Had enough of pop-ups, pop-unders, videos auto-playing and other annoying ads? Google is more than aware of this. Both the desktop and mobile versions of Chrome will soon start to offer ad filtering in order to cut down obnoxious advertising.
The initiative is part of the Better Ads Standards movement, an industry group designed to improve users’ experience with online advertising. After surveying more than 40,000 Internet users about how intrusive different types of ads are, the results are in:
- people dislike pop-up ads
- people dislike ads that make you wait to reveal the content
On mobile, the most hated ads are those that cover a large portion of the page and force the user to scroll to reveal the main content. Anyone could have told them that but, of course, Google uses data to make big decisions and also owns the biggest advertising platform on the web.
For the last few months, Google has given websites and marketers the chance to evaluate their own ads and see if they comply with the Better Ads Standards. As of February 12, Google says that 42% of the websites notified have implemented an ad strategy that’s less intrusive for users.
Starting on February 15, the Chrome browser will automatically block those ads who do not comply, showing the user a message. As with all modern ad-blockers, you will be able to choose to allow certain ads.
As Google just started showing users when to switch trains with Google Maps, it’s great to see the company keeps user experience at the forefront at all times.
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