Google rolls out Chrome ad blocking globally

Back in February 2018, Google Chrome started blocking ads on websites that display non-compliant ads, as defined by the Coalition for Better Ads. The aim was to protect end users from annoying and harmful ad experiences in North America and Europe. On July 9th 2019 Chrome rolled out this initiative globally, meaning all websites viewed in the Chrome browser will be subject to these rules.  

Here is a quick recap of what ads are considered abusive and non-compliant:

On desktop, there are four types of ads the coalition has banned: pop-up ads, auto-playing video ads with sound, prestitial ads with countdown, and large sticky ads. On mobile, there are eight types of banned ads: pop-up ads, prestitial ads, ad density higher than 30 percent, flashing animated ads, auto-playing video ads with sound, postitial ads with countdown, full-screen scroll over ads, and large sticky ads.

What does this mean for you as a publisher?

If you show any of the above ad formats they will be blocked by Chrome affecting your revenues and also affecting your Google ranking. You can review your website’s status in the the Ad Experience Report. This is a tool that helps you understand if Chrome has identified any violating ad experiences on your site. 

Luckily, if you are a publisher on ExoClick’s network we created a special filter that allows you to block non-compliant ads with 1 toggle switch. In your admin panel, when you create an ad zone under ‘Sites & Zones’ you will see the Google Compliance toggle switch under the ‘Filter Ads’ section – simply toggle this on and the ad zone will be fully compliant. 

Additionally, ExoClick’s Compliance team works 24/7 manually rejecting or approving all ad campaigns before they run on your site, ensuring that non-compliant ads are not shown on your website.

If you have any questions regarding this global Google Chrome roll out, speak to your account manager or a Customer Success agent here.

ExoClick has also updated it’s Advertiser Guidelines to advise advertisers about the restrictions which you can read here.

More information from Google here.