YouTube Opens Up To Third-Party Viewability Verification

In 2013, Google began offering advertisers the ability to buy ads on a viewable rather than a served-impression basis, and the company’s Active View solution is now available across display and video. But brands have been pushing the industry to bring in outside verification. In response, YouTube has announced it will open up to outside measurement vendors.

YouTube has approved a large number of vendors —  comScore, DoubleVerify, Integral AdScience and Moat — to report ad viewability. Moat will begin reporting first, beginning early next year. Advertisers will also still be able to use Active View. The move has been largely anticipated since a report by Financial Times earlier this fall.

“Having partners like Google address these challenges helps to push the entire industry forward. This move will generate better industry-wide standards across viewability and third party verification practices and continues the momentum in the right direction,” said Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Unilever, in the announcement.

Unilever has been among the companies pushing hardest for an added level of transparency. Weed was also quoted in Facebook’s September announcement that it would begin offering third-party viewability verification on video ads. Facebook has partnered with Moat and said viewability verification would eventually extend beyond video ads on the social network.

In May, ad networks Millennial Media (now owned by Aol) and 33Across announced partnerships with Integral Ad Science to offer viewability verification and guarantees that advertisers only pay for ad impressions that are seen.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

As Third Door Media's paid media reporter, Ginny Marvin writes about paid online marketing topics including paid search, paid social, display and retargeting for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She provides search marketing and demand generation advice for ecommerce companies and can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.