How to Setup Lazy Load for Google AdSense Ad units

by

One common problem publishers often face is that Google AdSense affect our original blog speed. Due to not having control over optimizing resources, we just end up feeling sad.

Follow us on Telegram

Like YouTube video thumbnails, they should be using WebP for ad unit images. It’s ironic, that sometimes they do not bother to serve with GZIP compression, or keep resources minified. The massive resources and extra loads of many DNS lookup, kill our page speed like hell.

A few months ago, when I tweeted the Ad unit speed problem, I didn’t get any satisfactory response. I am back myself with a solution that will prevent AdSense from slowing down the loading of your original content.

Honestly, I am not personally a huge fan of the lazy load even for images. But still, I just want to share a lightweight option. If you like, you may try once if you are highly concerned with serving primary content first, before Ad Units.

Instruction for Setup Lazy Loading for AdSense

Naturally, this is how an original ad unit code looks.

<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- leaderboard -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
 style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px"
 data-ad-client="ca-pub-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
 data-ad-slot="1234567890"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

Technical details: Basically what happens that it load in asynchronous form, means browser continue downloading adsbygoogle.js script without blocking the HTML parsing.

But here, in the lazy loading method I am going to change the ASYNC method to real DEFER. The AdSense script will start downloading in browser, only once window will complete loading the main web page. In this way, visitor don’t have to wait for seeing whole page quickly for the AdSense.

For this purpose, you don’t need to make any big changes in your ad unit. Simply we will alter the style of loading adsbygoogle.js that will do all the magic.

All you need to follow below two Steps

Remove below script from all existing ad units.

<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

Now it will appear like this

<ins class="adsbygoogle"
 style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px"
 data-ad-client="ca-pub-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
 data-ad-slot="1234567890"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

After then, add below JavaScript code in your Theme Footer, possibly just before the body tag.

Method 1. onload event

Hint: Noptimize tag is present to make compatible with Autoptimize. It will prevent aggregating AdSense lazy loader inline JS.

<!--noptimize-->
<script type="text/javascript">
function downloadJSAtOnload() {
var element = document.createElement("script");
element.src = "https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js";
document.body.appendChild(element);
}
if (window.addEventListener)
window.addEventListener("load", downloadJSAtOnload, false);
else if (window.attachEvent)
window.attachEvent("onload", downloadJSAtOnload);
else window.onload = downloadJSAtOnload;
</script>
<!--/noptimize-->
  1. Above code, you may use via Theme option if available for adding custom script
  2. For Genesis, make use via Genesis Simple Hooks plugin with option genesis_after
  3. or Header and Footer plugin for any other theme.
genesis hooks option

What does this script exactly do?

This script will ensure that your AdSense Ad unit will start loading and become visible after finishing the complete loading of your main web page. That’s why I named it, Lazy Loading for Google AdSense.

Method 2. onscroll event

This approach will load ad unit only when user scroll the web page else not.

<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
var la=!1;window.addEventListener("scroll",function(){(0!=document.documentElement.scrollTop&&!1===la||0!=document.body.scrollTop&&!1===la)&&(!function(){var e=document.createElement("script");e.type="text/javascript",e.async=!0,e.src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js";var a=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];a.parentNode.insertBefore(e,a)}(),la=!0)},!0);
//]]>
</script>

Method 3. Display Ad Units on User Interaction

If you want to display advt in timely manner without compromise on revenue and performance, You can use “Flying Scripts by WP Speed Matters” plugin for downloading and executing JS based on the user-interaction.

The best part, you don’t need to make any changes in your ad code at all.

flying scripts plugin settings for lazy loading
The neat and clean UI of Flying Script
  • Go to plugin settings, include the keyword adsbygoogle
  • Then, save settings and purge (clear) the page cache. That’s it.

Performance Result

I have been using this plugin at one of my clients site that uses Mediavine ad network (which is being more heavy than Adsense Ad units) the core vital passed successfully for Mobile and Desktop both.

core vital result

You should also read these articles

Leave a Comment

134 thoughts on “How to Setup Lazy Load for Google AdSense Ad units”

  3. thx u, i use method2 around 5 day ago. cuz medthod1 not work in web vital.

    but i mod code for latest config & one code auto-ads.

