What are IAB Standard Ads?

As the digital advertising industry keeps growing, the myriad of agencies, companies, and publishers are forced to abide by some regulations and standards to be able to work together. The standard that regulates ads in the advertising industry is called the IAB standard. Keep reading to learn what are IAB standards, and how can publishers can benefit from them.

What does IAB Mean?

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is a regulating body for the ad tech industry that sets standards and guidelines for the industry. The IAB was founded in 1996 as a non-profit. Its operations include developing industry standards, conducting research, and providing legal support for the digital advertising industry.

The IAB Global Network consists of 42 international organizations worldwide, with 27 national IABs only across Europe, covering over 500 companies. The organization produces many valuable resources like the IAB Annual Report 2021 study,

What are IAB standards?

IAB standards are a guide, a set of best practices, geared to guide publishers and advertisers to follow a common set of technical specifications. These standards are set with the goal of maintaining ad measurements consistency, protecting consumer privacy, and reducing ad fraud.

IAB standards according to their areas of focus 

The Typical Standard IAB Sizes

There are three standard sizes:

• Leaderboard (728×90).

It is a rectangular digital ad, also called a horizontal banner ad. It is one of the most popular ad units. Below is an example from Forbes.

 

• Medium Rectangle (300×250).

This size is commonly used by websites that monetize with display ads. Here is an example from CNN’s website.

This medium sized ad is one of the most used since 2017, back when Google allowed publishers to place 300×250 units above the fold.

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When the ad is placed above the fold it has more viewability.

• Skyscraper (160 x600).

These are vertical ads often displayed on the side of the screen.

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These ad units are not only the most popular but also often the most profitable as they are consistently in high demand from advertisers. But these aren’t the only ad sizes recognized by the IAB, among them are also the billboard ad (970×250), the smartphone banners (in two sizes, 300×50 and 320×50), and the portrait size ads (300×600).

As a publisher, you should experiment with using a mix of different ad sizes to see which ones yeild better returns.

IAB New Ad Portfolio

The IAB Tech Lab developed new guidelines for a New Ad Portfolio. These standards are geared to improve the ad experience on multiple platforms, such as mobile, websites, and social media. Moreover, these guidelines take into account new technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality ads.

Another consideration of the new ad portfolio is the new privacy regulations and fraud protection, such as the phasing out of third-party cookies. Some of the New IAB Ad Portfolio guidelines include:

• Advertisements shouldn’t be disruptive‌.
• User experience is a top priority.
• Users should be given control over their advertising experience.
• Ads need to render as fast as possible.

This New Portfolio (New Standard Ad Unit) replaces the previous guidelines, providing additional standards for new units. 

Flexible Ads

These ads are based on aspect ratio instead of fixed pixel sizes. The reasoning behind this is that today’s users connect to the internet using multiple devices, therefore, ads need to adapt to different devices and screen sizes.

Flexible ad units keep their aspect ratio regardless of the devices they are displayed. This ensures the ads are rendered across different screen sizes and integrated with responsive websites.

LEAN Ads

LEAN stands for Light, Encrypted, AdChoices supported, Non-invasive ads. By serving users with LEAN ads, the user experience gets priority, for instance, by minimizing the page loading time. LEAN ads don’t replace the current standard sizes but provide new guidelines in addition to size requirements.

IAB Guidelines for Display and Mobile

These guidelines aim to guide publishers on file size limitations as well as to serving ads in HTML5, with the goal to improve user experience.

• There is a limit of a maximum of 15 file requests for each initial file load so it won’t negatively impact page performance. Initial load is the total compressed file size of creative assets delivered to the browser for display. 
• IAB recommends publishers and ad servers use browser aching and shared libraries in HTML5 Ads. By doing this, you can improve the ad load performance.
• Creatives should build ads to perform without disrupting site or app performance. IAB recommends a max 30% CPU load per active ad. 
• For host-initiated file requests, the maximum number of file requests is ten, during initial file load. You can load additional files during sub loads and user-initiated loads.

New Ad Sizes

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• Smartphone Banner

This type of ad unit is between 200×200 for a small square to 320×320 for a mobile full page, according to the IAB standards. The most popular variations are 320×50, 300×50 and 300×10. 

• Billboard

It is an IAB standard and can be featured on every type of page, as well as on tablet devices. The standard size is 970 x 250. Digital publishers offer billboards as an ad option, such as this example from The Guardian.

• Portrait

A portrait ad unit is measured at 250 pixels in width but 1200 pixels in length vertically. As a result, this ad extends below the fold. The large size enables advertisers to incorporate multiple sections.

What is the IAB Tech Lab?

The IAB Technology Laboratory (Tech Lab), is a non-profit with the goal to develop standards, build growth and cultivate trust in the digital media industry. 

The Tech Lab consists of digital publishers, ad tech firms, agencies, and marketers. IAB Tech Lab delivers solutions to prevent ad fraud, protect consumer privacy and identity, and programmatic effectiveness. It also develops standards, specifications, and guidelines to standardize the industry and improve ad experiences.

The IAB Tech Lab is independent of the IAB, with a different board of directors. This structure enables it to accept members from outside the USA. The group has a compliance program organizations can adhere to implement protocols, specifications, and software.

Why are IAB Standards Important?

Because IAB ad units are used throughout the industry, they quickly turned into the most profitable sizes. These types of ads are always in high demand and are easy to implement, thus enabling publishers to increase their revenue. 

The Benefits of IAB Standards for Publishers

Publishers may benefit from adhering to the IAB Standards:

• They simplify creating ad inventory.
• The New Ad Portfolio adapts sizes based on aspect ratio, allowing the ad units to be consistent across multiple device types.
• They provide guidelines for new digital media formats, including social media, and virtual and augmented reality.
• The New Ad Portfolio focuses on delivering a better user experience through faster loading time.
• The IAB standard maximizes publishers’ ad earnings when monetized via ad networks.

General Ad Requirements

According to IAB standards, these are the general ad requirements:

• Ads need to include Interest-Based Advertising self-regulation controls by using behavioral targeting. 
• Ad space should be defined,  such users can distinguish it from unpaid content.
• No automatic audio play. There should be controls for the user to initiate audio.
• For slow connections, the file weight should be 30% less than recommended.

FAQ’s

Maximize your revenue with CodeFuel!

Leveraging a monetization platform can help you comply easily with IAB standards. CodeFuel works with display and native ads that follow IAB standards and guidelines. These popular ad units drive advertiser’s demand, therefore maximizing your revenue as a publisher.