Search giant Google is in a pickle over what to do about intrusive advertising.
The internet phenomenon’s business model is all about making money from advertising, but users are complaining in droves about pop ups and videos that autoplay when a web site is opened.
Small software houses saw the opportunity to jump in and came up with extensions for the Google Chrome browser that block adverts.
The most popular, simply called Adblocker, has been downloaded for free millions of times, proving that a market for the technology is there and how irritating web users find the ads that view for their attention.
Now Google Chrome will detect adblocking softwareand offer users the choice of switching it off so advertising plays – or to pay a small sum through Google Contributor to continue.
How to check for and install the update
The latest update to Chrome installs a new Google adblocker that stops video autoplay ads.
To get the update, open Chrome.
Click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner beneath the X close button.
Click on Help, then About Google Chrome
A new settings tab will open in the browser. The first block of text will show the version of Chrome you have installed. If it is 65 or earlier, the browser will automatically update to version 66.
Once you have version 66, the video adblocker will mute the offending ads.
The new version works on Windows 10, MacOS and Linux – on mobile and PC.
Rethinking marketing messages
The move is aimed at Google taking back control of Chrome by negating intrusive ads placed on web sites and at the same time, dissuades users from installing third-party adblockers that interfere with Google’s own money spinning ads.
As Google dominates the market, with Chrome the browser of choice for two out of three internet users, web designers will have to rethink how they deliver their marketing messages.
“It’s far too common that people encounter annoying, intrusive ads on the web—like the kind that blare music unexpectedly or force you to wait 10 seconds before you can see the content on the page,” said a Google blog.
“These frustrating experiences can lead some people to block all ads—taking a big toll on the content creators, journalists, web developers and videographers who depend on ads to fund their content creation.”
>