YouTube Is Testing A New Means To Prevent Ad Skipping And It Involves Hiding The ‘Skip’ Button

 Video streaming giant YouTube is working on a new way to ensure users see ads and don’t skip them. This includes hiding the ‘Skip’ button option.

The free viewing experience that users have been benefiting from, thanks to the Skip button, could soon be disguised from user view. But if you’ve really got a problem with ads, the app is giving you the chance to pay extra and subscribe to Premium.

Google says ad monetization is one of the chief ways it makes money and helps creators get their rightful share. Hence, features like ad blockers have already made it hard for websites on the search engine to benefit and now the skip button is also hindering its monetization potential.

We can see this as a smart tactic to push marketing of its premium tier. Remember, so many viewers are complaining about how ad segments keep getting longer by the day. And if you can’t skip them, it just adds to a not-so-pleasurable experience.

The app has been very vocal about the ongoing debate against freeloaders who don’t want Premium and also don’t want to watch ads that help the company support its free services including streaming.

Google shared its dilemma on many platforms about how users are getting smarter with new extensions on browsers and ad blockers to hinder ads. This is why it might be forced to take on such drastic measures after all.

Another experiment had the app injecting ads inside video streams to stop any kind of blocking feature. And now this is coming into play as its next move to promote ads. It’s all thanks to one Reddit user who says they caught the app carrying out a test that hides the Skip button that users see once, after which you cannot skip the ad.

The placement is very smart as it’s out of the users’ reach and blocked by on-screen stickers. You can liken this to the sticker disguising skipping tips on POS machines.

As per the comments seen on that person’s Reddit thread, others were also confirming that they were seeing this take place and how it might be launched much sooner than expected. Who knows, this might be a limited test as the negative feedback is growing on the subject. And if you know the Android maker, it really does take users’ feedback into consideration.

It’s all going to remain a mystery for some time but we’ll keep you updated. Whatever the case may be, the thought of hiding the skip button is really extreme and it seems like Google is running out of options to hinder skipping ads.

What can be possibly worse is the app opting to delete the skipping ads button as a whole. Yikes, that would be a nightmare we feel. Do you agree?

Image: BigBlueMountainStar /Reddit

Google’s New Policy Changes Come Into Play As Ban On Impersonation And False Affiliation Ads Set To Begin Next Month

 Search engine giant Google has just rolled out a series of changes to its Misrepresentation policy related to ads on the platform.

The company confirmed today how the goal is to address all kinds of issues involving deceiving practices where impersonation and fake affiliations were taking place at large.

A new statement from Google was also published in this regard where they mentioned how Google Ads would be updating its Unacceptable business endeavors as a part of its Misrepresentation policy that entails grabbing users' attentio

n by giving them data or funds through fake affiliations or by ads by public figures or brands that make it all seem so real.

The policy change is set to begin as early as next month when Google Ads will begin rolling out new policies to limit those ads that falsely claim links with well-known names of famous personalities so that they can manipulate the users out there. There has been a little delay for some French advertisers who have till April 2024 to comply with such changes.

The search engine giant says that anyone violating this policy is said to be committing a serious offense. Moreover, accounts that are in clear violation would be suspended and banned shortly and would not be allowed to market their ads through its platform.

The entire overview of this misrepresentation policy for Google Ads was also laid down by the company so advertisers are well aware of what’s acceptable now and what’s not.

To be more specific, the policy has gone on to state how there are a series of unacceptable practices including the likes of concealing data regarding a certain business and impersonating a lineup of brands.

Advertising goods and services would not be delivered and any services that were marketed would be done in a manner that endangers a person’s health and safety too. Meanwhile, phishing techniques used for collecting people’s data would no longer be allowed either.

The company is all set to take serious action against all accounts receiving warnings, settlements, and direct complaints linked to the malpractice of businesses. In the same way, the tech giant says advertisers were provided with stark warnings and told to show integrity or they would now be facing serious consequences.

The company mentioned how 

Google says it wishes to keep good relations with all of its stakeholders and since advertisers play an integral part in its success, they hope such changes can ensure appeals will be heard and no discrimination of any kind takes place.

it would be taking into consideration any appeals generated in its direction for reinstatements for cases that it feels are exceptional to the rule. While advertisers could face serious scrutiny in this regard, the complete goal on this front has to do with creating bigger trust amongst apps, users, and advertisers.

