Non-Monetized Ad Opportunities

Addressing Non-Monetized Opportunities

In ad tech, maximizing revenue isn’t just about increasing ad placements or signing on more demand partners. Often, the most significant gains come from identifying non-monetized opportunities—gaps where potential revenue is left on the table due to technical, operational, or market-related issues. These often go unnoticed, but when identified and addressed, they can unlock significant revenue potential.

What Are Non-Monetized Opportunities?

Non-monetized opportunities refer to instances where potential ad impressions fail to generate revenue. They can arise from technical glitches, failed requests, or issues with demand. Understanding and addressing these gaps is critical to optimizing your ad stack.

Let’s break down the main categories of non-monetized opportunities and how you can identify them using data from Google Ad Manager (GAM).

Not Requested: The Invisible Loss

Story:
I once conducted an audit for a publisher who mentioned they were seeing blanks on certain pages. My initial reaction was to investigate unfilled ad slots, and sure enough, there were many. I isolated several causes and proposed actions to improve fill rates. However, as I was finalizing my report, I revisited their list of concerns and realized there might be another underlying issue. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that a large section of their site had ad units that were not requesting at all. This was completely lost revenue—money they didn’t even know they were missing.

When an ad request isn’t made, it’s almost impossible to track using just GAM data. This can happen due to technical errors, JavaScript issues, or even ad blockers. To isolate “Not Requested” opportunities, you’ll need additional data sources, such as client-side logs or third-party monitoring tools.

For example, ad blockers, VPNs, or DNS-level blocks can prevent requests, but a deeper issue may involve JavaScript errors or missing ad tags, resulting in significant revenue loss.

Tip: Run diagnostics across different devices, regions, and browsers to identify these hidden losses.

Not Activated: Ads That Don’t Render

Even when an ad request is successfully made, there are scenarios where the ad response doesn’t translate into an impression, leaving potential revenue unclaimed. This category includes situations where ads are returned but fail to display due to factors like GPT lazy loading, which could delays the ad load until it’s too late, or quick bounces where users leave the page before the ad has a chance to render. It also includes scenarios where an ad renders but doesn’t trigger an impression such as an “In Banner Video” (IBV) ad that doesn’t meet the viewability criteria.

Formula: Divide total code served count (or total responses served) by total impressions. This ratio gives you an idea of how often served ads aren’t translating into impressions.

Not Matched: The Unfulfilled Opportunity

Another significant category of non-monetized opportunities occurs when ad requests are made, but no suitable line items match to fulfill them. This is what we typically think of when we hear the term “unfilled” This can happen for several reasons, such as programmatic disinterest, where buyers simply aren’t interested in the inventory due to targeting mismatches, floors that are set too high, or policy violations that disqualify the ad from being served. It could also be caused by technical issues where line item targeting doesn’t align with what’s being sent.

For example, stringent floor prices can sometimes lead to unsold inventory, as buyers might not be willing to pay the minimum required CPM. Similarly, policy violations can prevent ads from being served altogether, especially in highly regulated environments where ad content is subject to strict standards.

Formula: Divide total ad requests by total code served count (or total responses served).

Tip: Monitor your floors and targeting parameters closely, and run regular audits to ensure policies aren’t inadvertently disqualifying ads.

Not Sold: Inventory That Doesn’t Convert

Similar to “Not Matched,” “Not Sold” opportunities occur when an ad request is returned but doesn’t lead to a sale. This can happen when house ads are returned instead of a paid ad, or when the inventory remains unsold despite matching criteria. In some cases, this might be due to insufficient demand for the ad space or issues with how house ads are prioritized over potential buyers.

To measure “Not Sold” by filtering out house:

1. Run a report for total ad requests.
2. Run a second report filtered by line item type (excluding house ads) and measure total code served count.
3. Formula: Divide total ad requests by the total code served count from the filtered query.

Tip: Check if house ads are being served when there’s potential demand. Adjust your line item priorities to give more room to paid ads.

A “Not Sold” situation could also occur with tag-based ads that “pass back” when they fail to find a buyer. In such cases, the revenue recorded in GAM for that line item might not accurately reflect the true earning potential, as the passback means the ad space was not effectively monetized. If you have this set up, ensure you have a way of accurately reporting when passbacks are activated.

The Importance of Diagnosing Non-Monetized Opportunities

If you suspect that non-monetized opportunities are impacting your revenue, don’t leave money on the table. Reach out to us to conduct a thorough investigation of your ad stack. Let’s work together to uncover hidden opportunities and optimize your ad revenue potential.