Decline in AdSense Server Response Times?

Server Calls Sometimes Delay Display of Ads as Much as 30 Seconds or Mo

[scottb]

I've seen quite a few posts about AdSense reporting problems and declines in revenue. I don't know about you, but I'm seeing quite a decline in AdSense server response times in the last week or two, and it's getting worses.

Two of the biggest culprits are Invite Media, which is now owned by Google, and Double Verify. Both have server calls that sometimes delay the display of ads as much as 30 seconds or more. By that time, people will click on stop or exit the page.

That doesn't help revenue, either.

[incrediBILL]

Not a big deal really.

If you don't want those ad networks displayed go to "allow & block ads -> ad networks" and simply block them from your site.

Problem solved, ads will serve from a different ad network.

[scottb]

I've seen a number of posts on various webmaster boards saying that people who blocked those other networks saw a big drop in revenue.

Adding to the problem is that Double Verify doesn't appear to be a network but a service used by certain networks or advertisers. So I would have to block all networks or none at all.

[scottb]

I should also mention that I am seeing more problems with the regular Google ads and not just the network ads. Other people are posting the same thing on the AdSense help forum.

[buckworks]

You can reduce the "slow AdSense" problem by the way you plan your page layouts. You can't exactly speed up AdSense, but you can at least make sure the rest of your page doesn't have to wait if AdSense is slow to come in.

Suggestion: put your AdSense code into a div with appropriate width and height dimensions. Then, even if AdSense is slow, the browser knows how much room to allow and can display the rest of the page without delay.

That wouldn't change the total load time as measured by the clock but it would make the page feel faster. That can help quite a bit to keep users sticking around.

[nick28]

Suggestion: put your AdSense code into a div with appropriate width and height dimensions. Then, even if AdSense is slow, the browser knows how much room to allow and can display the rest of the page without delay.

I didn't know that div can help.
I am going to put all ads in div.
This is great, thank you very much buckworks.

[scottb]

Good idea, Buckworks, thanks. In the meantime, I blocked Google's Invite Media. The pages already load faster. We'll see if it impacts revenue.