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Google Chrome’s filtering of ‘annoying’ ads will apply to sites worldwide starting in July

Sites that don't adhere to the Better Ads Standards could see ads blocked.

Ginny Marvin on January 9, 2019 at 3:57 pm

The 12 ad formats deemed particularly annoying based on the Coalition for Better Ads survey data. Source: Coalition for Better Ads

Nearly a year ago, Google’s Chrome web browser began to roll out the ability to block, or filter, ads on publisher websites in North America and Europe that don’t meet the Better Ads Standards. That capability will soon apply globally.

Why you should care

The Better Ads Standards were developed by the Coalition for Better Ads (CBA), an industry group of which Google is a founding member. With the CBA’s announcement of the worldwide expansion of the Better Ads Standards, Google said Chrome’s ad filtering will apply globally, too. Beginning July 9, Chrome will filter ads from sites around the world that repeatedly display any of the 12 ad experiences identified as “annoying” under the Better Ads Standards. That includes formats such as pop-ups, prestitials and auto-play video ads among others.

See our in-depth FAQ for details on how Chrome ad filtering works, who is affected and what it means for advertisers and publishers.

Publishers that have verified their sites on Google Search Console can find desktop and mobile violation notifications in the Ad Experience Report. The report now shows the ads region to which a publisher’s site has been assigned: United States and Canada, Europe or Rest of World. The reports aren’t all that descriptive, and some publishers may have to do some digging and troubleshooting to identify the root issue. Failing assessments are based on the percentage of total page views that contain flagged experiences.

There has been push back from people noting that Google, the dominant ad seller, is now an arbiter of the types of ads publishers can show on their sites. Google’s response is that ads running through its own platforms may also be filtered and that the initiative is aimed at curtailing the adoption of ad blockers. Google’s former head of ads and commerce, Sridhar Ramaswamy, said ahead of the initial roll out of Chrome filtering, “Our hope is once this is in place, there’s no need for ad blocking on mobile.”

More on the news

Google said Wednesday that as of January 1, two-thirds of publishers who were non-compliant at one time are now in good standing with the Better Ads Standards and that fewer than one percent of sites have had ads filtered.
Microsoft is also a member of the Coalition for Better Ads, but has not made moves to filter ads on its Edge or Internet Explorer browsers.
Apple has taken a different approach with Safari, instead aiming to curtail tracking — which likely motivates users to install ad blockers in the same way that annoying ad experiences do — with Intelligent Tracking Prevention.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

Ginny Marvin is Third Door Media's Editor-in-Chief, managing day-to-day editorial operations across all of our publications. Ginny writes about paid online marketing topics including paid search, paid social, display and retargeting for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, she has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.