Measurement Design
Part of Media quality and brand suitability
Comparing viewability and verification metrics carefully
Compare viewability, invalid-traffic and suitability figures using their denominators, coverage and format limits.
Compare viewability and verification metrics only after matching the counted event, denominator, format, reporting period and measurement coverage. Read a viewability rate alongside the measurable share and the rule applied; invalid traffic and brand suitability answer different questions, not one overall quality question.
Separate counts before rates
The IAB viewability threshold is at least 50% of an ad’s pixels in view continuously for one second for display and two seconds for video. The Media Rating Council’s Viewable Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines, Version 2.0, name a measurement framework; its guidance also lists separate standards for mobile viewable impressions, mobile web and in-app advertising. Identify the applicable format guidance and method.
For digital display and video, request total reported impressions, measurable impressions, viewable impressions and impressions whose viewability could not be determined. Ask whether invalid traffic was filtered from each count and at what stage. Record how the report defines a measurable impression and where that definition comes from.
For mobile or other environments, check the standard and method applied rather than assuming a desktop rule covers them. Different formats and measurement environments can produce different measurable shares.
Ask each supplier to define measurable rate, viewable rate and any viewable-impression distribution. Keep those definitions with the report so the numerator and denominator can be checked.
Suppose a purely hypothetical report has 1,000 impressions, of which 800 are measurable and 560 are viewable. If the report defines measurable rate as measurable impressions divided by total impressions, and viewable rate as viewable impressions divided by measurable impressions, the figures are 80% and 70%, respectively.
If it defines the share of all impressions that are viewable as viewable impressions divided by total impressions, the figure is 56%. The remaining 200 are unmeasured, not automatically non-viewable.
Keep unlike checks apart
| Measure | Question it addresses | Qualification to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Viewability | Did a measurable ad meet the stated on-screen rule? | Format, threshold and unmeasured share |
| Invalid traffic | Which activity was identified as invalid under the method? | Filtration stage and gross or net basis |
| Brand suitability | Which classified content conflicted with approved rules? | Classification coverage and the rules used |
| Placement delivery | Where does the supplier report activity ran? | Omitted or aggregated inventory |
Invalid-traffic measures concern activity classified under the applicable detection and filtration method. The MRC’s IVT 2.0 Detection and Filtration Standards Addendum was updated in June 2020, and its interim update memo was updated in April 2024; record the version used. A low reported invalid-traffic rate does not establish suitability or viewability.
Compare matching slices
Align dates, geography, formats, inventory, impression definitions and filtration stages. Display and video use different viewability time thresholds, so a mixed-format rate can conceal that difference. Do not compare headline percentages when the denominator or unmeasured share differs.
Providers can report different rates when they measure different shares of delivered impressions. A 2012 3MS comparison included Comscore, Double Verify, Google, MOAT and RealVu across 22 campaigns; it found significant variation in viewability measurement, with vendors unable to measure half of served impressions in most campaigns and some campaigns not accurately measurable.
Cross-domain iframes can also limit measurement. In 2012, Comscore reported that they accounted for 60% or more of impressions in a typical campaign and 78% of ads served on ad networks. Compare measurable coverage by environment as well as the rate.
Check MRC accreditation against the specific service, metric and format, rather than relying on a provider name alone. Google announced MRC accreditations in 2018 across Google Ads and Google Marketing Platform products, including Display & Video 360 and Campaign Manager; listed metrics included viewable impressions and IVT detection and filtration. IAS announced continued accreditation in 2023 for its core digital ad verification service, including viewable impressions and SIVT filtration.
For a buying decision, put each rate beside measurable coverage and delivered volume. Display & Video 360 offers viewability targeting; targeting is not achieved viewability. State what the matching measured figures support, how much delivery remains unmeasured and which other report is needed.
