Google Ad filtering rules
Back in January, Google announced that they would be making some big changes from July 9, 2019, onwards to the way their Chrome browser operates, with sites that repeatedly flout the Better Ads standards having all ads stopped (including compliant ads).
What are the better ads standards?
The Coalition for Better Ads was formed in 2016 by a group of leading advertising agencies, publishers, advertisers and trade associations.
The initial standards launched in March 2017 after extensive research into the impact that different ads had on user experience.
These standards covered North America and Europe.
It currently consists of 4 types of desktop and 8 types of mobile ads that rated as falling beneath the required levels of acceptability by consumers.
Types of ads that fall below the standards are:
- Pop up ads (desktop and mobile)
- Video ads that auto-play sound (desktop and mobile)
- Prestitial ads (desktop and mobile)
- Large sticky ads (desktop and mobile)
- Density above 30% (mobile)
- Flashing animations (mobile)
- Poststitial ads with a countdown
- Full-screen scroll over ads
So what’s changing?
The big change is that Google is stepping up its efforts to stamp out these ads. Previously, it filtered ads on sites in North America and Europe that were repeat offenders in terms of contravention of the Better Ads standards.
Google hasn’t laid out the specific timing for when the new rules, collectively called Manifest V3, will take effect. The company says it is still revising the new mechanisms and is “actively exploring other ways to expand this API.”
Ad blockers emphasize that they’ll adapt to whatever requirements Google lays out; their survival depends on it.
But it’s still unclear the degree to which the changes will benefit users in the end—at least when it comes to keeping ads out of their tabs.
What should I do?
Most importantly, you should review the ads on your website to make sure that none of them violate the standards listed above.
Google has a helpful Ad Experience report that analyzes your site and tells you if there are any issues with your site’s ad units, but you can also check the site manually.
Short conclusion
Keep in mind that even if your site is compliant with the standards, it could still be losing revenue due to inefficient design that leads to low engagement.
Think about user experience whenever you design a new page to ensure users continue to return, recommend and share your content.