Google depends heavily on advertising for its revenue, so the thought of it installing an ad-blocker inside the Chrome web browser might seem counterintuitive at first. But what Google is really out to block—and moreover, prevent from being created in the first place—are advertisements that simply put, are annoying.
The tool is expected to ship with Chrome starting sometime next year. In the meantime, Google is putting publishers on notice, as the Wall Street Journal reports:
Google has told publishers it will give them at least six months to prepare for a new ad-blocking tool the company is planning to introduce in its Chrome web browser next year, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.
The new setting, which is expected to be switched on by default within the desktop and mobile versions of Chrome, will prevent all ads from appearing on websites that are deemed to provide a bad advertising experience for users.
To help publishers prepare, Google will provide a self-service tool called “Ad Experience Reports,” which will alert them to offending ads on their sites and explain how to fix the issues. The tool will be provided before the Chrome ad blocker goes live, the people familiar with the plans say.
Google has joined up with the industry group Coalition for Better Ads. Other members include Facebook, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Thomson Reuters and the World Federation of Advertisers. The CBA has named a dozen desktop and mobile ad types that fail to meet consumer acceptance thresholds it developed through a survey of more than 25,000 users. They include auto-playing video ads with sound; large sticky ads; full-screen scrollover ads; and positial ads with a countdown clock. (A full list with visual examples is available here.)
"It’s far too common that people encounter annoying, intrusive ads on the web--like the kind that blare music unexpectedly, or force you to wait 10 seconds before you can see the content on the page," Google SVP of ads Sridhar Ramaswamy wrote in a blog post this week. "These frustrating experiences can lead some people to block all ads—taking a big toll on the content creators, journalists, web developers and videographers who depend on ads to fund their content creation."
Ramaswamy didn't go into detail on the ad-blocker—which the Journal says Google is referring to as a "filter"—but said that Chrome will stop showing ads, including ones "owned or served by Google" on websites that don't meet the CBA standards starting early next year.
Analysis: Google Gets Out In Front of A Vexing Problem
Nearly 90 percent of Google's revenue comes from advertising, and that's true whether the ads are annoying or not. At the same time, Google wants to stem the tide of existing ad-blocker tools, which are being used by hundreds of millions of people already, by fostering a better browsing experience through improved ads.
Google certainly has leverage to influence the marketing and advertising industry, given that Chrome has a 60 percent share of the browser market. All in all, this is a wakeup call for marketers and advertisers, says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Cindy Zhou.
It's not the first move Google has made lately to provide a smooth browsing experience while balancing its dependence on ad revenue, Zhou says, pointing to the penalty Google started imposing in January on intrusive interstitial mobile ads.
"For marketers and advertisers, they have time to prepare for the changes, and it is time for them to step up their ad standards," Zhou says. "Users are annoyed with poor site experiences due to the number of intrusive ads that take a long time to load. There is more brand damage that occurs with these types of ads."
However, what remains to be seen is how Google wields the great power it holds over the online advertising world through Chrome. Although the company says its standards for what makes an acceptable ad will be defined by CBA guidelines, it may be difficult for publishers to hold Google's feet to the fire if questions of fairness arise.
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