Last week, Google told advertisers that, in October, it will begin enforcing the Better Ads Standards for  the destinations for the advertising placed on Google.  In other words, Google said that if the destination for the ad doesn't comply with the standards, then the ad will not be approved.  Google explained, "Destinations containing ad experiences that do not conform to the Better Ads Standards will be informed via the Ad Experience Report, and any ads that lead to such destinations will be disapproved."  

The Better Ads Standards identify ad experiences that the Coalition for Better Ads -- an association of industry organizations and companies involved in online media -- believes fall beneath a threshold of consumer acceptability and are most likely to drive consumers to install ad blockers.  

Some of the types of ads that violate the Better Ads Standard include: 

• Pop-up ads -- Ads that block the main content of the page after content on the page begins to load;
• Auto-playing video ads with sound -- Ads that play sound without any user interaction;
• Prestitial ads with countdown -- Ads that appear before the content on a page loads that force the user to wait a period of time before they can dismiss the ad; and
• Large sticky ads -- Ads that stick to the bottom of the page, regardless of a user's efforts to scroll.

The standards also include specific types of prohibited ads for mobile web, short form video, and mobile apps as well.