A useful ad quality report does not try to impress buyers with raw volume. It answers a simpler question: is this inventory measurable, viewable, and safe enoug...
A useful ad quality report does not try to impress buyers with raw volume. It answers a simpler question: is this inventory measurable, viewable, and safe enough to buy again?
List the domain, placement type, device split, country split, and date range first. If the report does not say what inventory is being measured, the rest of the numbers are hard to trust.
Google Ad Manager explains that viewability helps determine whether an ad was actually seen, while the IAB/MRC standard for display viewability is typically 50% of pixels in view for at least one second. That means a report should show both served impressions and the part of them that were actually measurable and viewable.
Google defines invalid traffic as clicks and impressions that are not the result of genuine user interest. A buyer should not have to guess whether suspicious traffic was filtered, estimated, or excluded. Keep that category visible in the report.
| Metric | Why it matters | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Served impressions | Shows the actual volume delivered | By domain, placement, device, and country |
| Measurable / viewable impressions | Shows whether the ads had a real chance to be seen | Use the same definition every time |
| Invalid traffic | Separates trustworthy traffic from suspicious activity | Keep the filtered total visible |
| Top placements | Shows which parts of the site carry quality better | List the zones and their share of volume |
| Action taken | Shows the report led to a decision | What changed after the last review |
If the report can answer those four questions, it is useful. If it only repeats fill rate and total impressions, it is too vague to support a buying decision.
For publishers, this kind of report is also the quickest way to explain pricing power. Buyers understand why traffic is worth more when they can see the source, the viewability standard, the invalid traffic filter, and the change history in one place.
Related reading: compare this with Supply Quality and the inventory packaging guide in the blog.
Sources: Google Ad Manager on viewability and Active View, Google Ad Manager on invalid traffic, and the IAB/MRC viewability guidelines.
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