Google is introducing a program called Google Contributor, which woud give users the option to remove ads from their web experience.
The feature comes at a price, however. Users can choose whether to pay $1, $2 or $3 per month, which generated revenue being shared between Google and participating websites.
"When you visit a participating website, part of your contribution goes to the creators of that site," says the Google Contributor website. "The more you contribute, the more you support the websites you visit."
If a user subscribes to Google Contributor, a thank you note will appear in the place of an ad. Currently there are 10 websites participating in the promotion, including Imgur, The Onion, Mashable and Urban Dictionary.
The move is certainly an interesting one considering the majority of money that Google makes is in ad revenue. The program is an experiment and the search titan offers a waiting-list form for users to sign up if they want to participate.
While advertising is widely used by Internet companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter, it also causes concern for users. Often companies like to serve ads that are more relevant to individual users because it means there's a higher chance of that user engaging with the ad. Because of this, companies have a reason to track users, and many believe this tracking is an invasion of privacy. Google is suggesting its new program will not only remove ads, but also protect users' privacy.
It is expected advertisers will spend $141 billion on online ads this year alone, with that figure expected to increase by over 15 percent in 2016, according to eMarketer. Google receives more of that online ad money than any other company, getting 32.4 percent. Facebook comes in second at 8 percent.
It's unclear how the search player will split revenue with publishers, but that's no different from how Google currently works with ads.
"The amount we keep is the same we charge advertisers to show their ads," said Google spokesperson Andrea Faville.
The more a user pays, the fewer ads they will see. Because of this, websites should not see a change in revenue, claims Google.
"In terms of the rates, the amount that goes to the publishers is essentially the market rate for ad space on their site," continued Faville. "So the amounts going to publishers wouldn't really be affected, although the higher the amount in a person's Contributor account, the more times they would see the thank-you messages versus ads."
