After announcing in June of this year that Google Chrome would comply with the Coalition for Better Ads standards starting in 2018, we now have a date. February 15, 2018. That is the day that Chrome will begin blocking non-compliant adverts in the browser.
The effort and main objective of the Coalition for Better Ads it to create a less intrusive web experience for users while at the same time, being clear on what are deemed acceptable ads on sites. Google signed up, and has a big influence, in the coalition with some questioning if it is anti-competitive behavior on the Mountain View company’s part. They are, after all, the biggest ad platform out there and some feel that the entire Coalition will harm Google’s competitors more than anyone.
While that is to be seen, the Coalition has put out a guideline of what ads are considered problematic for both desktop and mobile browsing experiences. It’s up to advertisers to comply with these standards are run the risk of their ads being blocked. According to the Coalition:
The Program will maintain a register of certified companies that will not have ads on their sites filtered based on the Standards by browsers and advertising technology companies that participate in the Program. If compliance issues arise, certified companies will be notified and have an opportunity to address violations or to pursue review by an independent dispute resolution mechanism available through the Program.
If they continue to be out of compliance, blocking will happen and that is where the change to Google Chrome comes into the mix. What are non-compliant ads? Read on after the break…
According to the Coalition’s site, for desktops, ads that do the following risk being blocked:
- pop-up ads
- auto-play video ads with sound
- prestitial ads with countdown
- large sticky ads
For mobile, it is the following:
- 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
For end users, there isn’t much to do here other than be aware that the change is coming. By the time we get to February 15th, Chrome 64 will be out and the canary code for that build already has the underlying code in place to enforce these new ad blocking policies.
