Google has joined forces with Facebook, AOL, Twitter, and the IAb to form a new partnership called the Ads Integrity Alliance, according to StopBadware. There are billions of advertisements scattered over the web, which means without some way of weeding out the bad, it would be impossible to avoid them. StopBadware is a company that’s been fighting malware, viruses and phishing since it formed in 2006.
Now, with the help of these big name companies, monitoring ads will be more efficient than ever before. Google states on its blog that they believe, “Ads Integrity Alliance can make a similarly important contribution to the goal of identifying and removing bad ads from all corners of the web,” referring to the contribution StopBadware has made.
Clearly Google’s contribution to stoping bad ads will be a huge one, along with the rest of the partnership. On it’s own in 2011, Google ridded the web of over 130 million ads that went against advertising policies. The real problem is, however, that when any website, including Google, shuts down an advertiser, they can simply find somewhere else to advertise. This is why this new alliance has formed, to keep watch on a large range of websites that bad advertisers target. Google states that, “The best way to tackle common problems across a highly interconnected web, and to move the whole web forward, is for the industry to work together…”
This alliance is very important for the everyday internet user. There can now be a bit less hesitation to learn more about a product or service, because there will be less threat of viruses and phishing when clicking an ad. Many people have started to avoid clicking any ads at all, as there are far too many that cause things like pop-ups and viruses. People have essentially become a bit afraid of advertisements.
With a sort of advertising police force like the Ads Integrity Alliance, people will have less to worry about, as will advertisers. Good, honest advertisers have been hurt by the bad as well. Since people know that there’s a potential risk when clicking an ad, they usually don’t bother. This means that advertisers are spending quite a bit of money on clickable ads on the internet, for no reason. It’s gotten to the point where ads are designed to be for show, instead of to be interactive. Hopefully, with the alliance, this can change in the near future.
“The web puts the world’s information at your fingertips and has given everyone a platform to speak, listen, engage and unite,” Google writes on their blog. It’s true that there is a vast area of opportunity on the web. Advertising is seen more online than anywhere else. When bad ads exist, there can really be no trust in internet advertising. It’s for this reason that the Ads Integrity Alliance was formed, to fight back against rotten advertisements and keep the web clean and user friendly. After all, the internet is where the majority of America spends a good part of the day.
