Target Clicks For Improved Quality

Have you ever accidentally clicked on an ad on your mobile and been taken somewhere in the online world that you didn’t want to go? Those fiddly little (x) buttons helpfully placed right next to an app install, or an image ad in the middle of a blog you’re scrolling? Well, don’t panic, we can confirm you no longer have to blame your ‘fat fingers’ as you’re not the only one! Recent studies estimate that up to a whopping 50% of mobile ad clicks are accidental. That’s huge! Not only does this mean that your fingers are more than likely of average size (hooray!), but it demonstrates the need for change when it comes to calculating clicks on the Display Network.

These accidental clicks are not only inflating your click through rate and skewing your performance reporting but they’re increasing your online marketing costs too with absolutely no return! But fear not, Google have recently announced some changes to ad clicks on the Display Network to ensure that this problem is reduced and maximum click quality is achieved for advertisers.

Here’s an overview of Google’s three updates which cover the instances that commonly lead to accidental clicks:

1. Blocking clicks on app icons
On in-app interstitial ads (those full screen ads which pop over an app you’re using e.g. between game levels) users won’t be able to click on the app icon to be taken to the install page any more as it’s just too close to the close (x) button. Now, users must click on the actual call to action button, such as ‘install’.

2. Blocking clicks close to the image edge
The image border is an area prone to accidental clicks when scrolling or clicking within content. So, Google have stated that users must now click on a central part of the image ad and clicks close to the border will be blocked.

3. Clickability delay implementation
They’ve not specified the exact amount of time, but Google have said that ads will only become clickable once they’ve been on screen for ‘a short period of time‘. As such, users will have enough time to examine content and accidental clicks from those who weren’t expecting to see an ad will be avoided.

So, if you’re an advertiser you may see a decrease in clicks coming from mobile devices on your Display Network campaigns due to these changes. (However, always check your performance data to be sure that you aren’t incurring click loss from another issue in your account). Your conversion rates may increase and you might even save some money too!  As a user, it’ll certainly be more difficult for you to make those accidental clicks and much easier for you to enjoy they content you were searching for.

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Happy browsing!!