How to Increase Display Ad Revenue

One of the exciting things about owning a website is the relatively unlimited potential of what that site can turn into and the revenues it can generate. You never really know where a website business will go when you first get started, as the internet has global reach and there is the possibility that you’ll hit a home run.

While it’s easy to daydream on the possibilities, it’s usually more productive to keep your mind focused on the day-to-day tasks that are going to provide you with gradual improvements. One task you can invest your time in is finding ways to incrementally increase ad revenue. If you feel like the ad revenue on your site has stagnated in recent months or years, the ideas below may be the kickstart you need.

Start by Optimizing Ad Placements

The placement of ads on your website is going to have a profound impact on how much you earn from those ads. Strategic ad placement is both science and art, and getting it right is going to require plenty of trial and error along the way.

Naturally, ads that are placed “above the fold” – meaning they are visible immediately when the page loads without any scrolling required – are going to be seen far more often than those placed further down. Most likely, you’ll have a mix of ads placed in various locations around your pages and you should constantly be testing their performance to see how they work and whether or not a redesign is necessary.

Viewability Matters

Viewability in digital advertising refers to whether an ad is actually seen by users. It is a metric used to measure the opportunity for an ad to be visible on a screen, ensuring that the ad is not just served, but has a chance to be noticed. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has set industry standards for viewability, defining a viewable display ad as one that is at least 50% in view for a minimum of one continuous second. For video ads, at least 50% of the ad must be visible for at least two seconds. This ensures that advertisers are paying for impressions that have a real chance of catching the viewer’s attention.

The importance of viewability lies in the fact that it directly impacts the effectiveness of ad campaigns and, in turn, the revenue for websites that host these ads. If an ad is served but never actually seen-due to factors such as poor placement, being scrolled past too quickly, or loading off-screen-it offers little value to advertisers. Brands and agencies are increasingly demanding viewability as a key metric in their ad buys because they want to ensure their investments are leading to meaningful interactions with consumers. As a result, publishers with low viewability rates may struggle to attract premium advertisers or charge high rates for their ad space.

For websites with display ads, optimizing for viewability is crucial for maximizing ad revenue. Higher viewability rates make the website more attractive to advertisers, allowing publishers to command better rates in their programmatic ad exchanges or direct deals. Websites that consistently deliver ads that meet viewability standards are more likely to establish long-term partnerships with advertisers, improve their fill rates, and enhance their overall monetization potential. Conversely, poor viewability can lead to wasted ad spend for advertisers, reduced confidence in the website as a valuable advertising partner, and ultimately lower revenue for the publisher.

In essence, viewability serves as a quality assurance measure in digital advertising. It matters because it aligns the interests of both advertisers and publishers: advertisers want their ads to be seen and engage potential customers, while publishers need to optimize ad placements to ensure they generate revenue. As advertisers continue to prioritize viewability, websites that invest in improving this metric stand to benefit from better ad performance and stronger revenue streams.

When optimizing for clicks and not just impressions, you need to make sure that the ads fit naturally into the page and make sense in the context of what each page is all about. If you have ads that are completely unrelated to your content, it’s going to be tough to draw many clicks (with the possible exception of retargeted ads, as those are relevant to the user even if they aren’t relevant to the page).

Lean into Mobile Advertising

If you take a moment to check the statistics on traffic to your pages, you’ll almost certainly find that more people are exploring your site on a mobile device than on a desktop or laptop computer. With that reality now established online, it only makes sense to spend more time thinking about how to optimize ads for mobile.

A big factor here is the size of the ads and how quickly they load. If you have a collection of ads that are rather “heavy” – meaning they are big files that take a long time to load – they can slow down the mobile devices of your users and lead to a negative experience. Good mobile ads don’t get in the way of the on-page experience and they load quickly to keep the whole process moving right along.

Improving display advertising on mobile devices requires a focus on user experience and ad optimization. First, it’s crucial to ensure that ads are formatted for smaller screens and are not intrusive. Mobile-friendly, responsive ads that adjust to the user’s screen size provide a better experience, while avoiding formats like large pop-ups or auto-play videos prevents disruption. This balance between ad visibility and user satisfaction can help maintain engagement without driving users away.

Another key area is technical performance, especially when it comes to ad load speed. Slow-loading ads on mobile devices can negatively impact user experience and increase bounce rates. Techniques like asynchronous loading, image compression, and lazy loading can significantly enhance how quickly ads appear without delaying page content. Faster load times improve user engagement and make ads more effective.

Leveraging user data for targeted advertising and continuous optimization is vital. Personalizing ads based on location, behavior, and device type increases their relevance and effectiveness. Encouraging mobile-specific campaigns and continuously A/B testing different ad placements and formats can further improve ad performance, leading to better engagement and higher conversion rates on mobile devices.

Ad Refresh

Refresh refers to the process of dynamically replacing or reloading ads on a website without requiring the user to refresh the page. This technique is commonly used to increase the number of ads served to a visitor during their browsing session. Instead of displaying a static ad for the entire time a user spends on a page, the ad units periodically update to show new ads, typically after a set interval such as every 30, 60, or 90 seconds. This creates opportunities for additional impressions, maximizing ad inventory for the publisher.

The primary advantage of ad refresh is the potential for increased earnings. With traditional, non-refreshing ads, a visitor might only see one ad per placement while staying on the page. However, with refreshed ads, each time a new ad loads, it counts as a new impression. This boosts the number of impressions a publisher can offer to advertisers, translating into more revenue, especially in cost-per-impression (CPM) pricing models. By showing multiple ads in the same slot during one user session, publishers can significantly increase the volume of ads served and, subsequently, the ad revenue generated.

