The Simple Truth about Viewability
Marco Muzzi has created a wealth of of educational videos about the digital advertising ecosystem. His example of how viewability is measured in digital marketing is a great introduction to one of the most important segments of the industry.
Think about it, in traditional advertising how do you measure if your message was actually viewed to the recipient that it was delivered to? The answer is.. you can’t! Your TV does not actually know if you watched that annoying commerical. Brands and advertisers waste countless dollars paying for impressions that are viewed by well.. nobody.
What is Viewability?
Viewability is a type of measurement that answers a simple question. Did the consumer have the opportunity to see the ad that advertiser paid for.
If a user goes to www.example.com and above the fold on his screen in the browser window is a 300×600 advertisement, that is an impression that is viewable.
Viewable 300×600 Impression
However, if a user loads the page and scrolls down in less then a second, where less than 50% of the ad is on the screen, that impression should not be counted as viewable. The same goes for if a user loads a page and the ad is below the fold, but the user never scrolls to the below the fold position of the ad – that impression should not be counted as viewable.
Non-Viewable 300×600 Impression
Simple principle, right?
Video ads are considered viewable if they are watched for more than 2 seconds.
How is it possible to measure viewability?
The viewability technology of digital advertising is rapidly evolving. Companies like Acuity ads, a programmatic marketing platform are even offering guarenteed viewable ad impressions for advertisers.
Industry leaders in viewability technology and knowledge: