Google has made a decision that might impact the digital marketing of companies in all industries, including moving. Starting February 15th, the Chrome browser will receive an add-on in the form of an Ad Blocker. This is their way of preventing a majority of advertisements. And since Chrome is basically the most used browser today, this change might very well have a major impact on how websites conduct their business. While there is no cause for worry, you should still be concerned. In the long run, this may actually benefit the Internet and the development of movers.
Why the decision for Google Chrome to block ads?
The fact is that Google earns a high level of income with the help of ads. So, why would they then want to block those very ads? Well, the reason is pretty logical. Even though Google’s advertising conforms to the standards created by Coalition for Better ads, third-party ad blockers currently block a significant amount of Google Ads. This move will likely undercut third-party ad blockers that currently block Google’s own ads. Thus, Google will be able to control the distribution of their own ads long-term.
How will Google’s Ad Blocker impact publishers?
The most simple answer is that it will not. For web publishers who rely on advertising revenue, Google’s Ad Blockers won’t cause any permanent damage. It might cause complications initially, but in the long run, publishers won’t be affected. In fact, it might prove beneficial.
Google’s ad blocker will likely allow the display of Google’s own visitor-friendly advertising. What we estimate is that Google aims to take out third-party ad blockers from the equation. And this will result in more of Google’s own advertising is shown.
This is win-win marketing news for any publisher who relies on Google’s advertising for earnings and for site visitors who are tired of intrusive advertising.
What kind of advertising will be blocked?
The tool Google has come up with will serve to troubleshoot your website in confirmation with the Better Ads standards. What you have to know is that anything that prevents users from gaining access to significant amounts of content will be blocked. This serves to enable users to comfortably read through the content your businesses advertise. Fortunately, there are standards that can be consulted to know exactly which ads will be blocked.
Desktop Ads that Chrome will block
- Pop-up ads
- Auto-playing video ads with sound
- Prestitial Ads with Countdown
- Large Sticky Ads
Mobile Ads that Chrome plans to block
- Pop-ups
- Prestitial ads with or without countdown (blocks entire content)
- Ad density of vertical content greater than 30%. This can result in 15% top and bottom blocked.
- Flashing Animated Ads
- Auto-play video ads with sound
- Positional ads with a countdown (that cannot be dismissed) – these would be ads that generate spawn whenever you follow a link. They serve to prevent users from reaching other web pages.
- Full-screen Scroll-over ads. These are the type of ads that require you to scroll past them to reach the actual content. These usually block about 30% of the browser viewport.
- Large sticky ads – These are more persistent ads that take up more than 30% of a screen. And the worst part – you can’t get rid of them. They obscure the content, and that results in a poor user experience.
Will Chrome’s Ad Blocker affect affiliate advertisers?
It’s difficult to say with certainty. But it may be safe to say that if your affiliate ads and links are standards-compliant, then there’s a good chance this will not affect your earnings. The Ad Blocker tool Google created has the purpose to remove the guesswork from this type of inquiry.
How to Know if Your Ads Will be Blocked?
If you are looking to test out your ads and see if they pass this test, it’s not that hard. Google has decided to offer users a tool that can scan your entire site and report any violation in terms of Ads. And then, the page that is in violation, you will be able to fix and resubmit for approval.
The tool we are talking about here is called the Ad Experience Report tool. The purpose of this application is to offer a warning to websites that contain unapproved Ads from a Google perspective. Those websites will then have 30 days to meet the standards defined by Google. Otherwise, they will have all their ads blocked by Google — even those “owned or served by Google”. The only course of action after that will be for them to submit for a manual re-evaluation of their sites to get verified as corrupt-ads free.
Google says that the goal of the program is to help publishers by weeding out bad ads across the internet, which could cut down on users with blanket ad blockers. However, it is important that we explain that this will only lead to growing Google’s hold on the Internet. It will gain even more influence over internet advertising than it already holds.
So, this move will change how users experience the web. Publishers have no role in stopping the use of intrusive advertising because Chrome will simply block them. And consumers on other browsers can still use ads. Now, this might end up being a win-win situation for Chrome. However, it might also turn out to be quite beneficial for web publishers.
How does this Ad Blocker affect movers?
The only influence this Chrome installation might have on moving businesses and others similar to it would be the potential prevention of paid ads. However, given that we are talking about Pay-Per-Click Google Ads here, there is most likely nothing to be afraid of. But you might want to keep up with moving industry news, just to be on the safe side.
