This post was most recently updated on April 2nd, 2024
Picture this: You’ve got a prime piece of ad real estate on your site – a spot that could fit either a larger 300×600 ad or a couple of 300×250 ads. What’s a publisher to do? Enter Chaser Ads.
Chaser Ads Explained
Chaser Ads is a feature we offer that allows you to run two 300×250 ad units instead of a single, larger 300×600 ad unit, in situations where your ad code is set to accept both sizes. This creates a mini-auction where the two smaller ads compete for the same space, often leading to higher bids and increased revenue for you, the publisher.
If a standard ad slot (like a 300×250 banner) doesn’t fill, the Chaser ad ‘chases’ that space and attempts to monetize it.
Rather than relying on a single ad unit to take up a specific spot on your website, Chaser Ads turns ad placements into a mini-auction. They allow multiple ads of similar size to compete for the same space when a page loads. This competition can result in higher bids, potentially boosting your ad revenue without changing your website layout.
Key Points:
- Don’t Confuse Chaser Ads with Auto Ads: Chaser ads have a predefined placement, unlike auto ads inserted with algorithms.
- Multiple Platforms: Many ad networks and ad management platforms offer some form of this functionality.
How Does Chaser Work?
Flexible Ad Units: You’ll need ad units set up as “flexible” (meaning they accept both 300×600 and 300×250 sizes).
The Secret Sauce: The Chaser parameter! We’ll Activate Chaser on your site by selecting a percentage (e.g., like 0.55 would run Chaser on 55% of your traffic).
The Showdown: When a user loads your page, Chaser quickly runs a mini-auction between two 300×250 ads to see which combination pays the most.
Benefits of Chaser Ads:
- Increased Revenue Potential: Competition between the two ads often drives up the winning bid, leading to more revenue for you.
- Easy Implementation: No major layout changes are needed. Just a simple setting adjustment within AdSense.
- Flexible Testing: Start with Chaser on a smaller percentage of your traffic to see the impact and adjust the percentage as needed.
Enable Chaser Ads with MonetizeMore
For all our publishers, we created a detailed Chaser Ad Layout Proposal, maximizing the use of areas that are sure to bring in strong Viewability rates while blending in nicely with the content so as not to disrupt their user experience.
They were also using single-sized hardcoded AdSense tags, which limited their performance, as opposed to Google Ad Manager units with flexible sizes, which we proposed to use. More sizes mean more inventory can compete for that single slot, bringing you the highest-paying winning ad size.
Lastly, running with Monetizemore’s Ad Exchange and PubGuru Header Bidding Solution is where it makes the biggest difference. With Ad Exchange in the stack, it provides a pool of premium advertisers that isn’t available in AdSense alone, meaning more demand for the site’s inventory at even higher rates than before. Unless you’re a publisher with huge volumes of traffic (millions!) per month, you’re out of luck getting an Ad Exchange invite.
Alongside Ad Exchange, we add our various Header Bidding partners to the stack as well. CPMs gradually improve as there is more competition for the ad inventory, with all the partners competing against Google AdSense and Ad Exchange.
The technology integrated with our PubGuru Header Bidding Wrapper is also a huge factor, with our Smart Refresh and Chaser Ad Unit features bringing in noticeable increases all on their own.
“Chaser Ads were easy to set up, but the results were incredible! My Session RPM tripled from an average of $3 to a consistent $9-$13. Amazing return for such little work!” – Investor Village
Ready to Give Chaser a Shot?
If you already have flexible ad units, implementing Chaser is a no-brainer. It’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward way to squeeze even more revenue from your existing ad placements.
- Chaser Ads won’t always guarantee higher revenue. Test and find the sweet spot that works best for your website.
- This functionality is most effective for ad placements where both 300×250 and 300×600 ad sizes are visually appropriate.
With over seven years at the forefront of programmatic advertising, Aleesha is a renowned Ad-Tech expert, blending innovative strategies with cutting-edge technology. Her insights have reshaped programmatic advertising, leading to groundbreaking campaigns and 10X ROI increases for publishers and global brands. She believes in setting new standards in dynamic ad targeting and optimization.