    ...adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-111111111111111111",e.setAttribute('crossorigin', 'anonymous');var a=...

    it worked normally (inline-block+floating+vignette) 😉

    Reply

  4. Hi there!
    I used the plugin “Flying Scripts” and it worked perfectly! I also included: recaptcha__en | recaptcha (because recapcha loads inconvinients fonts and js…)
    My website is flying (accordingly with PageSpeed Insights) – thank you very much.

    Reply

  6. Hi! I use manually placed adsense ads in articles and also I use adsense vignette ads (auto). If I use your second code will it affect vignette ads? Because they are shown between pages and not on pages.

    Reply

    • 1. There is one customized responsive ad unit added in top header using Elements > Hook option. Here’s the code if you need.

      2. Then I have two responsive ad units added after paragraphs 2 and 8 using Ad Inserter. That’s all.

      Reply

  8. Hello. Thank you so much for the useful information.

    I have read all the posts and comments.

    Google Adsense updated, but this code still works fine for me.

    But as you said in your comment, “If you have AdSense placement mainly in above the fold, you should avoid.” Due to the problem, I also stopped using it.

    By any chance, how are you displaying AdSense now?

    Are you just using the default (provided by Google) code?

    Or

    Can you please let me know if you are using another method?

    Thank you.

    Reply

  13. Method 2 worked for me, but method 1 did not.
    Method 2 increases pagespeed from a meager 50 to a whopping 92 on mobile.
    Method 1 did nothing.
    The downside is that method 2 loads the add only after a scroll, even if it is above the fold.

    I find it amazing that google puts so much emphasis on pagespeed while at the same time slows sites with adsense down to impossible levels.

    Reply

  15. Theoretically speaking, does lazy loading affect ads targeting? I kinda notice that the ads I see when lazy loading seem quite different from AdSense auto ads.

    Thank you

    Reply

  16. Thanks for the great tip. However, recently AdSense launched new ad code that looks like this:

    Do we need to update the Javascript you provided?

    Reply

  18. Improved JS version as per new AdSense code. Added query string for publishing ID and crossOrigin property.

    function downloadJSAtOnload() {
    var element = document.createElement(“script”);
    element.src = “https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1234567890″;
    element.crossOrigin=”anonymous”;
    document.body.appendChild(element);
    }
    if (window.addEventListener)
    window.addEventListener(“load”, downloadJSAtOnload, false);
    else if (window.attachEvent)
    window.attachEvent(“onload”, downloadJSAtOnload);
    else window.onload = downloadJSAtOnload;

    Reply

      • Hey Gulshan, thanks for providing us with this code. But I discovered that it’s not lazy loading, but just to defer loading of ads.

        I will like it if you will make it to load ads only when user scrolls to the viewport where the ads are meant to show.

        Thanks a lot

        Reply

  24. what about the header tag which will be added for Adsense approval?

    this is present in the header, should we keep this or remove it?

    Reply

  25. Brother, initially it worked fine but after 1 day it stoped working and my ads load very fast, page speed decreased. Please help

    Reply

    • You do not need to put this script in all Ad units. As provided code will work across all web page if once added in body tag.

      Reply

  28. Thanks so much for the code and your research Gulshan. My Pagespeed score is now, as you say, as without Adsense placed on the page. Also reassuring that you’ve been using the second option since June 2020, I’m guessing without Google Adsense wrath. Thanks also for your continued watch of this post. With Core Web Vitals being slapped on us in a couple of months, I’m sure many people are looking for this type of assistance now.

    Reply

  31. Gracias hermano por el aporte este truco de lazy espectacular me ayudo en Lighthouse Report Viewer de 40 a 80 puntos….todo debido a ese script de google adsense.. 🙂

    Reply

  35. My site’s speed was seriously battered due to adsense codes but using this code raised my speed to 90. Thanks for this hint, its really the drug for FCP and CLS

    Reply

  39. Hey buddy! I just come across your article and this is literally amazing but I had one issue.. I m trying to work with the second option, which is the scroll event, I did the steps u said on the first event but besides putting the lazy load code I put the scroll one but it doesn’t work, PLEASE I was looking for this script for months and finally when I found it, it won’t work could you please show me exactly how it works or is there any video I can follow..

    Really appreciate you effort

    Reply

  40. The second method drastically increased my pagespeed score. Is there any issue with the second method when compared to the first?.

    Reply

  46. Gulshan,

    Which of the both methods are you seeing an effective balance between load speed and the revenue?

    In the comments you said, you haven’t using the lazy load.

    Can we able to add an array tags to the JS code, so that it applies to only that ads code? We can easily add a comment to the adsense code if they are below the fold.

