Collapsible anchor Ads and CLS

CLS has drastically increased

[dolcevita]

How are you, and have you done anything regarding the relationship between collapsible anchor ads and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)?

My CLS has drastically increased this month from 0.12 to 0.21 (only mobile), and I blame collapsible anchor ads for that. Of course, one option is to disable anchor ads, but that would significantly reduce revenue.

Has anyone tried "data-overlays=bottom" and what are their experiences?

By the way, my SERP positions are also slightly, but not insignificantly, lower compared to desktop rankings, and I suspect this is to some extent also related to CLS.

[dolcevita]

Since no one has responded yet, to spark a discussion with a direct question: Do you use collapsible anchor ads and what is your CLS?

[CommandDork]

I do use collapsible anchor ads network-wide -- every single page of one particular site is flagged in Search Console as for having poor CLS BUT only for Desktop, which to me is a little weird (I would think it'd be the opposite).

The same site does Good-to-OK in the mobile report though.

I dont make much from them over a 30-day span, considering maybe deactivating them.

[dolcevita]

For the first three weeks, I haven’t had a positive experience with collapsible anchor ads.

They are designed exclusively for mobile ads.

Here's the issue: if you have a fixed ad above the fold and use collapsible anchor ads, the entire mobile screen gets covered by ads, leaving a poor impression on visitors. If the collapsible anchor ad is placed at the top of the website, it overlaps the fixed ad above the fold. If it’s placed in the footer, it takes up the entire lower half of the screen, or even more.

Another issue is that collapsible anchor ads increase CTR to as much as 5%-7%, but simultaneously generate a very low CPC (0.09). This results in no real benefit since the high CTR is offset by the low CPC, keeping revenue roughly the same or even lower.

The next drawback is CLS. According to pagespeed.web.dev, collapsible anchor ads significantly worsen the CLS score, whether placed at the top or in the footer. For example, when I was using regular anchor ads at the top, the CLS was about 0.13. Within three weeks of implementing collapsible anchor ads, it increased to 0.24, which is on the borderline of the red zone.

Yesterday, I decided to disable the collapsible anchor ads option entirely. However, to my surprise, I am still seeing collapsible and regular anchor ads alternating in the footer on my website. I hope the AdSense team will address this issue, as it is quite frustrating.

Based on my experience and the pros and cons observed, my recommendation is to avoid using collapsible anchor ads altogether.

[QuanChi]

For covering half of the mobile screen the payouts are low, they are 70% better than before, at least for me in the same spot but the "price" you pay for such ads to visitors. I have the feeling that adsense is more and more "selling" their webmasters, they should highly focus on more payouts to the webmasters but it seems always at our own costs. If I sell half of my page to an advertiser it should make 3x,4x the amount than before. Google is selling us for peanuts, for years now.

[dolcevita]

Interestingly, my CPC has drastically dropped since the introduction of collapsible anchor ads, and now that I want to opt out of them, both due to the CPC and the fact that they take up half of the mobile screen (CLS score 0.24), I can't, because collapsible anchor ads still appear despite being opted out, which is extremely frustrating.

[allhearts]

@dolcevita,

same here. earnings are much lower for me as well since collapsible ads started showing on my site even though I have it unchecked/disabled.

[allhearts]

I have used different options to try to contact Adsense regarding this issue, but all result in only using the helpless community to get help, no other option.

My anchor ads went from an average of 0.35 per click before collapsible ads, to 0.15 per click since the collapsible ads started showing on my site.

But here is an interesting find.

I disabled anchor ads all together and the collapsible ads stopped showing, but because I use that the code on my site to show anchor ads at the bottom on mobile, anchor ads are still showing.

My question is, because anchor ads are disabled but they still show, will I get credit for those impressions? I will let you know tomorrow.

[dolcevita]

I managed to contact them. The response was to wait 24 hours, and when I replied that no changes had occurred even after 72 hours and suggested that it was probably some kind of issue with Ad settings, they responded saying they would let me know when they had an update.

I also placed anchor ads at the bottom, but collapsible ads are still appearing periodically. If the page is refreshed, sometimes a normal anchor appears a few times, and other times a collapsible ad appears, which is very frustrating.

My CPC has dropped to 0.09–0.10, which I haven't seen in years. On the other hand, the CTR has increased, which is logical when collapsible ads take up half the screen. Additionally, the CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) is almost in the red zone at 0.24 (a jump from 0.13 in just a few days). For me, collapsible ads are extremely irritating, and I don’t want them at all.

My question is, because anchor ads are disabled but they still show, will I get credit for those impressions? I will let you know tomorrow.

You will probably get it, but it only shows that Ad setting have issues and is not responding to our changes at all.

[allhearts]

After disabling anchor ads for about an hour, and then enabling them last night and unchecking collapsible ads, things look good this morning, so far no collapsible ads.