In addition to boosting impressions, ad refresh can lead to better ad engagement. Since fresh content tends to capture attention more effectively, rotating ads may encourage users to engage more, either by viewing or clicking on the ads. This can be particularly beneficial for publishers who rely on metrics like click-through rates (CTR) as part of their monetization strategy. The more varied and updated the ads, the more likely a user is to interact with one of them, increasing overall ad performance.

However, it’s important for websites to use ad refresh responsibly. If the refresh rate is too fast or aggressive, it could negatively impact the user experience by causing page latency, distractions, or frustrations. Ad refresh strategies should balance ad inventory growth with maintaining a positive user experience to ensure visitors stay longer on the site and keep returning. Many ad refresh technologies are now designed to refresh ads only when the ad is viewable on the user’s screen, ensuring that the user experience remains seamless.

Find Ways to Engage Users

Sometimes, earning more ad revenue isn’t about your ads at all. By contrast, you might think about improving the quality of your content in the hopes of eventually gaining ad revenue. When you have better content that your users appreciate and want to stick around to consume, those users will automatically see more ads and will be more likely to click on them, as well.

The days of throwing up some quick content on the web that is of low value in order to show ads and make money are pretty much a thing of the past. Today, quality leads the way, especially for websites that hope to stick around and grow over time. Invest time, money, and effort into making the best possible content for your users to enjoy and watch the ad revenue follow along later.

Pursue Other Revenue Streams

Speaking of moving your attention in other directions, it also makes sense not to become too specifically focused on just ad revenue. There is nothing wrong with monetizing through ads, of course, and this can be a great revenue stream – but you don’t want to be one-dimensional with your approach to growing a business.

The internet makes possible countless other ways that you can monetize your website. You might venture into affiliate marketing through the placement of product links in your content, or you could even develop your own products to sell. Would your niche make sense for developing a digital course? Could you reach out to companies and offer them the opportunity to purchase sponsored content on your site? The sky is the limit so let your creativity run and find as many ways as possible to profit from the audience you have in place.

Ad Density Matters

Reducing or optimizing display ad density on a website can sometimes lead to improved overall revenue, even with fewer ads being displayed, because of several interrelated factors that enhance user experience, increase engagement, and ultimately improve the performance of the ads that do appear.

Improved User Experience

One of the primary reasons for this counterintuitive result is that reducing ad density leads to a better user experience. When a website is overcrowded with ads, it can become distracting, slow to load, and frustrating for visitors. This can drive users away, leading to higher bounce rates and shorter session durations. When ad density is reduced, the website typically becomes faster and more visually appealing, encouraging users to stay longer and engage with the content. The increased user engagement can lead to higher-quality ad impressions, as the remaining ads are more likely to be viewed and interacted with.

Higher Ad Visibility and Effectiveness

With fewer ads competing for attention, the visibility of each remaining ad increases. Users are more likely to notice and engage with ads that stand out on a less cluttered page. This can significantly improve click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates, which are key performance indicators for advertisers. Advertisers may also be willing to pay more for these higher-quality impressions, leading to increased revenue per ad impression (CPM). In this way, the reduction in the number of ads can be offset by an increase in the effectiveness and value of each individual ad.

Better Targeting and Quality of Ads

When you reduce ad density, you often give more room for higher-quality, better-targeted ads to appear. Ad networks prioritize delivering the most relevant ads when they have fewer slots to fill, resulting in a higher likelihood that the ads shown will resonate with the website’s audience. By displaying fewer, more relevant ads, you improve the likelihood of user interaction and conversions. This can also enhance the perception of the website, as users will associate it with quality over quantity when it comes to ad placements.

Reduced Ad Fatigue

Overexposure to ads can lead to ad fatigue, where users become desensitized or annoyed by the sheer volume of advertisements. When users are bombarded with too many ads, they are more likely to ignore them altogether or even install ad blockers, further diminishing ad revenue. By reducing the number of ads, you help mitigate ad fatigue, keeping users more receptive to the fewer ads that are shown. This receptiveness translates into better ad performance, as the limited number of ads is less likely to overwhelm or frustrate users.

Improved Website Reputation and Long-Term Growth

Websites that prioritize user experience by limiting intrusive ads can build stronger brand loyalty and trust with their audience. Over time, this can lead to increased traffic, repeat visitors, and a more engaged user base. This long-term growth in traffic often compensates for the short-term reduction in ad impressions, as more engaged visitors typically translate into higher lifetime value per user. Moreover, advertisers may be more inclined to partner with websites that maintain a premium, user-friendly environment, leading to more lucrative direct advertising deals or higher bids from programmatic advertising networks.

Never Stop Experimenting

In many ways, this is the Golden Rule for increasing the ad revenue on your website. The job is never done, and you should be constantly experimenting with different tactics to see what moves will lead to increased income.

Of course, you don’t want to break something that is already working well, so implement a strategic testing plan that utilizes just some of your pages to see how things could be improved. You could try a different ad layout on 10% of your pages for a month, for example, as one way to see what might work before you make any site-wide adjustments.

It’s a great feeling to have a website that is running around the clock and making you money each time an ad is displayed or clicked. It’s not an easy journey to get to that point, however, so start now on taking steps toward boosting your income in this category and the coming year could be the best one yet.