The framework
The net-positive placement test
One test decides whether a unit ships. It has two bars. A unit clears both or it does not run. No exception for "it still makes a little money."
Does it earn its place?
A high-attention position, measuring viewability at or above 60%. Below 45% is a defect, not inventory.
Does it cost the reader nothing?
No layout shift, no load block, no click trickery. Labeled, dismissible if it persists, and never above clinical or crisis content.
The threshold
Why 60%, and why 45% is the floor
Viewability is the shared currency. A viewable impression is what bidding pays the most for and what a non-intrusive placement delivers, so it is the cleanest single proxy for whether a unit earns its place. Green clears the bar, amber is on notice, red is a defect.
dashed line = 60% viewability floor
In practice
Running it
- Measure each unit. Pull viewability per placement from your network or analytics. That is bar one.
- Check the page cost. Layout shift, load impact, intrusiveness, and the sanctity zones. That is bar two.
- Relocate or cut the failures. A low-viewability unit moves to a position that earns, an in-content slot or a dismissible anchor, or it comes out. Two to four weeks of data settles it.
Want it run on your site?
The audit scores every unit against both bars and hands back the fix list.
Get the audit