Ad viewability in the UK increased to 70.9% during the first half of the year, a rise of 7.5 percentage points, following an improvement in the quality of the ad environment, a new study by Integral Ad Science showed on Thursday.
The Media Quality Report takes a biannual look at ad viewability, which is a concept based on how visible ads are to users both on mobile and desktop devices, in countries around the world.
Canada is the world leader with a 73.6% ad viewability score, but the UK’s impressive strides during the last 12 months have seen it rise to second overall.
Germany has the third most viewable ad space at 69.4%.
The study found that the standards for viewable impressions are improving across the board as global viewability averages exceeded 60% for the first time ever.
Brands mixing and matching content marketing with advertising and other paid efforts can therefore expect to see greater, more consistent returns from their efforts.
“Our H1 2019 Media Quality Report indicates a consistent drop in brand risk for the UK, with viewability levels continuing to rise,” Integral Ad Science’s EMEA MD Nick Morley said.
“When compared globally, the UK appears consistently in the top rankings, showcasing the current high quality of UK digital advertising.”
Brands may also be interested to hear that mobile accounted for the longest duration of ad viewings in the UK, with consumers on smartphones seeing content for 22.52 seconds on average compared to 21.67 seconds on desktops.