Google Will Reduce Accidental Mobile Ad Clicks, With Mandatory Borders and More

Mark Wilson submits news that Google is throwing a bone to mobile users annoyed by ads that (accidentally, or accidentally-on-purpose) make it too easy to accidentally click, breaking your browsing flow, by making those ads a bit less clickable. Writes Beta News: The company is taking steps to make the 'user experience' of ads a little better. It recognizes that advertisements that get clicked accidentally don't benefit anybody. They end up irritating the clicker, and are unlikely to be of value to the company that placed the ad. With around half of ad clicks being made by mistake, Google is now taking steps to stop this from happening — great news for users advertisers alike. In all, Google is making three key changes to ads that appear on smartphones and tablets, starting off by adding an unclickable border to the outer edges of advertisements.

Comments

Why doesn't Google just stop advertising malware?

[urbanriot]

Isn't this idea an aspect of reducing the amount of accidental clicks on malware advertisements? If so, why don't they just stop hosting malware or scam sites. There are certain keywords for legitimate services or products that are always guaranteed to give top hits in malware.

it would be pretty to think so

[fermion]

I suspect the primary reason for this is to maintain high ad prices by not charging advertisers for useless click. For instance, if I were to post this response on a mobile platform, I would first have to close the ad tab at the bottom so I could click the submit button. Sometimes instead of closing the ad, I click it. If the advertiser is getting charged per click, and google were the provider, this would generate revenue for Google while providing negative value for the advertiser, as it would tend to make me dislike the advertiser. This would tend to push ad rates down, which still would not compensate for the negative end user impression.

Just half?

[codepigeon]

I think that might be a liberal estimate. That number is 100% for me. I have been conditioned to immediately click the close button for every add that pops up. I don't even bother to notice what product is being advertised. I learned LONG ago that clicking on the flashy ad usually got me in trouble...followed by a format/reinstall.

I would like to know who does click on ads though. Someone has to be doing it on purpose. Curious minds want to know.

Re:Why doesn't Google just stop advertising malwar

[ColdWetDog]

In that case, perhaps we can sic PETA on the malware authors. Two birds with one stone, so to speak.