One of the major concerns of the publishers is the ad-blockers; as advertising is the key element for their revenue. Here, we talk about something that is sure to have a positive as well as a negative impact on the web advertising world. A few days back, Google has launched the ad-blocker for their Chrome browser which is a cause of worry for anyone depending on revenue through advertising. Talking about the ad-blockers, they are considered beneficial for the users who get distracted by the annoying auto-ads and are unfavorable for the publishers & advertisers as they are served with blank spaces leading to revenue loss.
Google reportedly quoted last year to introduce an in-built ad blocker and is now released as a new update in Google chrome. The feature of this new update is that it will block the ads which do not adhere to standards guided by Coalition for Better Ads, automatically.
The chrome update usually works on ads that comprise autoplay ads with countdown, pop-ups, sound-on video ads, etc. The chrome feature would work on the mobile versions as well; which are more occupied by the animated flashing ads, scroll over ads, etc. Even if the ads are powered by Google itself but do not meet the standards, they will be blocked.
One of the biggest deals for this ad-blocker is that it would not only block conspicuous ads, but it will also obstruct the ads on antisocial sites. As Google Chrome has command of more than 60% of the browser market (desktop and mobile both), it has a huge impact on how users experience the web.
Initially, people blocking ads was a matter of concern for both publishers as well as advertisers, but over a period of time, they have realized that the problem is with the ads itself. The announcement by Google about the in-built ad blocker in chrome is one of the considerable developments in improving the online user experience.
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How Google’s inbuilt ad blocker different from the competition?
Though there are a number of ad blockers available in the market, the question arises as to how Google’s inbuilt ad blockers different from the competition?
With the remarkable amend in the digital advertising industry; publishers are anxious about the revenue loss due to adblocking. Well, the good news is that not all ads are measured as “bad” ads by Google and chrome will filter out the ads that are interfering with the user experience, including the ones that forcefully remain on the browser or the ones that increase load time.
Hence, it is important for publishers 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 through which publishers can identify issues with their website and check if their website adheres to the Better ads standards.
As Google is one of the biggest players in the advertising industry, many tech gurus considered it a bad idea as the in-built ad blocker works on Google’s own data, and thus can be easily tweaked for their own ads.
Before we move on to discuss how this could impact the advertising world (publishers and advertisers), we need to understand the reason for implementing an in-built ad blocker. With more and more users utilizing online channels for their transactions, all the business is in need to promote their services and products to drive traffic and sales. The best way to achieve this is through advertising.
Since there has been extensive competition, advertisers, as well as publishers, use ad formats that are cheap, fast, and intriguing. The reason to do so is that the competition just buys pop-up ads, auto-play ads, countdown ads, or even ads that occupy the entire screen in order 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 the advertisers to develop and create better ad formats and ad strategies with a better focus on reaching the right audience via a targeted campaign. The introduction of ad blockers had led to the creation of quality ads that are compliant to global standards.
Advertisers now only create ad units that follow best practices and are accepted by global standards bringing in flawless user experience. Publishers also work with the advertisers in making them aware of the ad density of a particular web page and ad experience reports so that both advertisers & publishers are on the same page with respect to complying with Better Ads Standards.
How the new built-in Adblocker can benefit publishers?
Google’s new built-in ad-blocker for chrome is not just for malicious ad blocking but majorly aims to create a better ad experience for online users. The target audience always looks for ads that really matter to them or are relevant to their search, and hence the Google ad-blocker addresses the disruptive ads along with the ones that are irrelevant and do not comply with the industry standards.
The recent study conducted by Google reveals that hardly 1% of the publishers are recorded that do not comply with the ad-blocking standards, which clearly means there is a less percentage of publishers getting negatively affected by the new tool.
The list of ads that would be blocked by the new ad blocker tool includes – pop-up ads, video ads with autoplay sound, large sticky ads, and countdown timer ads that appear before the content for the desktop browser. For the mobile ad blocking, there will be strict filtering of flashy and animated pop-up ads, full-screen scrolling ads, etc.
Google has also made provisions to tackle bad ads that are by thoroughly assessing site; informing site owners of the issues and allowing them time to rectify the ad issues before it gets blocked. If there are issues on-site and are not addressed by the site owner, Google will block the ads after 30 days of issuing the notification.
This is a beneficial situation for publishers as now high quality and user-friendly inventory will be processed that would reap maximized revenue for publishers. This is really a sustainable move from Google as it would definitely have a positive impact on the digital ecosystem moving forward.
