What is Google Ad Placement Policy?
According to Google’s search engine and its recommended definitions from the Oxford Dictionary, the word Policy is a “course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual”. This article is principally directed towards online Publishers who monetize their ad space via AdSense or Google Ad Manager, as it touches upon the topic of Google Ad Placement Policy.
In Yieldbird we take all Google policies very seriously; indeed, we are one of the few companies that have received the Google Certified Publishing Partner (GCPP) accreditation. That said, looking at matters from a wider perspective, it is always valuable to respect the regulations and recommendations of one of the biggest stakeholders within the Online Advertising industry, hence the topic of this article. And Ad Placement Policy is one of them!
Google Ad Placement Policy
Google and policy sound like two very broad terms. Therefore, in order to narrow things down, this article is specifically about the ‘don’ts’ of online ad placement. By ad placement I mean all of the Publisher’s activities surrounding the implementation of ad units on websites: both through mobile and desktop browsers, and with the help of Google tools.
This topic is important since many Publishers are making basic mistakes that could lead to a decrease in the performance indicators of ads, a decrease in the value of advertising inventory, and even restrictions pertaining to Google monetization. Below you will find the summary and examples of Google policy rules for ad placement, which they themselves have divided into two separate sections: firstly avoiding accidental clicks and secondly ensuring a proper ad location.
Avoiding accidental clicks
The examples above, indicating Publisher malpractice of ad placements through the encouragement of user clicks, represent a major problem for the whole of the advertising ecosystem. Users, Advertisers and Publishers are losing out on time, effort and especially revenue when such actions take place. In a scenario where a Publisher drives a user to make a click; and that click does not arise from a genuine interest on the part of the user, but rather an accidental or forced impulse, a vicious cycle manifests itself. The Advertisers do not convert, and the Publishers lose the value of the ad inventory; whereas the users are left disappointed from their experience on the website. As a result, they shorten their sessions, while increasing the bounce rate from the website.
It is important to not encourage users to make unnatural clicks on ads through means of compensation, using language such as “Feel free to click an ad”, “Contribute to the cause by clicking an ad” or “Help keep this site running. It is also important to not: graphically highlight ad placements, use misleading pictures alongside ads, format ad placements so that they are indistinguishable from content and vice versa (not to be mistaken with native ads), use flashy animations, arrows, emojis; and finally to not create misleading labels over ad placements. Some of the worst examples of policy violations with ad placement can be seen with the pushing of web content towards ‘below the fold’, so that ‘above the fold’ has more space for advertising. In Yieldbird, alongside Google, we strongly recommend that you avoid such an ad-location strategy.
Ensuring proper ad location
Now, taking a break from misleading clicks, let’s take a look at the larger picture of how Google’s policy guides Publishers and their ad unit location to the utopia of ad-placement perfection.
Firstly, advertising should not overwhelm content in terms of quantity of space. It is important not to lose the value of content from a website in the hopes of achieving higher revenue by way of the creation of more ads, since that is usually not the end result. Google’s algorithms are very intelligent and can easily detect policy violations. An official recommended number of requests per one-page views is 3.
Secondly, Publishers are not permitted to refresh a page or the element of a page without the user requesting a refresh. This includes placing ads on pages or in placements that either auto-redirect or auto-refresh. Ad Units may be refreshed, but only when the process is done via Google tools, and such refreshed impressions are declared as refreshed. After such a declaration, Advertisers are made aware of the case scenario and they do not pay a full price, which is a fair deal.
Thirdly, Publishers may not place Google ads on pages where dynamic content, like, for example, live chats are the primary focus of the page. To ensure the effectiveness of Google ads for both Publishers and Advertisers, Publishers may not place Google ads inside email messages, exit, log in or error pages, software applications, popups or popunders, new window tabs, ads on unusual or hidden content, or ads on layers, where Google has a problem evaluating the placement with their review technology. And last but not least, we may draw attention to hosted sites and third party sites. Any form of confusion when it comes to ad placement is not recommended as it creates a situation where all the stakeholders lose value. It is basically impossible to trick Google’s algorithms, so in Yieldbird we encourage the learning of these ‘don’ts’ by heart.
Conclusion
The reason why ad placement policy is important, aside from the loss of advertising value for all stakeholders in the ecosystem, is that the consequences can escalate into restrictions and complete bans when it comes to the monetization of valuable content within Google ad exchanges. Google can suspend or terminate whole accounts if the policy violations get out of hand. Some Publishers choose to take risks since Google is not always successful in verifying malpractice in ad placement. But that is not a recommended long-term strategy. Sometimes Google limits demand on websites which are violating policies without informing the specific Publishers of such actions.
Unfortunately, ad placement is only one small section of Google policies: others include content-related policy whereby Google specifies what content can or cannot be monetized. This includes product specific policies that vary between tools like AdWords, AdExchange, AdSense or AdMob. There are also legal policies, technical policies, and Advertising Industry standard policies; and even though it may seem to be overwhelming, it is crucial from the perspective of an online Publisher to keep track and remain up to date. It is also important to note that Google is not the only player when it comes to industry standards. We can’t forget about IAB, which is the Interactive Advertising Bureau, an office that works closely with Google and all the advertising giants relating to aspects such as 3rd party cookie policies and consent management platforms, that allow users to accept the viewing of ads based on European GDPR law.
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