The proportion of banner ads that met minimum viewability guidelines rose from 56% to 59% in the first quarter of 2018, according to the company’s latest quarterly benchmarking report. The increase marks the highest level of viewability since Meetrics began its measurement in the second quarter of 2014.

To be deemed viewable, 50% of the advert must be in view for at least one second.

Despite the increase, UK ad viewability still lags its European competitors, ranking fifth out of the seven countries in Meetrics’ measurement. Austria is the top performer, with 71% of ads deemed to be viewable, followed by Sweden ( 65%), Italy and Germany (both at 64%) and France ( 60%). Swiss ads, meanwhile, are the least viewable in the ranking ( 50%).

Max von Hilgers, chief executive and co-founder at Meetrics, said: "Four straight quarters of growth is a reliable indication the industry’s efforts to tackle viewability are paying off. Alongside this, campaigns are increasingly being optimised towards viewability and we’ve seen a drop in the number of impressions. This suggests a move towards more careful placements – a case of quality over quantity."