Ad Slots Overview
Manage individual ad placements on your site.
What is an ad slot?
An ad slot represents a single location where an ad can appear on your page.
Example layout on a typical article page:
| Slot name | Position | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
header_1 | Above the fold, full width | 728x90 |
sidebar_1 | Top of the right sidebar | 300x250 |
incontent_1 | Inline with article body | 300x250 |
sidebar_2 | Below sidebar_1 | 300x600 |
Ad slots vs. ad units: an ad slot is your organization of a placement; an ad unit is what Google Ad Manager uses. When you connect GAM, you map each ad slot to a GAM ad unit (on the slot's Insert tab) so the winning bid can be served.
Ad slot properties
| Property | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Unique identifier | article_sidebar_top |
| Sizes | Allowed ad dimensions | 300x250, 300x600 |
| Load | When the slot loads | Eager / Lazy / Dynamic |
| Refresh | Auto-refresh after interval | 45 seconds |
| Floor price | Minimum bid accepted | $1.00 |
Common tasks
| Task | Link |
|---|---|
| View all ad slots | Viewing ad slots → |
| Create new slot | Creating an ad slot → |
| Edit existing slot | Editing an ad slot → |
| Archive slot | Archiving an ad slot → |
| Understand sizes | Ad slot sizes → |
| Best practices | Ad slot best practices → |
| Audit an under-earning slot | Slot audit → |
Ad slot lifecycle
Quick reference
Recommended sizes by position
| Position | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Header | 728x90 | 970x250, 970x90 |
| Sidebar | 300x250 | 300x600, 160x600 |
| In-content | 300x250 | 336x280 |
| Mobile header | 320x50 | 320x100 |
| Sticky footer | 728x90 | 320x50 (mobile) |
Naming convention
[page]_[position]_[number]
Examples:
homepage_header_1
article_sidebar_top
article_incontent_1
article_incontent_2
category_sidebar_1