GOOG Alphabet Inc

By Benjamin Mullin 

Publishers are greeting the launch of Google's ad blocker with a mixture of relief and unease, pleased that it is purging intrusive ads but worried over the internet giant's power to quickly overhaul the industry.

Beginning Thursday, Google Chrome, the world's most popular web browser, will begin screening advertising formats that fail to meet standards adopted by the Coalition for Better Ads, a group of advertising, tech and publishing companies, including Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc.

"I think getting those bad ads out of the ecosystem is better for the rest of us who are doing these things well, but it's worth discussing that one company has that much power over the internet and what gets monetized," said Neil Vogel, the chief executive of Dotdash, a digital publisher with sites about topics such as health and wellness, home improvements and travel.

Sites with unacceptable ad formats -- annoying ads like pop-ups, auto-playing video ads with sound and flashing animated ads -- will receive a warning that they're in violation of the standards. If they haven't fixed the problem within 30 days, all of their ads -- including ads that are compliant -- will be blocked by the browser. That would be a major blow for publishers, many of which rely on advertising revenue.

In April, news of Google's planned ad blocker was met with apprehension from publishers, who worried that the technology would torpedo their ad-supported websites and services. Many of those fears have been assuaged. Several publishers were warned months in advance that their ads were in violation of the standards and have brought them up to snuff, including the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, The Wrap and In Touch Weekly.

Less than 1% of the web's most-visited sites are set to have their ads blocked, Google said.

"We are committed to joining with publishers to improve the user experience online and are encouraged by the hundreds of sites who have stopped using intrusive ads in the past few months," a Google spokeswoman said. "Our hope is that Chrome won't have to filter ads at all."

The decision to curtail junk ads is partly a defensive one for both Google and publishers. Third-party ad blockers are exploding, with as many as 615 million devices world-wide using them, according to some estimates.

Many publishers expressed optimism that eliminating annoying ads will reduce the need for third-party ad blockers, raise ad quality and boost the viability of digital advertising.

"As the supply of quality display advertising goes up, buyer confidence in that inventory will go up and buyers will be comfortable increasing the dollars they invest in it," said Mike Smith, senior vice president of revenue platforms and operations for Hearst Magazines.

Chrome's ad blocker lands in an industry that has had a love-hate relationship with intrusive ads for years. As factors like page-load speed have become increasingly important to mobile users, many publishers have been reassessing whether to clutter their sites with ads.

The Wrap was already reorganizing the ads on its site last year when executives there became aware that the entertainment site was in violation of ad standards developed by the coalition, said Alan Citron, the site's general manager.

Executives noticed a decline in the amount of readers the site was getting from search engines, and a consultant said ad clutter was partially to blame. The site brought its ads up to the recommended standards, and the search traffic ultimately returned. He applauded the give-and-take between Google and publishers but noted that communication hasn't always been this clear.

"We felt good about doing it because it does create a better experience, " Mr. Citron said. "But we also felt we were wandering around in the dark a little bit and wondering why these things weren't okay."

While many publishers dislike intrusive ads, some advertisers like them, said Harry Kargman, chief executive at the mobile ad firm Kargo. Ads that take over the entirety of users' screens before other content has loaded, known as prestitial ads, are almost always viewed in their entirety by consumers. Prestitial ads with countdown are banned under the new standards.

Because of the split in the industry, Google is uniquely positioned to help address concerns over annoying web advertising.

"Who serves the most ads?" said Jason Kint, chief executive of the trade group Digital Content Next. "Who has admitted to paying for the most popular ad block software? Where do most people search for and install ad block software? The answer to every question is Google. Of course, this makes the industry uncomfortable. The silver lining is that Google is also in the best position to fix their mess."

--Douglas MacMillan contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 15, 2018 05:44 ET (10:44 GMT)

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