[dolcevita]

Try refreshing the page 6-7 times to be 100% sure that collapsible anchor ads are not appearing.

It's still the same for me. 2-3 times colkapsible ads don't appear on refresh, but then they show up again, and it keeps repeating.

[allhearts]

Noticed a couple for me as well, this is disappointing.

[dolcevita]

It also seems that opting out of anchor ads is being overridden, making it impossible to disable them.

I think the AdSense Ad Setting control panel isn't working at all since opting out of auto ads doesn't seem to work either.

[No5needinput]

I've had all anchor ads turned off since yesterday but they are still showing.

[dolcevita]

I believe advertisers don’t pay anything extra for the collapsible anchor ads option, since I—and others I’ve seen—actually earn less with its appearance. It should be the opposite because the collapsible anchor takes up 50% of the mobile screen, impacting CLS and visitor experience.

I wouldn’t allow collapsible anchor ads, after seeing how they work, not even for $0.50 per CPC.

I don’t know what was intended by prioritizing advertisers at the expense of publishers, but this 'innovation' is disastrous for all publishers.

[allhearts]

@No5needinput @dolcevita

One thing I know for sure is that if you are using this code:

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-xxxxxxxxxxxxx" data-overlays="bottom" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

to show the anchor ads at the bottom, it will by default show anchor ads, even if you have anchor ads disabled and auto ads.

If you want to completely stop showing anchor ads, you have to remove that code from your sites and uncheck/disable anchor ads.

[dolcevita]

I found it hard to believe that data-overlays="bottom" was the reason anchor ads were appearing despite opting out, but you were right. I just removed data-overlays="bottom" from the code, and the anchor ads disappeared.

I'm not sure and haven't tested how removing data-overlays="bottom" from the code works with the anchor ads enabled and the collapsible anchor ads opted out.

[allhearts]

That I have known for a while, not sure why either but "overlays="bottom" is what messes that up.

[dolcevita]

Today, I received information from support stating that it takes 5-7 days for changes to take effect.

Following this, I re-enabled anchor ads without the collapsible anchor ads option. They appeared within a few minutes. I will now wait until January 2, 2025, and keep the code without the data-overlays="bottom" setting.

While observing, I also noticed that anchor ads (top) do not appear when the page loads. They only show up after scrolling down.

From what I recall during testing, anchor ads with data-overlays="bottom appeared right upon page load.

So, I will now keep the code unchanged for some time. However, the option of displaying ads upon scrolling instead of loading is not entirely negative for me, so I will probably abandon experimenting with data-overlays="bottom.

[dolcevita]

The fact that anchor and collapsible ads in the top position now appear only upon scrolling and not when the page loads—as was previously the case, it seems—should mean that the CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) should decrease.

If that turns out to be true, I will likely consider the option of using collapsible ads as well, since they also should not cause issues with CLS or user experience, given that they appear only upon scrolling and not immediately when the page loads.

[allhearts]

@dolcevita,

very good points, I think I will try that as well.

[dolcevita]

Just to update that work is being done to resolve the issue with collapsible anchor ads, as I’ve been informed that the AdSense team continues to review the issue with collapsible anchor ads. They understand the importance of this matter and are working diligently to resolve it as soon as possible.

In the meantime, my mobile CLS has increased to 0.28 (red zone), and I hope the issue with collapsible anchor ads ignoring the opt-out option will be resolved.

[allhearts]

@dolcevita,

thank you for the update.

[allhearts]

@dolcevita

I think the collapsible ads issue has been fixed.

I have added the anchor ads back at the bottom on mobile as it is much less intrusive because I also have an add above the fold under the menu.

[dolcevita]

I am in contact with the support team, and today I received an email stating that they have temporarily disabled collapsible anchor ads for one of my domains until they find a functional solution for the issue with the opt-out collapsible anchor ads. On that domain, everything is fine now, but the problem still persists on the other domains.

Try again to refresh 4x-5x.

[allhearts]

@dolcevita,

collapsible ads are still showing for me.

Can you tell how you were able to contact AdSense support? I have tried but no luck, maybe I'm missing something.

Thank you.

[dolcevita]

I think I was logged in while reading their article about opting out of collapsible anchor ads:

[support.google.com...]

Then, there was an option below labeled 'Contact Us.' Through that.

[allhearts]

Thank you. I used that Contact us option and chose different options many times but it just gives me one option, "Community help".

UPDATE: The only option to actually contact them directly is by choosing "Other" from the list of reasons.

[dolcevita]

I haven’t received any official notification, but it seems to me that the issue with negating opt-out collapsible anchors has been fixed. I tested it with countless refreshes where the opt-out is located, and the collapsible anchor didn’t appear even once.

[allhearts]

Yes I noticed that too since early morning yesterday.