Ad Refresh, the latest new feature launched by EXADS is without a doubt a valuable add-on to any ad platform. In this Ad Refresh case study, we will showcase how your publishers can optimize their ad revenues by using the feature currently available on Banner ad zones, including RDAs (Responsive Display Ads). 

By enabling Ad Refresh, your publishers can serve several ads within one ad zone, per user session, maximizing their audience’s engagement with their website’s content. As our case study will show, this will enable your publishers to increase their viewable impressions as well as the long-term value of their ad zones. Furthermore, it will give advertisers more ad inventory to access, and thus the ad platform will benefit from an increase in auction numbers.  

For this case study, we looked at two publisher users of one of EXADS’ ad network clients to see how they both managed to optimize their ad revenues, ad zones impressions and clicks, by using Ad Refresh. 

Publisher 1 implemented the feature on Desktop and Mobile, and Publisher 2 implemented it only on Mobile Banners. The two users tested Ad Refresh on a few ad zones on their websites, with an ad rotation rate set to 30 seconds. 

The case study will look at each case and provide a comparison between the 7 days before implementation and 7 days after Ad Refresh was enabled.

Publisher 1: Ad Refresh on Desktop and Mobile ad zones

Publisher 1 enabled the new feature on both Mobile and Desktop devices on his website. The main 5 GEOs were US, NL, BR, BE, and CN. 

Key Analytics figures Publisher 1 website:

• Monthly Visits: 2M
• Monthly unique visitors: 1.5M
• Visit Duration: 00:02:30
• Pages / Visit: 4.3
• Bounce rate: 58%
• Top Countries: US, DE, IN, UK

Results for Desktop ad zones

Ad Refresh was enabled on several desktop ad zones, including Desktop NTVA, and Desktop NTVB. 

A quick analysis looking at figures from 7 days before and 7 days after Ad Refresh was enabled, revealed increases in impressions and revenue across all of these ad zones:

• The impressions reported across all zones increased by 155%, from 9M to 24M 
• Overall revenues for the website’s Desktop ad zones also increased by +53.9%.

Desktop NTVA and NTVB increases reported for impressions, revenue, and clicks:

The Desktop NTVA zone registered the highest results, with a +389.5% increase in impressions, a +417.2% increase in revenue, and an increase of +51.9% in ad clicks. 

Impressions, revenue, and clicks increases reported per GEO:

The top 2 GEOs that have experienced a major boost in impressions and revenues with Ad Refresh are: 

• The United States, with a +179.6% increase in impressions, +44% in revenue, and +54.6% in ad clicks.
• The Netherlands, with a +177.3% increase in impressions, +97.9% increase in revenue, and +47.3% in ad clicks.

Results for Mobile 

Publisher 1 enabled Ad Refresh on several mobile ad zones including Mobile Header, and Mobile Sticky Footer Banner.

Seven days after enabling the feature, the reports across the respective mobile zones showed the following evolution:

• Impressions increased by 67.6%, from 87M to 146M.
• Overall revenues also increased by 11.2%.

Mobile Header and Mobile Sticky Footer Banner increases reported for impressions, revenue, and clicks:

The Mobile Header ad zone registered the highest results with a 284.2% increase in impressions, 188.3% in revenues, and 92.6% in ad clicks. 

Impressions, revenue, and clicks increases reported per GEO:

The most profitable GEO for Publisher 1 on mobile ad zones was the United States with high increases across all metrics observed. Brazil was the second most profitable GEO. 

The overall results show a better performance on the Desktop ad zones than on the Mobile ad zones, which is an expected outcome. 

Publisher 2: Ad Refresh on Mobile ad zones

Publisher 2 enabled Ad Refresh on a few mobile ad zones, including Mobile Header and Mobile Middle. The main 5 GEOs were US, NL, BR, BE, and CN. 

Key Analytics figures Publisher 2 website:

• Monthly Visits: 24M
• Monthly unique visitors: 8M
• Visit Duration: 00:02:00
• Pages / Visit: 9.4
• Bounce rate: 20%
• Top Countries: ES, MX, CO, AR, CL

Results for Mobile ad zones

The reports generated 7 days after enabling the Ad Refresh feature on these ad zones, showed this evolution:

• Over a week, impressions increased by 84.75%, from 82M to 152M.
• Overall revenues saw a 59.4% increase. 

The Mobile Header and Mobile Middle ad zones saw the following results:

The Mobile Header ad zone again registered the highest increases with a 232.4% increase in impressions, a 150.8% increase in revenues, and a 38.8% increase in ad clicks. 

Impressions, revenue, and clicks increases reported per GEO:

Ad Refresh shows a great improvement in the US, in a similar way as it did for Publisher 1 with a 120.1% increase in impressions, 125% in revenue, and 36.4% in clicks. 

Conclusion

From the two cases outlined above, the results show the impact that Ad Refresh can have on the ad zones of your publishers. Case studies demonstrate that implementations within the same ad zone type yield similar results, however, it is important to consider that the effectiveness of Ad Refresh may vary depending on the chosen ad zone.

This is a highly beneficial feature for the ad platforms that publishers use as increased exposure translates into higher-quality impressions, which have a greater likelihood of generating clicks and attracting more advertiser demand. 

Contact an EXADS representative today if you have any questions related to Ad Refresh or any other EXADS feature.