenue usually starts with position and speed, not quantity. One well-placed unit in the middle of the text is worth more than three units in the footer.
The point is not to trade revenue for risk. Some tactics that seem to give quick results are prohibited by Google policies and can limit or disable ad serving.
Where to gain
Six adjustments that improve revenue safely
Each one follows the rules of Google and the Better Ads Standards.
Density under control
On mobile, ads above 30% of the main content height violate the Better Ads Standards. Short posts need fewer units.
Low anchor
The sticky anchor cannot take up more than 30% of the screen. Short sizes, such as 320x50 or 320x100, stay well below that on an ordinary phone.
Lazy loading
Google Publisher Tag lets you load units only when they get close to the visible area. This avoids impressions that nobody sees.
Correct label
Use only labels such as Advertisements or Sponsored links. Titles such as useful links or resources above the ad are prohibited.
Distance from buttons
Keep banners away from menus, next page buttons and players. An accidental click becomes invalid traffic, not revenue.
The traps
What looks like a gain and turns into a problem
Everything on the right appears in Google policies or in the Better Ads Standards.
Allowed
- Testing different positions for the same number of units
- Using lazy loading on units below the fold
- Having a low anchor on mobile, with a close button
- Making the content longer and more useful before adding units
- Separating paid traffic by channel to measure the real return
Not allowed
- Reloading the page or the unit without the visitor asking
- Showing an ad for a fixed time before releasing the content
- Screens with more ads than publisher content
- More than three pop-ups, or pop-unders, on the site
- Ad that looks like a menu, a download button or navigation
Two strategies
More units or better units
Both increase impressions. Only one protects the account in the long run.
More units
Adding ads in every available position, using the same template for all posts.
- More impressions in the short term
- Density goes over the limit on short posts
- Two banners on the same screen
- Average viewability drops
- Higher risk of accidental clicks
Better units
Fewer units, in positions where the reader stops, loaded at the right time.
- More ads actually seen
- Lighter page on mobile
- Lower risk in Google reviews
- Requires testing the position by page type
- The gain shows up gradually
How to do it
A 4-step optimization plan
- Fix the critical firstBefore touching revenue, fix what is critical and serious. Optimizing a site with an open violation is building on sand.
- Measure viewability by unitIn the Ad Manager report, compare the viewability of each position. Units with very low viewability are candidates to move or to be removed.
- Adjust by page typeLong posts, short posts and category pages need different numbers of units. In Ad Inserter, you can create rules by text length or by category.
- Check again on mobileEvery layout change must be viewed on a small screen: density, anchor and distance from buttons.
Common errors
Four mistakes that cut revenue without anyone noticing
None of them shows up when you only look at the home page on a computer.
One template for all posts
The same number of units in a 300-word post and a 2,000-word one. In the short post, density blows past the limit and the units end up stuck together.
Units that never enter the screen
Ads at the end of long pages load along with the page and are almost never seen. The account's average viewability drops.
Duplicate tags
Ad code pasted in the theme and also in a plugin creates repeated requests and behavior that is hard to explain in the reports.
Testing only on the computer
On mobile, density, anchor and distance from buttons change the picture. Check in the device report how much of your traffic comes from there.
In practice
Fewer units, same page, more ads seen
Before
A job site had eight units per post, including two stuck together at the end of the page and one right below the mobile sticky menu.
After
The owner removed the units at the end, moved the one away from the menu and turned on lazy loading for those below the fold.
The number of impressions dropped, but the share of them that readers actually saw went up. The site also stopped having two banners on the same screen, a point the audit treated as a risk.
In ConsentMode
Where the audit points to gain and where it points to risk
- Moderate findings show possible gains; critical and serious ones show what can block the account or cut revenue
- Density, two banners on the same screen, desktop interstitial and ad label
- Rewarded ads on navigation buttons, prize wheels and deceptive screens before ads
- Banners too close to menus and buttons, measured on mobile and desktop
- Each finding with before and after and the path in Ad Inserter, Ad Manager or WordPress
Frequently asked questions
Is there a maximum number of ads per page?
Google policies prohibit screens with more ads than content, and the Better Ads Standards limit density on mobile to 30% of the main content height. More than a fixed number, what matters is the proportion.
Does refreshing the ad unit on its own increase revenue?
The placement policies prohibit reloading the page or part of it without the visitor asking. It is one of the most common traps.
Can lazy loading reduce revenue?
It can reduce impressions that nobody saw. The goal is for every counted impression to have a real chance of being seen.
Does the audit promise an increase in revenue?
No. It shows problems and possible gains based on the rules. The result depends on your traffic and advertisers.
Library
Official sources
This guide was written from these official pages. Read them directly at the source:
- Ad placement policiessupport.google.com/adsense/answer/1346295
- Active View measurement in Ad Managersupport.google.com/admanager/answer/6123557
- Mobile ad experiencessupport.google.com/webtools/answer/7073774
- Google publisher policiessupport.google.com/publisherpolicies/answer/10502938
- Ads on screens without publisher contentsupport.google.com/publisherpolicies/answer/11112688
Find out where the layout loses revenue or creates risk
The audit measures each page on mobile and desktop and separates what is risk from what is gain.