Publishers are constantly seeking innovative tools to maximize the value of their ad inventory.
Meet Viewify, a cutting-edge SaaS solution that harnesses the power of machine learning to dynamically optimize ad auctions, resulting in an average ad viewability of 80% or higher.
Viewify is a first-of-its-kind platform designed to help publishers instantly elevate ad viewability above the crucial 80% threshold. This achievement is directly linked to improved CPMs and increased revenue streams. The best part? It promises to offer publishers immediate results without bearing the burden on their end, as Viewify’s integration is streamlined and hassle-free, requiring just a single line of javascript.
With Viewify, gone are the days of complex billing structures tied to ad loads or refresh counts, or the controversial revenue-sharing schemes adopted by many other solutions in the market. Publishers only incur charges when the tool loads on their pages, regardless of the number of ads present, granting them the freedom to concentrate on creating exceptional content, driving user engagement, and maintaining a seamless user experience.
We spoke with Deke Hooper, CEO of diDNA to delve deeper into the features and benefits of the SSP’s new offering, Viewify. We’ll explore how this tool is reshaping how publishers implement and utilize ad tech while unraveling the broader implications for the advertising ecosystem.
Yakira Young: In what ways can publishers witness an instant enhancement in their viewability metrics by utilizing Viewify?
Deke Hooper: The core technology that makes Viewify so effective is how it optimizes two important (yet often overlooked) metrics: lazy load and ad refresh.
When lazy load is deployed incorrectly or not deployed at all, all ads on a page load immediately, regardless of whether they are on the site, driving down viewability and reducing CPMs based on those signals.
Enabling Viewify, which includes diDNA’s Enhanced Lazy Load with header bidding through methods like active tab monitoring and viewport proximity, allows for more efficient resource allocation by only triggering auction and render requests for ads when the user’s viewport is close to the ad location, resulting in improved performance by reducing unnecessary network requests and rendering.
Ad refresh acts similarly. While it’s a fantastic revenue opportunity when not set up correctly it can have the opposite effect by refreshing out-of-view ads, reducing viewability, and hurting the overall monetization goals. Intelligent Ad Refresh is part of Viewify that considers Google policy for TTLs, runs tests in the background, and identifies the highest revenue correlated to refresh, with smart timers that optimize by device and ranges.
YY: How does Viewify offer publishers the flexibility to tailor their approach, whether at a granular or global level?
DH: Publishers using Viewify typically fall into one of two categories:
- Ad Ops and Programmatic Teams who want a tool that works out of the box, maximizing time to value and leveraging diDNA’s smart presets to optimize ad inventory.
- Teams who want more control and want to customize and build their own rules to find incremental revenue opportunities.
Viewify users typically fall into the first category in the current media landscape. They’re under pressure to do more and hit ad revenue targets with fewer resources. Viewify is a trusted solution to quickly and easily get more out of their existing inventory and automatically do the work for them.
For teams that want to dig deeper, a powerful customization layer built into the Viewify Editor gives ad tech pros ample opportunity to test and optimize specifics to their site. Users can manually set refresh ranges, lazy load settings, ad render settings, and more, and can be segmented by device type, geo, and user, among others.
Here’s a concrete example: let’s say you’re a publisher who runs a mix of programmatic open market and higher-value direct campaigns. You may want to increase your refresh time on the direct campaigns, or even disable refresh entirely. Doing so generally leads to a higher click-through rate and lower average CPCs, two common KPIs for direct campaigns. To make that happen with Viewify, you simply enter the line item and customize the settings yourself. All other line items would continue to operate with the global settings while optimizing the specific campaign as needed.
YY: We noticed a senior programmatic director in the sports industry expressing his conviction that Viewify is indispensable for his publication. Are you receiving similar feedback from other publisher partners?
DH: We’re hearing a ton of positive feedback from early adopters of Viewify. From positive viewability data and revenue trends to ease of deployment and getting started, overall feedback has been extremely productive.
We implemented Viewify on one of the largest gaming publisher sites in the country last month. The day we turned it on, average viewability increased by 86% and has held steady ever since. Fill rate has increased by 14%, and we’ve seen an average CPM increase of 24%.
One thing to keep in mind is that the core tech that powers Viewify has been packaged as part of our “full stack” monetization program for years now. Thousands of publishers have already benefited from the tool, and we hope for thousands more in the future.
YY: What sets Viewify apart from other solutions in the market?
DH: Simplicity, time to value, and how it increases the value of existing ad inventory.
Simplicity: A single line of javascript installed in the site’s header is all a publisher needs to start. It can be set up and ready to go in less time than it takes to read this paragraph. Once installed, the smart presets are enough to get started and start seeing results instantly. The default settings work so well that many publishers do just that: install Viewify, set it, see the results, and forget it.
Time to value: Viewify integrates directly with a publisher’s existing header bidding strategy and starts optimizing the ad auction the second it’s turned on. Viewability increases within minutes, followed by CPMs and ad revenue.
More valuable ad inventory: We’ve seen a direct correlation between viewability and CPMs. Low viewability indicates a lower-quality website in both the programmatic ad auction and with higher-value direct deals and PMP campaigns. The overall goal of Viewify is to make inventory more valuable and thus drive up CPMs and revenue. We’ve found viewability to be one of the biggest opportunities to make a significant and immediate impact. Many publishers have viewability numbers in the 40-60% range. Bringing that up to 80% can make a big difference.
The implementation structure and terms are a new approach to the traditional ad tech platforms. We offer qualifying publishers a 30-day free trial to test the tool without taking on risk or long-term contracts. Once a publisher sees the results from Viewify, it’s really hard for them to hit the same performance metrics without it.
Our goal here is to offer publishers flexibility and transparency – neither of which are historically very common in the ad tech space.
YY: How do you envision the trajectory of Viewify over the next five years?
DH: Viewify is the first of a number of SaaS-style tools that complement our roadmap in the next one-five years. We want to be part of moving the industry towards giving publishers more control and customization over their toolkits.
Our new tools will follow a similar structure, focusing on simplicity, speed, and customization.
YY: Is there any additional information or insights you would like to share about Viewify?
DH: The Viewify engine determines why, when, and how often ads will show based on performance, user behavior, and auction signals — creating a unique user experience every time.
Minimum thresholds for high-value direct deals, open market, and PMP campaigns are typically 70%. By increasing viewability, publishers can access premium advertisers, ultimately increasing brand value and ad revenue. In addition to optimizing programmatic and open market campaigns, implementing Viewify will help a publisher’s direct sales team sell on higher core metrics, increasing deal sizes and driving more ad revenue.