    That should help in even fine tune the code.

    Reply

    • At the moment of writing this comment, I am using second method which is based on scroll. I feel, it is subject to test what perform best for each site.

      Reply

  51. Based on this “Update 12/09/2017: I have removed this method from my blog since I found that it reduces Ad impressions. So, please implement at your own responsibility.”

    Can anyone confirm if this method still affects impressions?

    Reply

      • I don’t the exact number of articles I have read. Finally Boom 💣
        Previously with ads my speed decrease by 50 points on the lighthouse
        Now my speed is above 97 even with ads

        One more question, My non-amp pages are faster than amp pages…which should I use for my blog posts?

        Reply

  53. Hi, I just wanted to implement your code but then I wasn’t able to see your code, already tried opening it in Chrome and Firefox but where the code is supposed to be there is just a grey box unfortunately…

    Reply

  57. As I said in my post above, I do not use it because I believe it may affect revenue due to less ad impressions.

    Reply

    • As I said in my post above, I do not use it because I believe it may affect revenue due to less ad impressions.

      Reply

  69. Gulshan, I want to know, will this accept Google Adsense policy? Becuase they are very strict when comes to modification of their ad code.

    Reply

    • Hi,
      Great question!

      We are not modifying heavily like modifications. We are just adjusting same script in a way to load after finishing page load. From async to defer. So, I don’t think it’s a violation.

      Reply

  70. Gulshan, I want to know, will this accept Google Adsense policy? Becuase they are very strict when comes to modification of their ad code.

    Reply

    • Hi,
      Great question!

      We are not modifying heavily like modifications. We are just adjusting same script in a way to load after finishing page load. From async to defer. So, I don’t think it’s a violation.

      Reply

  72. You must execute for every ad after load the script:

    (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

    so if you have 3 ads you must execute this code 3 times 😉

    Reply

  73. Thanks really helpful will use it in my website..hope there is a similar guide for other ads as well nice website keep it up

    Reply

  74. Thanks really helpful will use it in my website..hope there is a similar guide for other ads as well nice website keep it up

    Reply

  75. Great share Gulshan. Personally, I’m not a big fan of Google AdSense and prefer to stay away since it slows down the website and distracts the users.

    I don’t want my readers to click on the ad and leave my site while reading an article where I could have gotten a chance to make an affiliate sale. Also, Google pays peanuts, which is another sad truth.

    Lazy load can reduce the server load and improve the site speed by a good margin. Thanks for sharing the script.

    Reply

  76. Great share Gulshan. Personally, I’m not a big fan of Google AdSense and prefer to stay away since it slows down the website and distracts the users.

    I don’t want my readers to click on the ad and leave my site while reading an article where I could have gotten a chance to make an affiliate sale. Also, Google pays peanuts, which is another sad truth.

    Lazy load can reduce the server load and improve the site speed by a good margin. Thanks for sharing the script.

    Reply

  77. Just Now I removed the lazy load Adsense option on my website,

    Once you add the script for lazy load, site loading is very fast, but the main problem is if your having more than 3 ads means sometimes ads not showing, it shows blank space, once refresh only ads came, I recently found out this problem.

    Then only i remove the script, normally my side load time is 5 secs, while using lazy load 2 secs only.

    Reply

    • Thanks for the feedback.

      Lazy load is not harming anything of Google AdSense or their Advertiser, so it’s fair use in my opinion.

      Reply

    • Thanks for the feedback.

      Lazy load is not harming anything of Google AdSense or their Advertiser, so it’s fair use in my opinion.

      Reply

  82. Fabulous! 245 ms load time. How cloudflare is caching HTML content? Part of their paid plan?
    “cf-cache-status” shows HIT, which I never get for any HTML content. I always get very long wait time with CF, around 0.5 to 1 Sec every time.

    On the server side, using Key-CDN cache enabler, and Autoptimize, there’s only Two CSS and one JS file, excluding adsense scripts.

    Reply

  87. Yes, this would be helpful for improving page load time. I’d like to know how this performs for you.
    Thanks

    Reply

    • Great Now My site works really awesome fast. i am also like to know How to do Https for my website using cloudfare ? Can you guide me.

      One more doubt : How to use cloudfare ssl for normal html websites ?

      Thank you

      Reply

    • Yes, this would be helpful for improving page load time. I’d like to know how this performs for you.
      Thanks

      Reply