Glossary
What is House ad?
Also called: house line item
A house ad is a publisher's own promotion that fills an ad slot when no paid ad serves. It earns nothing but avoids a blank space.
हिंदी में पढ़ेंA house ad promotes something the publisher owns, such as a newsletter, an app, a subscription or another section of the site. It is served when no paying demand is available for a slot, for example when every bid is under the floor or no buyer wanted that visitor.
In Google Ad Manager, house ads run as House line items at priority 16, the lowest. Ad Manager treats them as a $0 rate and serves them only when no paid line item can. So a house ad never takes an impression a buyer was willing to pay for.
House ads are a useful safety net: the slot shows something relevant instead of an empty box, and you can use the space for your own goals. But a high share of house impressions is a signal worth reading. Demand may be weak for that slot, country or size, or your floors may be set above what buyers will pay.
Example
A slot gets 10,000 ad requests. Paid demand fills 8,500 and a House line item fills the other 1,500 with a newsletter promo. Paid fill is 85%, and the 1,500 house impressions earn $0.
Why it matters to publishers
House ads keep pages tidy and can promote your own goals, but every house impression is one that earned no ad revenue.