Google to Expand Worldwide Ad Blocking on July 9th
Google has announced that it will be extending Chrome’s ad blocking functionality worldwide on July 9th.
This is a part of Googles ongoing effort to improve and enhance the user experience across the web from the perspective of those who provide content and those who consume it.
Ad growth and the resulting revenue streams have allowed websites to provide content for free, but the proliferation of onsite advertising has led to an increase in the use of ad blockers to prevent ads from being displayed. The ability to implement ad blocking impacts a site owners’ opportunity to generate revenues from online ads and ad networks and reconciling ad revenue generation with relevant ad content that meets user expectations has been an ongoing challenge for years.
While the majority of sites have taken steps to be in compliance, it’s important to note that Google’s ad blocking is based on the Better Ads Standards from the Coalition for Better Ads and not a random desire to replace third-party advertising with Google’s own ad networks. In fact, Google will also block abusive ads originating for their own platform if they are not compliant.
As explained on the Coalition’s site, “The Coalition for Better Ads will leverage consumer insights and cross-industry expertise to develop and implement new global standards for online advertising that address consumer expectations.” Overall, the intent of the Coalition is to improve the user experience when it comes to online advertising in the context of a website visit.
In order to know if your site meets these standards, you can use Google’s Ad Experience Report tool. This feature is designed to help site owners know if Chrome has identified any ad violations on your site and provide guidelines with respect to correcting them. Web site administrators who have been notified of ad violations have 30 days to fix the infractions and achieve compliance before ads are blocked.
Part of this expanded implementation is an effort by Google to reduce and eventually eliminate ads that are scams, phishing attempts and click-baiting while focusing on ad content that meets user expectations.
While this more aggressive move towards controlling the advertising experience may be seen by some as an infringement into a site owners personal or corporate assets, the large number of properties who have updated their practices (according to Google, two thirds of all reviewed publishers who were previously in violation are now complaint) indicates that there is widespread agreement and acceptance of practices designed to balance the ad experience with the on-site user experience.
Google’s overall objective is to create a better web experience for all users by incentivizing all content providers to offer improved advertising legitimacy. This ensures that organic and paid or sponsored content meet the criteria of relevance for the audience.
