Over half of all online ads 'are never even seen'

With the debate over online ad viewability refusing to die down, most marketers – and media buyers – seem at a loss to explain why so many ads go unseen, but it is hardly rocket science, according to European ad verification company Meetrics.
The company has just released the first data from its Reasons for Non-Viewability report which shows that, perhaps unsurprisingly, load times and the position of the ad play a key factor.
However, the most alarming figure is that it finds only just over half – 52% – of all the display ads it studied were viewable.
Meanwhile 14.5% of ads are not shown for long enough, 12.5% are displayed below the fold with 10% not having sufficient pixels and 6% being served to inactive tabs.
The Internet Advertising Bureau and Media Ratings Council have said that an ad is considered viewable if half of it is in view for at least a second, but according to Meetrics all too often ads disappear too quickly, appear below the so-called “page fold” or simply do not come into view because not enough of them can be seen.
Meetrics director for international business Anant Joshi said: “Traditionally, buyers and sellers of online ads only had half the picture in regards to viewability – the percentage viewable and not viewable.
“This provides the full picture, giving them new insights on why ads aren’t viewable, thus, providing a tremendous advantage in how to solve the issue and maximise viewability.
“This will become increasingly important as publishers move more towards selling ads by how long they were viewed rather than how many were viewable.”