Creating an Ad Slot
Add a new ad placement to your inventory. The ad-slot form is organized into tabs; you fill out what's relevant and save.
A new ad slot configured and ready to add to a layout.
Before you begin
Prerequisites
- Wrapper installed on your site (Verify installation →)
- GAM connected and synced, if you're mapping this slot to a GAM ad unit
- A plan for where this ad will appear on the page
Decisions to make
- What to name the slot
- Which GAM ad unit it maps to
- How and where it's placed on the page (anchor element vs. window-level)
- Which sizes it supports (same on all devices or different per device)
- Whether it refreshes
Step 1: Open the new-ad-slot page
- In Ad Manager (main) mode, confirm the right domain is selected.
- Go to Inventory → Ad Slots.
- Click Add Ad Slot (top-right).
The page opens on the Insert tab with an empty title field. Type a name before moving on (the rest of the form doesn't submit without one).
Use [page]_[position]_[index], for example article_sidebar_top or homepage_header_1. Consistent names make Dashboard → Monetization breakdowns readable later.
Step 2: Insert tab — where the ad goes
The Insert tab controls the GAM ad unit and how the slot is placed on the page.
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Ad unit | Map this slot to a GAM ad unit (populated from the sync set up in Connect GAM) |
| Load | When the slot loads (eager, lazy, etc.) |
Placement fieldset:
| Field | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Insert anchor | How the slot inserts relative to a target element — before, after, inside, replace |
| Element reference / Div ID | The DOM element the slot anchors to (for anchor-based placements) |
| Window reference | For window-level slots (e.g. sticky footer), where on the viewport they attach |
| Minimize / Dismiss | Whether users can collapse or dismiss window-level slots |
Which fields are required depends on the placement type — sticky/window slots use the window reference; in-page slots use the element reference.
Step 3: Media tab — format and sizes
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Media format | Display / video / native — the ad format family |
| Sizes | The ad sizes you'll accept |
Same-for-all-devices vs. per-device
The Sizes fieldset has a device toggle:
- All devices — one shared size list for desktop and mobile
- Per device — separate size lists under Sizes (mobile) and Sizes (desktop)
Keep your size list tight. 2–4 sizes per slot is the sweet spot; too many increases layout shift and auction latency.
Refresh (optional)
The Media tab also includes a refresh fieldset with device-specific settings:
| Field | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Trigger | What causes a refresh (time, viewability, etc.) |
| Interval | Seconds between refreshes |
| Times | Max refreshes per pageview |
Separate values for mobile and desktop when the device toggle is on per-device.
Custom styling (optional)
A collapsible accordion at the bottom of the Media tab lets you add CSS scoped to this slot.
Step 4: Auction tab — floor, timeout, bidders
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Floor | Minimum bid price this slot will accept |
| Auction timeout | Per-slot override for the wrapper bid timeout |
Below those, the Tag IDs table shows which demand seats apply to this slot and what tag IDs they use. The form note says:
Tag IDs are managed separately. Save this form first, then edit tag IDs from the view page.
So the pattern is: save the slot → reopen it → edit tag IDs on the view page.
Floor starting points:
| Inventory type | Starting floor |
|---|---|
| Premium above-fold | $1.50–2.50 |
| Standard display | $0.50–1.00 |
| Below-fold | $0.25–0.50 |
Keep floors conservative before you have fill-rate data. See Floors.
Step 5: Targeting tab (optional)
The Targeting tab carries key-value pairs used to target ads in GAM. Use this when you need to pass page-level or slot-level context (content type, author, subscriber status, etc.) into the auction.
If you're not sure you need targeting yet, leave this alone — it can be added later.
Step 6: Save
Click Save (or Create on new slots). The slot is created but not yet live — it only takes effect once you ship a release from Wrapper → Releases.
After saving
Your slot exists but won't serve ads until:
- Add the slot to a layout — Adding slots to layouts →
- Ship a release — Deploying changes →
- Verify on a page — load a matching URL with
?pbjs_debug=trueand checkAAM Processing <N> ad slots on pagein the console. See Wrapper Debugging.
Tag IDs (if not auto-populated) are managed from the slot's view page after the first save.
Quick-reference setups
Desktop leaderboard
Name: homepage_header_1
Insert: anchor element, above-fold container
Sizes: 728x90, 970x250 (all devices)
Floor: $1.50
Lazy loading: off (above the fold)
Sidebar (ATF)
Name: article_sidebar_top
Insert: anchor element, sidebar container
Sizes: 300x250, 300x600 (all devices)
Floor: $1.00
Lazy loading: off
In-content
Name: article_incontent_1
Insert: anchor after first <p>
Sizes: 300x250, 336x280
Floor: $0.75
Lazy loading: on (except the first in-content slot)
Mobile banner
Name: mobile_header_1
Insert: anchor element
Media sizes per device:
Mobile: 320x50, 320x100
Desktop: (empty — desktop doesn't load this slot)
Floor: $0.50
Troubleshooting
Slot created but no ads
| Check | Fix |
|---|---|
| Added to a layout? | Add the slot to a layout |
| Layout shipped? | Create a release from Wrapper → Releases |
| Layout targeting matches? | Verify the layout's Scope → Page Paths against the URL you're testing |
| Demand wired up? | Check Demand → Prebid — at least one seat enabled with a tag ID for this slot |
Slot doesn't appear in layout's ad-slot picker
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Form not saved | Save the slot first |
| Different domain selected | Switch to the domain where the slot was created |
Common questions
How many slots per page?
4–6 slots works for most publishers. More than that runs into diminishing returns: page speed suffers, viewability drops, and the incremental CPM rarely compensates.
Should I make separate mobile and desktop slots, or one slot with per-device sizes?
For most placements, one slot with per-device sizes is simpler. Make them separate slots when:
- The placement itself differs (e.g. sticky footer only on mobile)
- You want to report on them separately in Dashboard → Monetization
- Refresh / lazy-load behavior should differ
Can I duplicate a slot?
Yes. In the ad-slot list, use the Copy action in the row's actions column. Update the name and any settings that should differ, then save.