Digital Ad Sellers constantly look for innovative ways to increase their advertising revenue. One of the most effective ways is Ad refresh. However, it is a double-edged sword that must be done correctly to achieve optimal results and not hinder overall viewability. It goes without saying that it is in the sellers’ best interest to keep their viewability as high as possible, as it directly impacts their CPMs.
Ideally, the digital advertising industry should strive for better ad quality and prevention of ad refresh abuse. In this article, we want to help you find the most effective way to do ad refresh and earn well from it.
Ad refresh refers to the process by which multiple ads can be shown sequentially in a placement during the same page load. Thus, a new ad can be called from the ad-tech stack without refreshing the entire page, only the placement. Ad refresh is typically used in programmatic ad sales in conjunction with the Header Bidding implementation.
Refreshing ads is usually based on predefined settings such as ad visibility, time intervals (e.g., 60 seconds, 120 seconds, etc.), or the number of times.
The IAB's policy is to use a minimum amount of time to update your ad. For time-based refreshes, the minimum time is 30 seconds on both mobile and desktop (however, IAB and Google recommend a minimum of 60 seconds).
Technology standardisation has driven the growing popularity of ad refreshes in recent years. Today, quite a few ad technology companies either accept or offer ad refresh. However, as an ad seller, you must adhere to the standard terms and conditions set by Google and other demand sources. They ensure that the seller is transparent to the buyers of the advertising.
The use of time spent developing and growing advertising revenue on the page has received too little attention in the past. With an ad refresh, time spent on the site can also be effectively used to increase advertising revenue.
We recommend testing a few ad placements to find the most optimal setup for your site. While too many refreshes can lower viewability and eCPM, a well-implemented strategy can increase inventory for premium placements. Longer time frames often work best, making your inventory more appealing to buyers, but it's essential to run your tests to determine the ideal interval. Multivariate testing is vital to finding the sweet spot—there’s no room for guesswork!
Our clients have seen up to 35% revenue growth through ad refresh, especially on sites with engaged users who stay longer. While CPM prices may fluctuate, the overall effect is often positive as more inventory becomes available. That’s why it’s better to focus on RPM or EPMV than CPM bids when evaluating success.
Several ad technology companies offer ad refresh on their platforms. It can be provided through an ad server (e.g. Google Adx, guide here), or similar features can be found in different SSPs.
Relevant Yield's HB Manager offers an advanced version of the ad refresh feature. You can configure, deploy, manage, and test various ad refresh implementations directly from the Relevant Yield’s no-code UI. The advantage of HB Manager is that ad refresh applies to all your sales sources - Amazon, Prebid, and Google. Some SSPs offer the refresh functionality on their own SSP only instead of on the full auction, which might limit your earnings.
To begin, Sellers want to set up refresh intervals, refresh triggers, page visibility requirements, maximum refresh times, and minimum viewability requirements.
Refresh intervals: This is the amount of time until the ad unit is refreshed (if using GAM, the minimum is 30 seconds).
Refresh triggers: What triggers the initiation of the refresh count in seconds.
Page visibility requirements: How a page is counted as in view.
Maximum refresh times: How many times should an ad unit be refreshed.
Minimum viewability requirements: How many % of the ad units should be in view to qualify for a refresh.
Customisation is critical to avoid negatively impacting inventory, and Relevant Yield gives you that control. You can personalise these settings and even run multivariate tests to validate changes with data, ensuring your strategy maximises revenue while maintaining industry standards.
Relevant Yield’s user-friendly interface allows you to customise ad refresh settings and efficiently conduct data-driven tests. You can exclude direct campaigns or specific line items, tailoring refresh rules to your unique setup. It's your money and inventory—so having the freedom to make the right choices matters. If you’re an HB Manager user, you can activate these features directly, and if you’re not, feel free to reach out with any questions or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on digital media and advertising.