Fixing Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) For Ad Space

[Hanuman]

I need to fix the Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) issue for one of my websites. What happens here is that I have turned Auto Ads on for Adsense , and when it chooses to display a leaderboard ad, which pushes the content down causing this issue.

When I look up the issue online, I am asked to set up a height and width for my ad spaces so that the page does not jump around upon load.

But given that this is 'auto ads' we are talking about, there is no ad space there to speak of. And even if I do set up a pre-determined height on the leaderboard, the UX is going to go south if Google decides not to show a leaderboard ad at any point.

Is there a way to fix this?

 

[Ryuzaki]

AutoAds should ignore any slot where you've manually placed an ad. So you could create that slot for the leaderboard ad and then place a manual Adsense ad there. Same goes for sidebars, etc.

This would leave them placing ads in the content, but this isn't going to get you anywhere because you'll still experience layout shifting for every ad they place. I'm surprised Google hasn't sorted this out yet, to be fair, since they're the ones punishing for CLS.

I wouldn't worry about Google not having an ad to fill a leaderboard slot. Their fill rate on those should be damn near 99.99%.

Ultimately, I don't know what to tell you. Mediavine does this thing where they'll reserve each ad slot at the biggest size ad they may serve in that slot. Then it doesn't matter if they serve a big or small one, there will be no shifting. If they serve a small one, they even have this option to have the ad slide down in that bigger slot as the user scrolls to help increase viewability and paid impressions (the ad is on the page just a little bit longer). This is all possible because they range of ad types they show are pretty similar, so it doesn't create some whacked out experience. It's all mainly 300x300 I think, and others might be 300x500, but rarely do they get much taller.

It's another case of Google telling us to do as they say and not as they do. I'd just be looking to graduate away from Adsense sooner than later, if this is a typical "content site". CPM does much better than CPC in my opinion.

 

[Hanuman]

Thanks Ryuzaki.

So you could create that slot for the leaderboard ad and then place a manual Adsense ad there.

This is a great idea. I notice that there is not much jumping around elsewhere on the page. It's the massive leaderboard on top that is causing the maximum UX issue. Besides, I think there is a bit of leeway given to how much content can move around. So, I am hoping Google doesn't view the rest of the page unfavorably.

I'm hoping to qualify for Mediavine by January or so. So, yeah, fingers crossed until then.