Google recently announced Chrome's plans to participate in The Coalition for Better Ads' Better Ads Experience Program and support the Better Ads Standards. Sites are currently being reviewed for any violations of these standards. Violations of the "Better Ads Standards" are a set of ad experiences the industry has identified as being highly annoying to both desktop and mobile users.
The Coalition for Better Ads performed extensive consumer research and identified certain types of desktop and mobile ad experiences to fall short of the Better Ads Standard. Those are:
Desktop:
- Pop-up ads
- Auto-play video ads with sound
- Prestitial ads with countdown
- Large sticky ads
Mobile:
- Pop-up ads
- Prestitial ads
- Ads with density greater than 30%
- Flashing animated ads
- Auto-play video ads with sound
- Poststitial ads with countdown
- Full-screen scrollover ads
- Large sticky ads
What Does This Mean?
If you currently have pop-up ads, large sticky ads, or another type of ad mentioned above on your website, Chrome will soon consider it a violation and hide your ads. We know that some INN members implemented pop-ups as part of their audience engagement strategy, so we want them to be aware of how this may impact their sites going forward.
What We Know
- Chrome will begin enforcing the Better Ads Standards starting Feb. 15.
- Any violations of the Better Ads Standards will be reported to you via the Ad Experience Report, which is a part of Google Search Console.
- If you do have issues reported, you'll have 30 days to make fixes and submit your site for re-review. Don't let any issues go beyond that 30 days, though; that's when Chrome will remove all ads from sites with a "failing status."
What We Don't Know
Although Google has provided a rough outline of the standards Chrome will test against (more information here), they haven't yet disclosed a list of specific violations. Unfortunately, that means site owners will have to wait and see what feedback sites receive in the Ad Experience Report and make improvements based on those recommendations.
What's Next
- If you don't have Google Search Console set up yet, refer to this video which talks about the Ad Experience Report and how to verify your site in Google Search Console.
- If you haven't been reviewed in the Ad Experience Report yet, there currently is no a way to request a review - you'll just have to wait until your site has been crawled and reviewed. However, if Feb. 15 rolls around and you haven't been reviewed yet, don't worry! Only sites that have been reviewed and have a "failing" status for more than 30 days will be subject to having their ads removed in Chrome.
- You can also enable email notifications in Search Console to ensure that you are notified if your sites' status changes.
Part Two
Once reviews start to roll in for sites in the Ad Experience Report, we'll have a better idea of what Google is specifically flagging as a violation. We'll share those findings in another blog post, so keep an eye out for that. You should also be aware that while this currently only affects your site in Chrome, it's likely the other major browsers will follow suit soon, so it's best to be aware of the changes and take action if necessary.
Need Help?
If you have any questions about these guidelines, the Ad Experience Report, or the Google Search Console – or if has your site been reviewed and needs adjustments – stop by our Office Hours at 2pm ET on Fridays, and we can help review your reports and point you to additional resources.