Google recently announced that Chrome's ad blocker will roll out globally later this year. Initially launched in the United States, Canada, and Europe in early 2018, Chrome's built-in ad blocker filters ads that violate Better Ads Standards.
How The Ad Blocker Works
Starting July 9, Chrome will filter ads that do not meet the industry standards as specified by the Coalition for Better Ads. The ad blocker will filter 12 types of ads that users often find as intrusive. These include pop-ups, full-page ads, auto-play videos, and prestitial ads with countdowns, to name a few.
Once the ad blocker takes effect, Google will warn sites that display non-compliant ads. The company will give these sites 30 days to remove any content that violates the guidelines, and if a site continuously shows these ads, Google will then start blocking all types of ads in all its pages.
Google advises site owners to review their website status through the Ad Experience Report, a tool that basically tells them if their site has intrusive ads and shows if it passed or failed the industry standards. This tool will also help publishers settle issues or contest a review.
Why Filter Ads
A massive chunk of Google's income is generated through advertisements, and one might think that Chrome's ad blocking may appear as a self-inflicting harm on the company's revenues. However, Google stressed that Chrome's ad blocking does not prohibit ads entirely — it just eliminates bad, spammy ads, therefore reducing "abusive experiences" as well in the process.
"Our ultimate goal is not to filter ads, but to build a better web for everyone, everywhere," the company said in an announcement.
During Chrome ad blocker's initial release, Google said that as of Jan. 1, two-thirds of the publishers tagged as non-compliant are now in good standing. Among the sites that it reviewed, only 1 percent have had their ads filtered.
