WB Ad Manager gives you over 14 built-in placement options to display ads anywhere on your WordPress site — from headers and footers to popups, sticky bars, in-content positions, and community pages. Assign multiple placements to a single ad and reach your audience exactly where they are most engaged.
How to Set Placements
- Open or create an ad in WB Ad Manager -> Ads
- Find the Placements panel on the right side of the editor
- Check all the locations where you want the ad to appear
- Click Publish or Update
All Available Placements
Page Positions
These placements inject the ad into every page automatically — no shortcode needed.
| Placement | Where It Appears |
|---|---|
| Header | At the very top of the page, above all content |
| Footer | At the bottom of the page, below all content |
| Before Content | Immediately before the post or page body text begins |
| After Content | Immediately after the post or page body text ends |
In-Content Placements
These placements insert ads at a specific point within your post content.
| Placement | Where It Appears |
|---|---|
| After Paragraph X | After a specific paragraph number you choose |
| Between Posts | Between posts on blog archive pages and category pages |
Configuring “After Paragraph X”
- Check After Paragraph in the Placements panel
- Enter the paragraph number — for example,
3to insert the ad after the third paragraph - Save the ad
The ad will only appear when the post has at least that many paragraphs. You can set the minimum content length in Settings -> General to prevent ads from appearing in very short posts.
Widget and Manual Placements
Use these when you want precise control over exactly where the ad appears.
| Placement | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Sidebar | Add the WB Ad Manager widget to any widget area |
| Shortcode | Paste [wbam_ad id="123"] anywhere in your content |
Shortcodes give you the most flexibility — you can place them inside any page, post, widget, or even a custom theme template.
Overlay Placements
Overlay placements appear on top of your page content, above or fixed to the screen.
| Placement | Where It Appears |
|---|---|
| Popup | A modal overlay triggered by visitor behavior |
| Sticky Bar | A bar fixed to the top or bottom of the screen while scrolling |
Popup Settings
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Trigger | On page load, after scrolling a set percentage, exit intent, or after a time delay |
| Delay | Number of seconds before the popup appears |
| Frequency | Once per session, once per day, or every page load |
Sticky Bar Settings
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Position | Top or bottom of the viewport |
| Close Button | Allow visitors to dismiss the bar |
| Mobile | Show or hide on mobile devices |
Comment Placements
Display ads near the comment section of posts.
| Placement | Where It Appears |
|---|---|
| Before Comments | Above the comment form and existing comments |
| After Comments | Below all comments, at the bottom of the section |
Community Placements (BuddyPress and bbPress)
If you run BuddyPress or bbPress on your site, WB Ad Manager integrates with both platforms.
| Placement | Where It Appears |
|---|---|
| BuddyPress Activity | In the main activity stream, between activity items |
| BuddyPress Profile | On member profile pages |
| bbPress Forum | In forum listings |
| bbPress Topic | Inside individual topic threads |
See the BuddyPress & bbPress guide for full details.
Shortcode Placement
For maximum flexibility, use shortcodes to place ads anywhere your theme or content allows. Shortcodes work in pages, posts, widgets, and custom templates.
Quick Reference
| Shortcode | What It Does |
|---|---|
[wbam_ad zone="zone-slug"] |
Show one ad from a zone |
[wbam_ad id="123"] |
Show a specific ad by ID |
[wbam_ads zone="zone-slug" count="4"] |
Show multiple ads from a zone |
Common Shortcode Placements
| Where to Add It | How |
|---|---|
| Page or post content | Paste into the block editor or use a Shortcode block |
| Sidebar widget | Add a Custom HTML widget and paste the shortcode |
| Theme template | Use <?php echo do_shortcode('[wbam_ad zone="sidebar"]'); ?> |
For full shortcode documentation, see the Ad Rotation & Split Testing guide.
Multiple Ads Per Placement
When more than one ad is assigned to the same placement, WB Ad Manager rotates between them based on the zone’s rotation setting.
| Rotation Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Random | One ad is picked randomly on each page load |
| Weighted | Ads with higher weight appear more frequently |
| Sequential | Ads cycle through in order across page loads |
Set each ad’s weight (1 to 100) in the ad editor. Higher weight means more impressions.
Placement Performance Guide
| Placement | Typical CTR | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| After paragraph 1-3 | High | Visitors are engaged with the content |
| Popup | High | Interruptive but very visible |
| Before content | Medium | Seen immediately, before engagement |
| Sidebar | Low to medium | Visibility depends on your layout |
| Footer | Low | Most visitors do not scroll that far |
Recommendations
- Limit placements per page — More than four or five ads on one page can hurt the user experience and your site’s performance.
- Test different positions — What works for one site may not work for another. Use the analytics to compare.
- Consider mobile — Sticky bars and large banners can be intrusive on small screens. Use device targeting to restrict certain placements to desktop only.
- Match ad size to placement — Use 728×90 for the header, 300×250 for the sidebar, and 320×50 for mobile bars.
Related Settings
These settings in WB Ad Manager -> Settings affect placements:
General Tab:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Content Length | Minimum number of characters a post must have before paragraph ads appear | 300 |
| Disabled Post Types | Post types where no automatic placements will appear | None |
| Maximum Ads Per Page | The most ads that can appear on a single page | 10 |
Display Tab:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Label Text | Text shown near ads as an advertising disclosure (for example, “Advertisement”) | Advertisement |
| Label Position | Show the label above or below the ad | Above |
| Custom Container Class | Add your own CSS class to all ad containers for custom styling | Empty |
Related Guides
- Smart Targeting — Control which pages each placement appears on
- BuddyPress & bbPress — Community site placements
- Ad Rotation & Split Testing — Manage ads and rotation