But how do changes made to Google Ads’ policy impact advertisers? Well, there are several ways through which that can happen.

For starters, marketers would make sure ads aren’t making deceptive claims about famous brands or are designed to manipulate others. The policy stated how anyone violating the policy might have suspended accounts and could be banned as a whole from Google Ads completely.

Lastly, the policy goes on to mention how practices such as giving rise to goods and services that can’t be delivered are forbidden as are attempts designed to carry out phishing.

Google has reiterated that it hopes such changes make it easier to carry out appeals so that those advertisers who feel like they’ve been mistreated would now be able to carry out appeals and have their voices heard through the misrepresentation policy.

Study Shows that TikTok is the Most Popular App Among Gen-Z For Using As a Search Engine

 A new study by Adobe shows that Gen-Z is using TikTok for their everyday search. People are searching for new trends, information, recipes and music on TikTok. This study was carried out after surveying 800 consumers and 250 business owners. The study shows that 40% of users of social media use TikTok when they want to search for something or want to know about an ongoing news or trend.

The people who were using TikTok for search are mostly Gen-Z, with 64% using TikTok while 49% of millennials use it for searching for different things. Gen-Z and Millennials both use TikTok for searching for recipes, music, DIY ideas, fashion and many more things, with Gen-Z using it 29% more than millennials. The study shows that 10% of Gen-Z prefer TikTok over Google when they want to search a topic.

Other than TikTok, ChatGPT is also getting popular as a search engine tone with 10% of users using it to answer their queries. They are also asking ChatGPT for personal advice. The reason why TikTok is getting so famous among Gen-Z as a search engine is because it shows content according to the users’ interest and preference. 40% of Gen-Z like this feature of TikTok and 26% of baby boomers also agree that this feature of TikTok has made them drawn to the app.

62% of the TikTok users like tutorial videos on TikTok and 39% users use TikTok to check reviews of different products. Many business owners are also using TikTok to gain more customers by promoting their companies and products. 25% of small business owners use influencing to gain more customers on TikTok.

The study shows that businesses use 15% of their total budget to promote their products on TikTok. TikTok is offering many opportunities to business owners so they can promote their products among young people. We will have to see what TikTok will introduce now that it is the most popular app among businesses and young people.

Google Introduces AI-Powered Conversational Features to Enhance Search Ads

 Google has recently launched a new feature in Google Ads. With the help of this feature, the users will be able to enjoy a more conversational experience with the advanced Gemini AI model. The innovative strategy was announced in May and is now available in Beta to English-speaking advertisers in the USA and U.K.

Plans for a global rollout are also underway and anticipated to reach a broader audience in a couple of weeks.

This conversational AI allows advertisers to automatically generate relevant ad content, including creative elements and keywords, directly from a website URL. Early testing has shown promising results, with advertisers reporting the creation of higher-quality search campaigns and improved ad-strength scores, which assess the relevance, quality, and diversity of ad copy.

Google, in a blog post, claims that "small business advertisers that use the conversational experience in Google Ads are 42 percent more likely to publish Search campaigns with “Good” or “Excellent” Ad Strength." Adding further, "This is significant", Why? Because, as per the search giant, they've "found a strong correlation between Ad Strength and conversions". They also provided an example for this: "advertisers who improve Ad Strength for their responsive search ads from “Poor” to “Excellent” see 12% more conversions on average."

In future updates, the search platform is likely to become more visual by offering images using generative AI. These visuals will be customized as per each specific campaign. They will also require advertiser approval before going live.

Moreover, all images created with this technology in Google Ads will be marked with SynthID, an invisible watermark indicating AI generation. This feature, developed by Google DeepMind, ensures easy identification of AI-generated images while remaining imperceptible to human users.

X Users Are Being Bombarded With Risky Ads Including Crypto, Phishing Scams And AI ‘Undressing’ Apps

 It appears that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s war against advertisers across X might be taking a new turn with some unintended consequences.

Think along the lines of users complaining about the website being bombarded with poor-standard ads including those marketing questionable Crypto Services, Phishing and Malware Scams and ‘Undressing Apps’ through AI.

