A Publisher’s Guide to Ad Yield Optimization

Digital advertising is a goldmine for website publishers. Especially now, with the ever-growing ad spend from brands and advertisers, projected to reach $1 trillion by 2025, the demand for ad inventory is skyrocketing. But to really cash in on their inventory, publishers need to master ad yield optimization now more than ever. This can be one of the trickiest parts of website monetization, so, I’m here to share some practical tips to help you get the most bang for your buck. Let’s dive into how you can optimize and boost your ad yield.

Getting Started with Ad Yield Management

Ad yield management refers to tracking and analyzing ad performance data to optimize ads for maximum effectiveness. This ensures you get the highest return from your ad inventory by constantly refining your strategy based on real-time insights. While there is no certain way to predict your exact ad yield, you can still calculate a rough estimate using your average CPM and ad fill rate. 

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Many website publishers find the ad yield optimization process quite challenging. Why? Advertisers and brands nowadays rely heavily on programmatic advertising, and programmatic ad tech requires a certain level of expertise from publishers to manage effectively. That’s why many publishers choose to go with a fractional marketer or fully outsource yield optimization solutions by employing ad monetization platforms.

Where to Do Ad Yield Management

The first step to efficient ad yield management is to decide which channel to use to sell your ad inventory. This will give you valuable insight into industry-standard CPMs, sought-out inventory types (such as instream video ads), and which ad exchanges and networks to employ. The three most common programmatic methods are real-time bidding (RTB), Programmatic Direct, and Private Marketplace (PMP). Each of these models can offer you unique benefits based on their characteristics:

RTB allows multiple advertisers to bid for each impression in real-time, which leads to higher competition and potentially higher CPMs for the publisher;
Since Programmatic Direct involves direct deals between publishers and advertisers, often with guaranteed ad placements and agreed-upon prices, it can provide you with reliable and consistent revenue. Programmatic Direct lets you secure premium rates and establish long-term relationships with advertisers;
PMP offers you a controlled and exclusive environment where you can invite selected advertisers to bid on your inventory. It’s great for brand control and maintaining ad quality on your website. 

However, your best bet would be to try to strike a balance between the three methods for the highest fill rates possible.

Best Practices for Optimizing Ad Yield

As I pointed out, ad yield optimization involves strategic planning on the publisher’s part. Of course, the strategy will vary depending on the publisher in question and their ad monetization goals. However, there are some universal considerations to keep in mind in terms of ad yield optimization. 

Adhere to Google’s Better Ads Standards

Considering that most online advertising goes through Google ADX nowadays and that Google offers premium CPM, you’d be remiss not to use it. However, relying on Google ADX comes with a catch — Google has quite strict advertising standards. Not adhering to Google’s Better Ads Standards can result in your ads failing to serve, having them rejected, or even penalizing your website.

That is why the first thing you should do is ensure all ads appearing on your website adhere to these standards! If you don’t, your online advertising efforts may collapse before they take root. 

Use Native Ads

Native ads integrate seamlessly with a publisher’s website content, making them far less intrusive for end users. This is especially true for native video ads, which many large media companies and publishers use to monetize their sites. These ads provide increased ad visibility and higher ROI, making them a valuable consideration. While there is a misconception that native ads go unnoticed due to them “blending” with content, research indicates that engagement rates for native ads are 20% to 60% higher compared to traditional banner ads.

Aside from general native ads, TargetVideo’s unique native video advertising solution offers publishers a way to earn from video without forcing brand products left and right. With our native solution, brand products or services are subtly incorporated and promoted through our in-house video content that publishers can feature on their websites. It’s a win-win for both sides, publishers get engaging user-relevant content that won’t disrupt their user’s viewing experience, while advertisers get to promote their brand in front of large audiences.

Maximize Ad Viewability

Ad viewability is a crucial metric in digital advertising, determining whether an ad is actually seen by users instead of being hidden or obscured on a webpage. According to the Media Rating Council (MRC) and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), viewability is measured by the duration and percentage of an ad visible on the screen. So, an ad is considered viewed if at least 50% of its pixels are in view for a minimum of two seconds. 

There are many ways publishers can maximize their ad viewability. I suggest using sticky ad units, like our Floating Video Player. The Floating Video Player serves ads while following users when they scroll through the page without obstructing their view of your content. You can also use our advanced Playlists feature. Playlists allow you to organize multiple videos in a sequential or curated order based on specific video tags or IAB categories, giving you continuous playback. This extends viewing time and increases opportunities for serving instream video ads and, as a result, boosts ad viewability and maximizes your ad yield.

Here are some additional tips from my side – be careful to:

Keep the number of ads above the fold to a minimum (one or two ads maximum);
Sufficiently space out your ad slots so that no ads overlap with each other;
Keep the number of pop-ups to a minimum;
Ensure your most profitable ads have the best viewability.

Optimize Price Floors

Optimizing price floors is a key practice in ad yield optimization. This process can be quite challenging no matter the level or expertise of a publisher. Seasonal CPM drops, demand and supply trends, and changing industry standards can all impact a publisher’s decision on how to set up price floors. 

That’s why we decided to create an automated solution as a part of our Yield Optimization Engine (YOE) — the Automatic Price Floor Optimizer. Our Engine uses machine learning and large data models to set and continuously adjust price floors for Prebid. By dynamically adjusting the price floors, it ensures that each ad slot is sold at the best possible price, maximizing your ad yield.

Optimize for Mobile

Mobile traffic accounts for more than half of overall global traffic. So, including mobile advertising in your monetization strategy is a must. Consider using ad formats such as in-feed ads, interstitials, and native ads as they tend to perform better on mobile. Of course, don’t forget to maintain a balance between monetization and user experience.

Maximize Profit With Direct Deals

When we talked about the three most common programmatic methods, we mentioned that programmatic direct was the most profitable one. However, selling your entire ad inventory directly is only possible for the most reputable and niche websites out there.

Still, a surefire way to increase your ad yield is to boost your number of direct sales. That is why optimizing your advertising efforts to include more direct deals is pivotal to achieving the highest yield.

Make the Most of Header Bidding

Among one million websites receiving the largest traffic, 3.3 percent used header-bidding technology last year. Header bidding or Prebid allows you to offer your ad inventory to several SSPs and ad exchanges simultaneously, and the highest bid wins. As a result, publishers can generate higher ad yield i.e., sell their inventory for premium prices. Just make sure to find a reliable and trustworthy video ad network and you’re good to go. 

If you’re interested, TargetVideo also offers video header bidding. Our easy integrations with various wrappers and demand sources, detailed header bidding analytics, and easy-to-use CMS will ensure you get the most out of your ad inventory.

Ad Yield Optimization with TargetVideo

Leave your ad yield optimization to the professionals with TargetVideo’s premium video monetization solution. With our Managed Ads service, you can just sit back and relax while our pro ad ops team takes care of the rest. With their experience and expertise, as well as TargetVideo’s high-end ad tech, they’ll maximize the earning potential of your inventory. TargetVideo also offers advanced revenue optimization features such as our Yield Optimization Engine which leverages AI to maximize CPMs and ad revenue for publishers. Want to see how much your ad yield can improve? Contact our sales!

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