Why Google is building its own ad blocker

As one of the major players in online advertising it might seem surprising that Google is introducing its own ad filtering feature to Chrome.

Partly though this is a fight back against the increasing use of ad blockers that block Google’s own ads and is aimed at the most annoying ad types like pop ups and autoplay videos. Internet marketing company TechWyse has put together an infographic explaining the thinking behind Google’s decision.

200 million people around the world now use ad blockers, and Google earned over $72 billion from advertising in 2017 and with Chrome accounting for 47.5 percent of the US browser market the company is obviously keen to protect its revenues.

It’s estimated that publishers lost $41.4 billion to ad blockers in 2016, a major jump from $11.7 billion lost in 2014, so it’s clear why Google wants to act. Particularly since the key millennial group are more likely to use ad blockers than other demographics.

Blocking presents more of a problem on mobile devices where 16 percent of users now block ads, compared with 11 percent that do so on desktops. As browsing on mobile devices becomes mainstream this problem can only grow.

Given all of this it’s easy to see why Google needed to act. You can see much more of the numbers driving the decision in the full graphic below.

Source: TechWyse Internet Marketing