Publishers and creators of all sizes are increasingly adopting Web Stories to create compelling, narrative experiences for users. A key ask from partners has been easy and effective monetization for the growing content format. Until now, the primary ways publishers have monetized their Web Stories has been direct sold ads and affiliate links.
Google is launching a programmatic ads solution for Web Stories, and making it generally available to all publishers using Ad Manager and AdSense around the world. This new feature makes it easy for publishers to start earning more from Web Stories.
Story ads
Web Stories are a full-screen tappable experience that immerses readers in content. Web Story ads are appealing, full-screen ad creatives that integrate seamlessly into the user’s journey, keeping them engaged and delighted by the Story content. The frequency and position of Story ads in the context of your Web Story is dynamically determined to optimize both user experience and monetization potential.
The new programmatic capabilities, currently in an open beta, are available for all publishers that use Ad Manager and AdSense, and will start off by leveraging multiple types of mobile demand from Google Display Ads, with more demand sources coming soon.
Setting up your Stories for programmatic ads
Get started with programmatic ads today by following a few simple steps in your ad platform and then tagging your Web Story for ads with an appropriately configured <amp-story-auto-ads> tag. If you work with a visual creation tool, it will likely soon support a feature to handle ad tagging, but you can always insert the tag by directly editing the Web Story code.
Ad Manager
Ad Manager configuration and analytics guide
Example:
<amp-story-auto-ads>
<script type="application/json">
{
"ad-attributes": {
"type": "doubleclick",
"data-slot": "/30197360/a4a/my_story_360"
}
}
</script>
</amp-story-auto-ads>Code language: HTML, XML (xml)AdSense
AdSense configuration and analytics guide
Example:
<amp-story-auto-ads>
<script type="application/json">
{
"ad-attributes": {
"type": "adsense",
"data-ad-client": "ca-pub-0000000000000000",
"data-ad-slot": "00000000"
}
}
</script>
</amp-story-auto-ads>Code language: HTML, XML (xml)Other Platforms
Other platforms and ad networks can support Story ads, and will use a similar tagging structure to do so.
Better monetization for creators
We’re committed to ensuring that all Web Story creators are able to earn more from digital advertising, and we will continue to improve monetization of the format over time. The Story ad ecosystem is designed to be open to other ad networks and advertising solutions. If you are an ad provider that would like to integrate with Web Stories, please reach out via GitHub.
Published by Varun Rao, Web Stories Product Manager at Google