Key Takeaways

• House ads are self-promotional ads that fill unsold inventory on your own website

• They don't generate direct revenue but can promote your other revenue-generating products

• Implementation is simple through most ad servers, including Google Ad Manager

• Effective house ads follow design principles similar to paid advertisements

• Strategic house ad campaigns can improve user experience by eliminating blank ad spaces

Imagine you've set up ad slots across your website, but not all of them are getting filled with paying ads. Instead of showing empty spaces or default "Your Ad Here" placeholders, you can use that space to promote your own stuff. That's basically what house ads are.

What Exactly Is a House Ad?

House ads (sometimes called "in-house ads") are self-promotional advertisements that publishers run on their own websites. Unlike regular ads, you're not getting paid directly when someone views or clicks on them - you're using your own inventory to advertise your own products, services, or content.

Think of it like this: if you own a grocery store and have a billboard outside that isn't rented, you wouldn't leave it blank - you'd advertise your own weekly specials. Same concept online.

"House ads are often underutilized by publishers who don't realize the strategic value they provide beyond just filling space," says Sarah Chen, Monetization Director at Publisher Solutions Inc.

When Should You Use House Ads?

There are several situatons where house ads make perfect sense:

1. When you have unsold inventory - Rather than showing empty ad slots, which looks unprofessional, house ads fill the gaps.

2. During seasonal lows - Ad spending tends to drop after major holidays. House ads can fill in when external demand decreases.

3. For cross-promotion - Got a new product, newsletter, or premium subscription? Use house ads to let your existing audience know.

4. When testing new ad positions - Before selling a new ad spot to advertisers, you can test its visibility and performance with house ads.

House ads are particularly valuable for smaller publishers who might not have 100% fill rates from their demand partners.

How to Implement House Ads

Setting up house ads is fairly strightforward in most ad management platforms:

In Google Ad Manager (GAM)

1. Create a new order and select "House" as the line item type

2. Upload your creative assets (banner images, HTML5, etc.)

3. Set targeting parameters (same as regular ads)

4. Assign the line item to your ad units

Since house ads have the lowest priority in GAM, they'll only serve when no other higher-priority ads are available. This ensures they don't compete with your revenue-generating ads.

"The beauty of house ads in GAM is that you can set them up once and forget about them," explains Tom Martinez, Ad Operations Specialist. "They'll automatically fill any gaps in your inventory without any additional work."

House Ad Best Practices

Just because you're not getting paid directly for these ads doesn't mean you should slap together something basic. Your house ads should follow these best practices:

Design Standards

House ads should look as professional as paid ads. Poor design reflects badly on your site and brand. Some guidelines:

• Match the format and dimensions of standard ad units

• Create visually appealing designs that align with your brand

• Keep messaging clear and concise

• Include a strong call-to-action

Strategic Content

Your house ads should have a clear purpose:

• Promote subscription services - "Subscribe to Premium for $X/month"

• Drive app downloads - "Get our app for exclusive content"

• Highlight other site sections - "Check out our new podcast"

• Build your email list - "Sign up for daily updates"

Measuring Performance

Track how your house ads perform using the same metrics you'd use for paid campaigns:

• Click-through rate (CTR)

• Conversion rate

• Traffic to promoted pages

• Resulting sign-ups or subscriptions

Many publishers use UTM parameters to track house ad performance in Google Analytics.

Common House Ad Mistakes to Avoid

Even seasoned publishers make these mistakes with their house ads:

1. Overusing the same creative - Rotate different house ads to prevent banner blindness

2. Neglecting mobile optimization - Ensure your house ads look good on all devices

3. Setting and forgetting - Review performance regularly and update messaging

4. Promoting too many things - Focus on your most valuable offerings

Real-World Examples

The New York Times frequently uses house ads to promote their subscription services during slow advertising periods. Their "Subscribe now for $1/week" promotions appear in standard ad slots when paid advertising isn't available.

Similarly, SmartyAds notes that many publishers use house ads to promote their newsletters, showing a significant increase in subscriber acquisition when implementing targeted house ad campaigns.

When to Use House Ads vs. Ad Exchange Backfill

While house ads are valuable, they're not always the best choice. Here's a quick comparison:

"The decision between using house ads or backfill should always come down to opportunity cost," advises AdExchanger. "Calculate what you might gain from a conversion versus the pennies from a low-CPM backfill ad."

Getting Started with House Ads

If you haven't implemented house ads yet, now's the time. Start small with just a few key promotions, then expand as you see what works. You're literally leaving money on the table if you're not using unsold inventory to drive growth in other areas of your business.

Remember, house ads might not generate immediate revenue, but they're investments in your own products and services that can deliver long-term benefits beyond what a one-time ad impression would provide.

Ready to take your monetization strategy beyond the basics? Check out our other Monetization Minis on topics like header bidding and advanced yield optimization.