New Google Ads Best Practices Standards: What This Means and How to Prepare
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 5:00 am
Advertisers on the Google Ads advertising platform recently received a new update to their requirements policy. The idea is for advertisers to comply with the so-called " better advertising standards " outlined by the Coalition for Better Ads .
Google has given marketers a deadline of October 2022 to make any the advantages of line database necessary changes to comply with these new requirements for their landing pages.
This was the email sent by the company in early September:
In October 2022, the destination requirements policy will be updated to include a new policy requiring ad experiences on destinations to adhere to the Coalition for Better Ads’ Better Ads Standards. Destinations containing ad experiences that do not meet the Better Ads Standards will be flagged through the Ad Experience Report, and any ads that lead to such destinations will be disapproved.
In this post, I'll tell you a little bit about what's changed and my perceptions of what's to come.
Keep reading!
Why is Google Ads changing its advertising standards policies?
As Google itself has stressed, the Coalition's "Better Ads Standard" is the result of a survey of more than 150 consumers who identified advertising experiences that were below acceptance thresholds and could lead users to install ad blockers.
The logic is simple:
The more dissatisfied people are, the more people block ads or use the search engine tool less.
With fewer people seeing ads, it becomes increasingly expensive for businesses to advertise on the platform, leading these companies to invest less or even stop investing in it.
It's a two-way street.
Furthermore, the research they conducted also indicates which types of ads are most “desired” by consumers, providing valuable information to Google on which types of ads the company should invest more in and innovate in the coming years.
What is changing in the new destination requirements standards?
I'm sure you've already gotten annoyed with some of the ad examples I'll show you below.
It is no coincidence that Google is working hard to improve the user experience and their interaction with certain types of pages and ads.
Here is a list of the main ad patterns that will be disapproved by the new targeting requirements:
destinations or content that are unnecessarily difficult or frustrating to navigate:
websites with pop-up windows that prevent the user from viewing the content of the page;
websites that block the browser's Back button;
sites that don't load quickly on major browsers and devices;
sites that require you to download an app to view the landing page.
Pop-up advertising:
Image source: https://www.betterads.org/standards/
Autoplay video ads with sound:
Prestigious ads with countdown:
Ads that prevent visitors from viewing the main content (with or without countdown):
Large sticky ads that stay on a page as the visitor scrolls:
Ad density greater than 30%:
Flashing Animated Ads:
Disruptive ads in apps:
These are just some of the main standards set by Google. If you want to know all of them, read the full content of: Target Requirements and Better Ads Standards .
How to prepare for these changes?
In many cases, Google does not clearly exemplify its requirements and restrictions. There is always room for questioning and doubt.
Advertisers and partner sites are often surprised when their ads are rejected or, in more extreme cases, their accounts are suspended, for not complying with the rules imposed by the platform.
However, if we analyze all the changes made by Google in recent years, the focus is and will always be one: the user .
In the past, the platform was infinitely less robust than it is today. Many changes could not be made due to technological limitations and the sophistication of the company and the market as a whole.
Today, user-first actions are becoming more frequent, powerful, and entirely data-driven.
User experience is so important to the company that in Google's main philosophy document, "user centricity" is the first of all the truths it claims to believe in.
So don't just focus on adapting to new rules and being surprised by every new change in your policies.
Start thinking like Google!
If your ads and pages are somehow creating a bad experience for users, wait, because sooner or later, you will be forced to look for new ways of working. It's just a matter of time.
So, thinking like Google means putting the user above everything, because the rules change, but the approach is always the same.
Google has given marketers a deadline of October 2022 to make any the advantages of line database necessary changes to comply with these new requirements for their landing pages.
This was the email sent by the company in early September:
In October 2022, the destination requirements policy will be updated to include a new policy requiring ad experiences on destinations to adhere to the Coalition for Better Ads’ Better Ads Standards. Destinations containing ad experiences that do not meet the Better Ads Standards will be flagged through the Ad Experience Report, and any ads that lead to such destinations will be disapproved.
In this post, I'll tell you a little bit about what's changed and my perceptions of what's to come.
Keep reading!
Why is Google Ads changing its advertising standards policies?
As Google itself has stressed, the Coalition's "Better Ads Standard" is the result of a survey of more than 150 consumers who identified advertising experiences that were below acceptance thresholds and could lead users to install ad blockers.
The logic is simple:
The more dissatisfied people are, the more people block ads or use the search engine tool less.
With fewer people seeing ads, it becomes increasingly expensive for businesses to advertise on the platform, leading these companies to invest less or even stop investing in it.
It's a two-way street.
Furthermore, the research they conducted also indicates which types of ads are most “desired” by consumers, providing valuable information to Google on which types of ads the company should invest more in and innovate in the coming years.
What is changing in the new destination requirements standards?
I'm sure you've already gotten annoyed with some of the ad examples I'll show you below.
It is no coincidence that Google is working hard to improve the user experience and their interaction with certain types of pages and ads.
Here is a list of the main ad patterns that will be disapproved by the new targeting requirements:
destinations or content that are unnecessarily difficult or frustrating to navigate:
websites with pop-up windows that prevent the user from viewing the content of the page;
websites that block the browser's Back button;
sites that don't load quickly on major browsers and devices;
sites that require you to download an app to view the landing page.
Pop-up advertising:
Image source: https://www.betterads.org/standards/
Autoplay video ads with sound:
Prestigious ads with countdown:
Ads that prevent visitors from viewing the main content (with or without countdown):
Large sticky ads that stay on a page as the visitor scrolls:
Ad density greater than 30%:
Flashing Animated Ads:
Disruptive ads in apps:
These are just some of the main standards set by Google. If you want to know all of them, read the full content of: Target Requirements and Better Ads Standards .
How to prepare for these changes?
In many cases, Google does not clearly exemplify its requirements and restrictions. There is always room for questioning and doubt.
Advertisers and partner sites are often surprised when their ads are rejected or, in more extreme cases, their accounts are suspended, for not complying with the rules imposed by the platform.
However, if we analyze all the changes made by Google in recent years, the focus is and will always be one: the user .
In the past, the platform was infinitely less robust than it is today. Many changes could not be made due to technological limitations and the sophistication of the company and the market as a whole.
Today, user-first actions are becoming more frequent, powerful, and entirely data-driven.
User experience is so important to the company that in Google's main philosophy document, "user centricity" is the first of all the truths it claims to believe in.
So don't just focus on adapting to new rules and being surprised by every new change in your policies.
Start thinking like Google!
If your ads and pages are somehow creating a bad experience for users, wait, because sooner or later, you will be forced to look for new ways of working. It's just a matter of time.
So, thinking like Google means putting the user above everything, because the rules change, but the approach is always the same.