Display Viewability

What AdGradr checks

The Google Ads API does not expose viewability metrics (like Active View) at the campaign level through standard reporting. Instead, AdGradr uses conversion efficiency and impression volume as a proxy for placement quality. This check only runs when your account has active display campaigns.

AdGradr flags accounts with zero conversions (click + VTC) despite $500+ in spend as a serious finding, since this strongly indicates low-quality placements. Accounts with click-through conversions but no VTCs receive a minor flag. The $500 spend threshold prevents the check from flagging brand-new campaigns that have not had time to accumulate conversions.

Why this matters

Display ads served to placements where nobody sees them produce impressions on paper but zero business impact. Low-quality placements include below-the-fold positions on content farms, interstitial ads that load behind other elements, and mobile app inventory where accidental clicks inflate CTR without real engagement.

If you are spending $500 or more on display and seeing zero conversions of any kind, the placements are almost certainly low quality. Even display campaigns with modest expectations should generate some measurable signal.

What good looks like

A well-managed display campaign will produce both click-through and view-through conversions. VTCs are especially important for display because most display impressions do not generate clicks. The ad works by creating awareness that converts later through search or direct visits.

Healthy display accounts maintain a reasonable conversion-to-spend ratio and show VTC data that confirms ads are being seen, not just served.

Common mistakes

1. Relying on impressions as a success metric. High impression counts with zero conversions usually means your ads are running on junk inventory.
2. Not enabling VTC tracking. Without VTCs, you only see conversions from the small percentage of people who click a display ad. This dramatically understates display’s contribution.
3. No placement exclusions. Failing to exclude mobile app inventory (especially games) and low-quality sites lets the algorithm chase cheap impressions that never convert.

How to fix it

1. Check your display campaigns for any conversion activity (click + VTC). If a campaign has spent $500+ with zero conversions, pause it and investigate placements.
2. Enable VTC tracking on all conversion actions with at least a 7-day window.
3. Add placement exclusions for adsenseformobileapps.com and review the Placements report to exclude sites with high impressions but no conversions.
4. Consider switching to a Maximize Conversions bidding strategy, which forces the algorithm to optimize for placements that actually convert.

When to ignore this check

Brand awareness campaigns measured purely on reach may not target conversions. If display is being used strictly for impression-based branding with separate measurement (brand lift studies, for example), zero conversions may be expected.

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