Just because your video ads appear on web pages doesn’t mean consumers will see them. What if they’re too far down the page? In that case, you’re not getting what you’re paying for, because your ad isn’t viewable.

Global ad management company DG ^[1] just released its Global Benchmark Report for 2012, Viewability: A New Lens for Engagement ^[2], and among the useful data is a move to make viewability a prime metric for online ads. Looking to replace the click as the primary measure of ad effectiveness, DG and others are pushing for a viewability measurement. To count as viewable, 50 percent of an ad’s pixels have to be in view for at least one second.

If the measurement is adopted, it will help advertisers know that their ads are displayed on the viewable screen for what DG calls “a visually relevant amount of time.”

The benchmark report also charts the rise of online video ads, saying they took center stage in 2012. Engagement for interactive ads, including video ads, was way up, and both rich media ads and video ads increased their share of the total online video advertisements.

For much more on ad effectiveness, including solid numbers on video ad dwell times and click-through rates in several countries and verticals, download the full benchmark report ^[2] (free registration required).

Video image ^[3] via Shutterstock.