Google Gives Intrusive Advertisers Six Months To Make Friendly Ads

Advertisers who post ads that are annoying for users, like pop-up ads, auto-playing video with sound enabled and full-screen blocks, among others, have until 2018 to improve user experience before being blocked on Chrome, both in its desktop and its mobile versions. Out of 100.000 websites reviewed so far by Google, approximately 1% (around 1.000) are using ads that affect user experience. The most common intrusions are pop-up ads. Google said it was conducting tests in the biggest portals where consumers spend around 90% of their time. This includes publishers such as the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as more focused newsites like Eurogamer or ZDNet. Google will give publishers six months of lead time before activating their ad filter for these intrusive ads, and at the same time offered advise on how to make ads that are not annoying for users. A thousand online publishers started getting notices from Google last week. Publishers with intrusive ads will be instructed to review the Ad Experience Report, which determines if a website is in compliance with the Better Ads Standards.