The Better Ads Standard: How to Check for Violation Warnings

The Coalition for Better Ads is a consortium of ad trade groups and companies in the advertising industry. These members involve companies that range from small advertising trading desks to the largest duopoly, Google and Facebook.

The main reason this group came together was to improve the online advertising experience for consumers in hopes that consumers will be less likely to adopt ad blockers. The Coalition surveyed more than 25,000 internet users in North America and Europe about their preferences for different types of online ads. The results of this survey define the “Better Ads Standards,” a list of least preferred ad experiences.

Google, a member of the Coalition, has released the “Ad Experience Report” found in the Google Search Console (previously known as Google Webmaster Tools), where publishers receive notifications about any violations to the Better Ads Standard.

Find the Ad Experience Report:
1. Log into the Google Search Console.
2. Click on “Web Tools.”
3. “Ad Experience Report” is the first link on the left-hand navigation. Google has prepared a short 2-minute video that explains how to use the Ad Experience Report.

If any publisher has received a violation that is not fixed, on February 15th, 2018, Google will suspend all ads until the violation is resolved.

eHealthcare Solutions follows all IAB standard ad sizes and the agencies we work with adhere to these specifications, as well. eHealthcare Solutions does not serve auto-playing video ads or pop-ups on desktop or mobile devices. We do serve the “Prestitial Ad with Countdown.” However, the interstitial is shown only on desktop and tablet, and set at a frequency per user. Also, these ads have a clear “x” out button that they may use at any time, even before the 30 second countdown ends. They perform very well, and have for the past 6+ years.

eHealthcare Solutions, in response to the Google violation warning, has removed interstitials from Chrome starting in January 2018. It is our first step in preventing any issues with advertisements on our publisher’s sites. We ask that publishers read and follow the steps in the Ad Experiences report to make sure they haven’t received any violation warnings from Google. If you have received a warning, please email your violation to your Partner Relations Manager or Lauren Schulman, Director of Advertising Operations.

Resources:
Coalition for Better Ads – Standards
Google: An update on Better Ads