At RevContent, we want to ensure that we provide you with accurate and transparent metrics for measuring impressions. To keep up with industry standards, we follow the guidelines set by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Media Rating Council (MRC). These experts periodically review and update the rules for measuring impressions. Recently, they suggested a shift from counting "ads requested" to "ads served" as the standard across various formats and platforms.
With that in mind, we've updated our methodology to align with these recommendations and to stay in sync with the most up to date industry standards for measurement.
So, what exactly has changed?
We used to measure impressions based on "Requested Ads," but we now count them as "Served Ads." Let's break down these terms for you:
- Requested Ad: An impression is counted when an ad is requested from a server.
- Served Ads: We count a page view when an ad is sent (or "served") to a publisher by the ad server, and the recommendation is downloaded to the user's device, rendered, or viewed by the user.
By focusing on counting impressions that are "Served," it's possible that some of our clients might notice a decrease in their page view counts. Don't worry, this is simply a result of the new methodology. Moving forward, the metrics you see on the RevContent dashboard and in scheduled reports will reflect this change.
You might find that Google Analytics typically shows more page views than RevContent. Why is that?
Well, the difference lies in how we define a page view:
- For Google Analytics (GA), a page view is triggered when the page starts loading.
- For RevContent, a page view is triggered when the first RevContent placement is added to the page.
Occasionally, a user may leave a page after it begins to load but before the first RevContent placement is added. In such cases, GA counts it as a page view, but RevContent does not. This gap is more noticeable on pages that use lazy loading, like AMP, especially if the first RevContent placement is located below the visible area of the page.
We're always committed to staying up to date with the latest industry standards. As new guidelines are defined and implemented, we'll continue to review and update our impression counting technology accordingly.
If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out to your friendly account manager. We're here to help!