In the dynamic world of digital publishing, maximising the value of every page impression is paramount. While traditional ad serving focuses on displaying an ad when a page initially loads, “ad refresh” offers publishers an additional opportunity to generate revenue from existing page views. This technique involves replacing an ad creative with a new one within the same ad slot while the user is still viewing the page.
At its core, ad refresh is about increasing the available ad inventory on a page without requiring the user to navigate to a new URL. By serving a new ad impression within a set time interval or based on specific user actions, publishers can effectively create multiple monetisation opportunities from a single page visit.
How Ad Refresh Works
Ad refresh is typically implemented using JavaScript code that instructs the ad slot to request a new ad creative from the ad server or demand-side platform (DSP) after a predetermined period or trigger. The timing and triggers for ad refresh can vary:
- Time-Based Refresh: The most common method, where ads are refreshed after a fixed interval (e.g., every 30 or 60 seconds).
- User-Action Based Refresh: Ads are refreshed based on user interactions, such as scrolling a certain percentage down the page, clicking a specific element, or switching tabs. This method is generally favoured as it ties the refresh more closely to active user engagement.
When a refresh is triggered, a new ad auction can take place for that specific ad slot, allowing demand partners to bid for the opportunity to display their creative to the engaged user.
The Benefits of Ad Refresh for Publishers
Implementing a well-thought-out ad refresh strategy can yield several significant benefits for publishers:
- Increased Ad Impressions and Revenue: The most direct benefit is the increase in the total number of ad impressions served per page view. This directly translates to a larger pool of inventory available for monetisation, leading to increased revenue potential.
- Higher Fill Rates: By creating more opportunities to serve ads within a single page visit, ad refresh can contribute to improved fill rates, reducing the number of unsold impressions.
- Opportunity for Higher eCPMs (Potentially): If ad refresh is implemented strategically, particularly with user-action triggers that indicate active engagement, the refreshed impressions can be considered more valuable by advertisers, potentially leading to higher eCPMs for those specific impressions.
- Enhanced Inventory Utilisation: Ad refresh helps publishers make the most of their existing traffic by monetising user time spent on a page beyond the initial load.
- Flexibility in Monetisation: Ad refresh provides publishers with another lever to pull in their monetisation strategy, allowing them to optimise for both initial page views and user engagement over time.
Considerations for Effective Ad Refresh Implementation
While ad refresh offers clear advantages, it’s crucial to implement it carefully to avoid negatively impacting user experience or ad performance. Publishers in the UK and elsewhere should consider the following:
- User Experience is paramount: Aggressive or poorly timed ad refresh can be intrusive and annoying for users, leading to a poor experience, increased bounce rates, and ultimately, diminished long-term revenue. Publishers must strike a balance between monetisation and user satisfaction.
- Viewability Matters: For refreshed ads to be valuable, they must be viewable. Implementing ad refresh only when the ad slot is in the user’s viewport is essential. Refreshing ads that are not seen by the user provides no value to advertisers and can harm the publisher’s reputation.
- Frequency Capping: Implementing frequency caps is crucial to prevent users from being bombarded with ads. Showing the same ad or too many different ads too frequently through refresh can lead to ad fatigue.
- Demand Partner Support: Not all demand partners fully support or value ad refresh impressions equally. Publishers should work with demand partners who understand and appropriately value refreshed inventory.
- Reporting and Analytics: Publishers need robust reporting to track the performance of refreshed ad units, including viewability, click-through rates, and revenue generated. This data is essential for optimising the refresh strategy.
- Compliance with Standards: Publishers should ensure their ad refresh implementation complies with industry standards and guidelines from bodies like the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau).
Ad Refresh Strategies
Effective ad refresh strategies often involve:
- Implementing User-Action Triggers: Linking ad refresh to user behaviour like scrolling or tab activity indicates a more engaged user and can lead to higher-value impressions.
- Optimising Refresh Intervals: Testing different time intervals to find the sweet spot that balances increased impressions with a positive user experience.
- Utilising Viewability Data: Ensuring ads only refresh when they are deemed viewable according to industry standards.
- Segmenting Inventory: Applying different ad refresh strategies to different ad units or sections of the website based on their typical user engagement patterns.
Ad Refresh in the UK Market
Ad refresh is a widely used technique among UK publishers to enhance their ad inventory and revenue. With a competitive digital advertising landscape, publishers are continually seeking ways to optimise their monetisation. However, there’s also a strong focus on maintaining a positive user experience to comply with stricter privacy regulations and user expectations in the UK and Europe. Publishers are increasingly sophisticated in using viewability data and user-centric triggers for their ad refresh implementations.
Conclusion
Ad refresh, when implemented thoughtfully and with a focus on user experience and viewability, can be a powerful tool for publishers to boost their ad inventory and increase programmatic revenue. It allows publishers to monetise the time users spend on their pages more effectively. For KLIR DIGITAL and its clients, understanding the nuances of ad refresh and implementing best practices is key to unlocking additional revenue streams while maintaining a positive and engaging user experience. It’s about working smarter with existing traffic to create more valuable ad opportunities.