Chrome’s new built-in ad blocker is set to go live February 15, 2018. Should publishers be concerned?
The short answer is: yes and no. The ad blocker will realistically only block one percent of all ads, with a focus on detecting ads that go against Coalition for Better Ads guidelines. When Google sees that a site features ads that go against these guidelines, it will block all ads on the site.
However, if you find yourself on a site that has it’s ads blocked, you’ll still get a notification that Google blocked the ads (weird, we know). You can then elect to allow the ads to still be seen on the site.
It’s important to note that this ad blocker will not replace AdBlock Plus or uBlock Origin. Really, Google is just trying to get all those annoying ads out of users’ browsers in an attempt to hold advertisers accountable for the relationships they curate with sites. Who wants to be bombarded with annoying ads every time they click on a new site? Most of the ads considered “bad” by Google are the ones that take up more than 30% of the screen, or displaying a full page ad that is obviously distracting. Publishers can take the hint not to be intrusive with their advertising.
As a publisher you may be thinking this is a little harsh, but Google says that this is really the only practical solution. The responsibility of a great user experience falls into the hands of the site owner, who needs to take ownership of the partnerships he or she partakes in.
Watch more here:
Further Reading:
Google’s Chrome ad blocking arrives tomorrow and this is how it works – The Verge
Lauren is the Editor-in-Chief of Digital Insights Journal, as well as Editor-in-Chief of Morethanglam.com. She works as a Manager of Digital Strategy and Planning for 301 Digital Media, all while having an unhealthy obsession with potato chips, good wine, and Drake.
It is unfortunate that publishers will have to adjust to Google’s new ad blocker. That definitely puts on a damper on content marketing. This roadblock might be site owners even better at ensuring a good user experience.