This year, you’re not the only one greeting the new year with a mantra of ‘New Year, New You.’ The digital ad landscape is about to get a massive makeover.
Last June, Google announced they would be building an ad blocker into Chrome. That launch date is finally official, and both publishers and advertisers need to take notice.
Starting February 15, 2018, Chrome will come equipped with a built-in ad blocker that blocks all digital ads on sites that fail to meet the Better Ads Standards guidelines, as defined by the Coalition for Better Ads.
Coalition members include Facebook, Google and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), along with many other international trade organizations and media companies.
Let’s look at how Chrome’s Ad Blocker is going to impact your digital advertising efforts.
What does Chrome’s Ad Blocker mean for you?
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Your site will be reviewed by the Ad Experience Report, located within your Webmaster Tools account. If the Report detects any ad experiences on your site that violate the Better Ads Standards, your site will be placed in Warning or Failing status.
You can fix the issues and submit your site for another review to achieve Passing status (i.e. no ads will be blocked).
If your site stays in Warning or Failing status for 30 days, all ads on your site will be blocked – even the ones the meet the Better Ads Standards!
Chrome commands 58.8% of the web browser market share, so failure to get (and keep) Passing status would mean losing out on valuable views and the accompanying revenue.
Google’s move is an invaluable lesson on how to build better digital ads while enhancing the health of the online ecosystem.
Why Chrome’s Ad Blocker is good news for digital advertising
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The Coalition conducted extensive research with over 25,000 consumers and found consumers don’t have a problem with most ads. It’s the intrusive, annoying ones that drive them to install ad blockers.
The top violators for mobile and desktop are listed below.
Least Favorite Mobile Ad Experiences
- Pop-up ads
- Prestitial ads
- Ad density higher than 30%
- Flashing animated ads
- Auto-playing video ads with sound
- Postitial ads with countdown
- Full-screen scrollover ads
- Large sticky ads
Least Favorite Desktop Ad Experiences
- Pop-up ads
- Auto-playing video ads with sound
- Prestitial ads with countdown
- Large sticky ads
The more these bad digital ad experiences circulate, the more consumers adopt ad blockers. Without the advertising revenue from those ads, publishers can’t operate, and brands slowly lose the platforms that enable them to connect with their target audiences.
That’s why blocking intrusive, disruptive ads is a win-win for everyone. It forces publishers and advertisers to reassess their digital advertising strategy. The brands that build good ad experiences will continue to reach consumers. The ones that don’t will need to adapt or lose out on one of the most data-rich, far-reaching platforms ever to exist.
Visitors are more likely to enjoy (and return to) sites with seamless user experiences, rewarding publishers and advertisers with more views and revenue.
Digitaland is asking: The end of bad digital ads?
Dynamic Ads
Chrome’s Ad Blocker could signal the end of bad, annoying, intrusive ads. Consumers wouldn’t need to rely on ad blockers to avoid unpleasant ad experiences and advertisers would end up reaching more of their target audience.
If you’ve built your digital marketing strategy on consumer-centric advertising experiences, then the changes ahead probably won’t impact you. Just keep an eye on your Advertising Experience Report and the Better HTML5 Ads Standards as they continue to evolve.
If you’re an advertiser, use the Better Ads Standards to guide your future campaigns. And make sure the platforms where you place your ads all have Passing status.
Recognize a few of your concepts on the Bad Ads List? Don’t worry – there’s still time to clean up your digital ad campaigns. A good digital production partner can help you build digital ads that are both effective and contribute to a great browsing experience to the viewer.
