Chrome With Built-In Ad-Blocker May Target The Most Obnoxious Ads
Google is planning to add a built-in ad-blocker to Chrome, according to sources, and it will target the Internet's most obnoxious types of advertisements. These sub-standard advertisements include things like videos that automatically start playing and advertisements that won't disappear until a long countdown timer is finished. The sources indicate that Google hasn't ironed out all of the details yet, and that it may not ultimately go through with the feature.
The information comes from sources speaking with The Wall Street Journal, which says that Google would make the feature opt-in rather than activated by default. The details aren't finalized yet, according to the sources, who say there's still a chance Google will choose not to release the feature. If it does, though, the ad-blocker will look at the types of advertisements a website is delivering and judge whether they meet an acceptable standard.
The standard will reportedly be ones set by the Coalition for Better Ads, which details types of advertisements that aren't consumer-friendly. These include things like annoying pop-ups that you have to hunt for and then close, ads that require you to sit through an excessively long timer, such as the ones that count down from 30 seconds, and similar.
What isn't clear is whether Google's tipped ad-blocker will block only the offending advertisements or if it will block all the ads on a website that is found to have sub-standard advertisements. The latter could be of particular detriment to websites that rely on these types of ads, though any ad-blocking activities serve to reduce a site's revenue.
The sources go on to state that Google is considering the ad-blocker as a move against third-party alternatives that are growing in popularity. In those cases, companies like Google may have to pay to get their ads exempted from the filters, something it could do for free with its own solution.
If Google were to go with a single-ad-blocking feature rather than something that blocks all the ads on a website, it could prove to be a successful compromise between all-ads and no-ads. Most of the websites on the Internet rely on advertisements to generate their revenue and keeps the lights on, so to speak. The increased adoption of ad-blockers has caused ample strain for many sites, some of which have buckled under the burden.
Many consumers state they use ad-blockers to get rid of annoying ads that ruin the Web surfing experience, but that they wouldn't be opposed to ads that don't interfere. By offering a way to block only troublesome ads, Google may encourage more consumers to let some ads through, helping reverse the trend of total ad-blockage and the revenue issues that result.
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal