1. Ad Fraud

Ad fraud refers to fake or invalid activity designed to steal advertising budgets without delivering real value. This can include bots generating fake impressions or clicks, spoofed websites pretending to be premium publishers, or hidden ads that no human ever sees.

Fraud drains billions from advertisers every year and skews performance metrics, making campaigns look successful on paper while delivering no real business impact. To combat this, advertisers and publishers rely on fraud detection technology, verification partners, and stricter controls over where and how ads are bought.

2. Viewability

Viewability measures whether an ad actually appears on a user’s screen in a meaningful way, rather than just technically loading in the background. An ad might be served at the bottom of a page, behind other content, or scrolled past before it’s ever seen.

Low viewability means advertisers are paying for impressions that have little or no chance of influencing an audience. To address this, the industry uses viewability standards, measurement tools, and buying strategies that prioritise impressions proven to be seen by real users.

3. Brand Safety

Brand safety is about ensuring ads don’t appear next to content that could harm a brand’s reputation, such as hate speech, misinformation, or inappropriate material. Even when placements are unintentional, the damage to consumer trust can be significant.

To reduce risk, advertisers use brand safety tools, keyword blocking, contextual targeting, and trusted publisher lists. These measures help ensure ads appear in suitable environments that align with brand values and audience expectations.

4. Privacy & Data Compliance

Privacy and data compliance focus on how consumer data is collected, stored, and used for advertising, particularly under regulations like GDPR and CCPA. As users demand more control over their data, advertisers must balance personalisation with transparency and consent.

The decline of third-party cookies has accelerated this challenge, forcing the industry to rethink targeting and measurement. Solutions include consent management platforms, first-party data strategies, and privacy-first targeting methods that respect user choice while maintaining campaign effectiveness. For more on privacy and regulations in adtech, see here.

5. Transparency

Transparency refers to how clearly advertisers can see where their money goes across the adtech supply chain. A single ad impression can pass through multiple platforms, vendors, and fees before reaching a publisher, making it difficult to track true costs and value.

Lack of transparency can lead to wasted spend, duplicated auctions, and mistrust between buyers and sellers. To improve this, advertisers focus on supply path optimisation, direct relationships, and clearer reporting to understand exactly how campaigns are executed.

6. Ad Blocking

Ad blocking happens when users actively prevent ads from appearing in their browsers or apps, often due to intrusive formats, slow load times, or poor user experiences. This reduces available inventory and limits advertisers’ ability to reach certain audiences.

Rather than fighting users, many advertisers respond by improving creative quality, reducing disruption, and investing in formats like native advertising that blend more naturally into content and respect user experience.

7. Measurement & Attribution

Measurement and attribution are about understanding which ads actually drove results, such as clicks, purchases, or brand lift. In a multi-device, multi-channel world, pinpointing what influenced a consumer’s decision is increasingly complex.

Simple last-click models often miss the bigger picture, leading advertisers to undervalue key touchpoints. To solve this, marketers use multi-touch attribution, incrementality testing, and advanced analytics to better understand campaign impact and optimise future spend. To learn more about measuring ad success, read on here.

8. Latency & Load Times

Latency refers to delays caused by ads loading slowly or failing to appear before a page finishes loading. Heavy creative files, too many tech partners, or inefficient ad calls can all slow down websites and harm user experience.

Slow load times can reduce viewability, frustrate users, and even impact search rankings. The industry addresses this through faster ad serving technology, lighter creative formats, and streamlining the number of vendors involved in delivering each impression.