Watch Refresh #4: Viewability Decays Per Cycle

Watch Refresh #4: Viewability Decays Per Cycle

A diagnostic lever, not a plugin. Refresh RPM looks great on cycle 1-2 and quietly rots by cycle 4 as users stop looking. Most dashboards hide this by averaging.

What it does — segment refresh revenue by cycle number to find where it stops paying.
Setup effort (3/5) — custom GAM key-value (refresh_count) + a pivot report.
RPM lift seen — capping refresh at the cycle where viewability drops below ~40% (usually #3-4) lifted effective RPM +4-6% by not serving dead impressions advertisers later devalue.

Pros — finds the exact point diminishing returns turn negative.
Cons — reporting setup is fiddly; the right cap differs per slot.

Lift: ★★★☆☆ — Risk: ★☆☆☆☆
Best for: anyone running uncapped refresh. Skip if you already cap at 3 — you've likely passed the cliff.