Google is getting ready to make GDPR-compliance easier for AdX/AdSense publishers. Before May 25th, publishers had two ways to collect and pass GDPR-compliant consent to Google demand. They could either create their own consent mechanism or use Google's Funding Choices platform. Neither was viable for two reasons: Most publishers lack the resources to develop and imp … [Read more...]
All About Sticky Ads (and How to Make the Most of ’em)
In the times of bot traffic, fraud, and ad block, precious few ads make their way to real people who promptly scroll through the page - looking for something that catches their interest - without sparing a glance for the ad. Advertisers want conversions, and their ads are useless if there's no one around to see them. For this reason, most advertisers would gladly pay a p … [Read more...]
How to Estimate GDPR Impact on Your Google AdSense Earnings
Now that 25th May is so close, every publisher who has left the whole GDPR-compliance thing completely untouched is asking one question: What do I lose by not complying? Most Google AdSense users are expecting some revenue drop. Google itself is warning publishers about it. If you are still debating whether it's worth your time and effort to invest in compliance, it's time … [Read more...]
Google’s GDPR Gameplan: What AdX and AdSense Publishers Can Do
It’s three weeks till May 25th. And right on time, Google announced its GDPR policy to its publishing partners. We're breaking down the policy here so publishers know what's going on: Google's GDPR Gameplan In a recent mail to all its publishing partners using DFP/AdX and AdSense, Google's policy says: You are not required to seek consent for a user’s activity on Google’s sit … [Read more...]
AdSense Moves from “Served Impressions” to “Downloaded Impressions”
AdSense is changing the way it measures impressions by introducing downloaded impressions based on recommendations from The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Media Ratings Council (MRC). So far in AdSense reporting, an impression was counted when an ad matching the request was located on the server, this was called the "served impression". Going forward, impressions … [Read more...]
Funding Choices: AdSense Offers Whitelist Notices to Tackle Ad Block Users
Google has recently announced a lot of pro-publisher initiatives and policies, starting with releasing native ad formats, allowing 300x250 ad units above the fold on mobile, to introducing page-level policy compliance. In addition to that, they've also provided a lot of new best practices based on new ad data. All these were longstanding issues that AdSense users struggled w … [Read more...]
AdSense Now Flags Individual Pages for Policy Violations, No Site-Wide Bans
After the YouTube exodus, Google Display Network is taking great pains to ensure brand-safety for its advertisers, without cutting too deep into publishers’ (and its own) revenue. Last week, Google announced two updates that will allow it to act quickly and more precisely against prohibited content, all the while making all policies (and their violation penalties) clearer to … [Read more...]
AdSense Best Practices: Recommendations for 2017
Most web publishers use Google AdSense as their primary means of monetization. We've covered AdSense best practices for web publishers in the past, but policies have changed since then, and Google has released many recommendations in recent updates. Here's a quick summary. Optimizing Ad Layouts While creating ad placements, find the balance between optimizing for re … [Read more...]
Google AdSense Now Allows 300×250 Ads Above the Fold on Mobile Web
As we've previously covered, one of the most common policy violations committed by publishers on AdSense is placing the 300x250 ad unit above-the-fold on mobile. The reasoning for this policy was simple: Since mobile screens are small, square ad units or vertical ad banners push the content below-the-fold, i.e., beneath the part of the screen that a user sees before s … [Read more...]
Google AdSense Beta Launches Two New Ad Formats: InArticle and InFeed
Google seems to be taking its Coalition for Better Ads initiative seriously. In a bid make its ads less intrusive, Google AdSense is inviting publishers to join the beta for two new ad formats: InArticle and InFeed ads. Here’s what the new formats bring to the table: Native InArticle Ads These are responsive ad units (of 250px minimum width) which can be placed b … [Read more...]