Ad blockers have been a major concern for publishers and advertisers in the digital ecosystem. They have been fighting with them for a long to get their ads seen and earn decent revenue.
Publishers are already dealing with third-party ad blockers that users install in their browsers. Additionally, they now have Google’s built-in ad blocker to handle. Chrome’s ad blockers can’t be ignored easily because they have a command over 60% of the market.
Google released this to improve user experience. But for sure, it does have an impact on publishers’ revenue. How does Google Chrome’s built-in ad blocker impact the digital ecosystem and to what extent it impacts the publisher’s revenue? Let’s see all that in this extensive blog.
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Google’s Built-in Ad Blocker: How Does it Work?
Google Chrome has a built-in ad blocker, a feature that automatically blocks the ads that do not adhere to standards guided by the Coalition for Better Ads.
The feature prevents only intrusive and annoying ads on desktop and mobile. Even if Google-powered ads do not meet the standards, they will be blocked. Hence, it is ad filtering more than ad blocking.
One of the biggest deals for this ad blocker is that it will not only block conspicuous ads but also obstruct ads on antisocial sites. Google announced this mainly to improve the online user experience.
How Google’s Built-in Ad Blocker Different From the Competition?
Though there are several ad blockers available in the market, how are Google’s built-in ad blockers different from the competition?
The main difference between Google’s built-in ad blockers and its competition is Google’s blocker does not block all ads. They block only intrusive or bad ads that weigh on page latency and user experience.
Still, though, publishers are worried about losing revenue due to adblocking.
Hence, it is important for them to serve ads that are compliant with the Coalition for Better Ads, or else will be blacklisted by Google.
To help publishers with the ad check, Google has published their ad experience report tool. It allows publishers to identify issues with their website and check if their website adheres to the Better Ads standards.
Concerns about Google’s built-in ad blocker
As Google is one of the biggest players in the advertising industry, many tech gurus considered it a bad idea. It is a built-in ad blocker that works on Google’s data and thus can be easily tweaked for their own ads. Therefore, it can’t be a feature that is equal for all.
Reason Why Chrome Developed Built-in AdBlocker?
Before we discuss how Chrome’s ad blocker could impact the advertising world, we need to understand the reason for implementing it.
With more users utilizing online channels, businesses are obligated to use them to promote their services and products. Therefore, they can drive traffic and sales. The best way to achieve this is through advertising.
Since there has been extensive competition, advertisers and publishers use ad formats that are cheap, fast, and intrusive. The reason is that intrusive ads get views and clicks irrespective of users’ interest in them. Examples of such intrusive ads are pop-up ads, auto-play ads, countdown ads, or even ads that occupy the entire screen to get clicked. This created a lot of chaos, as it led to a decrease in user engagement and revenue.
Thus, there came a need for publishers to give confidence to advertisers to develop and create better ad formats and ad strategies. Those formats and strategies must have a better focus on reaching the right audience via a targeted campaign. The introduction of ad blockers has led to the creation of quality ads compliant with global standards.
Advertisers now create only ad units that follow best practices and are accepted by global standards, bringing flawless user experience. Publishers also work with advertisers to make them aware of a particular web page’s ad density and experience reports. This helps both of them to be on the same page regarding complying with Better Ads Standards.
How Does Built-in Adblocker Impacts Publisher’s Revenue?
Google’s new built-in Chrome ad-blocker is not just for malicious ad blocking but majorly aims to create a better ad experience for online users.
Better ad experience:
The target audience always looks for ads that really matter to them or are relevant to their search. Hence, the Chrome ad-blocker addresses disruptive ads and irrelevant ads that do not comply with the industry standards.
The disruptive ads include pop-up ads, autoplay video ads, large sticky ads, and countdown timer ads*. For mobile ad blocking, there will be strict filtering of flashy and animated pop-up ads, full-screen scrolling ads, etc.
*The countdown timer ads appear before the content for the desktop browser.
Helps in assessing and rectifying:
Google has also made provisions to tackle bad ads. After thoroughly assessing the site, they inform the site owners of the issues. Further, it gives time to rectify the ad issues before it gets blocked. If there are issues on-site that are not addressed by the site owner, Google will block the ads after 30 days of issuing the notification.
What’s Ahead?
Google Chrome’s built-in ad blocker is beneficial for publishers, as now high-quality and user-friendly inventory will be processed. Eventually, publishers will reap maximum revenue. This is really a sustainable move from Google, as it would definitely have a positive impact on the digital ecosystem moving forward.
