Google is launching a new initiative to help reduce annoying advertisements online. According to a recent blog post by Scott Spencer, Director of Product Management for Sustainable Ads, websites with ad issues will be notified in the coming weeks. Those that have been tagged can check the Ad Experience report for more information about the problem.
The move comes after the Coalition for Better Ads found that 69% of ad-blocker software users were found to be motivated by intrusive ads. It also found that pop-ups are the most annoying advertisements found on publishers' websites. 50% of the research respondents expressed that they would not recommend nor revisit a page that contains such ads.
Furthermore, the issues were not found on mainstream publishers, like newspapers or business publications. Instead, they come from smaller websites that do not have similar quality control resources as the larger ones. Such websites also rely heavily on ads to bring in revenue.
Google aims to help small publishers improve their ads by reviewing sites daily and record videos of ad experiences that are non-compliant with the Better Ads Standards. Those that have failed the criteria will be able to review the issues and see how they impact their respective websites.
"Instead of pop-ups, publishers can use less disruptive alternatives like full-screen inline ads", Spencer suggests. "They offer the same amount of screen real estate as pop-ups—without covering up any content." He concludes:
The good news is that people don’t hate all ads—just annoying ones. Replacing annoying ads with more acceptable ones will help ensure all content creators, big and small, can continue to sustain their work with online advertising.
Back in November 2016, Google took measures to prevent users from encountering malicious content online. It planned to impose heavier punishment on "repeat offender" websites that continue to host dangerous elements.
A quick reminder: If you are using adblocking software, we would greatly appreciate it if you whitelisted Neowin. Advertising enables us to continue the Neowin community. We offer low-cost subscriptions, which support us while removing advertising without the need for extra software. You'll also see fewer ads across the site if you register (free!) as a member and log in.
Source: Google Blog via Engadget | Image via AITnews
26 Comments - Add comment