Today, a team member of DIW discovered a shady ad in the home feed that leads to an obvious phishing site. Despite the ad/post being reported through X tools, as it clearly violated the platform's guidelines, it is still live. Unfortunately, there's no quick/easy way of alerting X that a post poses a security threat to its users, as there's no distinct reporting category for phishing or cybersecurity issues. DIW reached out to Twitter for a comment but has not received any reply.

On the other hand, social media users and researchers have their say on this front including how the quality of such paid promotions across X keeps going from bad to worse and it’s a direct result of top advertisers exiting the app.

In the past few weeks, the figures have reached a new high and many called out the platform for the growing figures linked to these ads and how some people included community notes as promotions to help others steer clear of the act and risk losing a huge sum of funds.

Others feel these ads were increasing by the day and to now see it on the website too is just a lot. Such see them rising on their respective timelines and others saw the surge of apps calling for ‘undressing’ and that’s leaving a very disturbing feeling in their minds.

Through AI, these platforms enable users to produce pictures of real people in a naked stance. That is a clear violation of the platform’s own terms of service that inhibits all kinds of explicit imagery and behavior from being promoted through the platform. They are rapidly spreading through the web and as per experts from top social media analysis company Graphika, such tools could be wreaking havoc in terms of being used for the likes of sextortion and targeted campaigns linked to harassment of others.

Through AI, these platforms enable users to produce pictures of real people in a naked stance. That is a clear violation of the platform’s own terms of service that inhibits all kinds of explicit imagery and behavior from being promoted through the platform. They are rapidly spreading through the web and as per experts from top social media analysis company Graphika, such tools could be wreaking havoc in terms of being used for the likes of sextortion and targeted campaigns linked to harassment of others.

• Also read: X Forced To Defend Itself After Being Accused Of ‘Shadow Boosting’ Mr. Beast’s First Video On The App

For now, X has yet to generate any kind of comments linked to the ordeal that some refer to as shocking and dangerous.

The rise in such questionable content online through X is not very uncommon because other tech giants have been dealing with similar behavior and therefore gone as far as sending out apologies for the scam ads linked to the world of crypto.

Both advertisers and social media experts are telling the world that what we’re seeing happen on X is due to the large exodus of top advertisers leaving the app so that is why the firm is relying on smaller-scale advertisers to make money and that includes ad buyers that are less reputable in the industry.

One expert from an advertising agency called Mekanism spoke to a media outlet and mentioned how seeing such ads was clear evidence that big advertisers were gone and how X has gone to the bottom of the list of trying to make money and people happy.

The race is yet to be over but the behavior of X in handling this ordeal is concerning. Last month, critics reported witnessing ads that market things like stealing semen that kept on being promoted on the app, and the fact that suspicious ads keep increasing is just a lot to accept.

We think the biggest issues linked to X have to do with all large-scale advertisers walking out and the frequency arising reaching an all-time high. This really does give rise to a tough time for advertisers and users who are genuine fans of the platform.

By this behavior, it’s quite clear that X has zero desire to produce an environment that promotes brand safety. Seeing the likes of Apple and Disney amongst other leaders leaving the app due to Musk promoting anti-Semitic posts is proof of the challenges that X keeps on facing as we speak. Instead of sitting down and talking to them, he chose to tell them to f**k themselves and referred to the act as terrible blackmail.

Google To Profit Billions From Changes To Its Search Thanks To Generative AI

 BrightEdge has looked closely at Google’s Search Generative Experience and from what we can see right now.

The company says they’ve undertaken a host of investigations related to keywords spanning a long list of industries seen today. The wide variety of markets is determined to cause a huge change coming to both marketing as well as search advertising.

Such changes are all linked to the company’s SGE and are better-supported thanks to Generative AI.

Once this endeavor gets rolled out as a whole completely, we are sure to see it affect close to $40 billion each year in terms of advertising revenue for marketers across Google’s network.

This is clearly a huge breakthrough as it’s the first of its kind of rollout, not to mention the first time that we will witness search engines giving rise to opinions as explained by the CEO of the firm. The latter is one organization that keenly supports the world of organic search, content, and then digital marketing.

In the past, people are said to have looked for vehicles like BMW X3 and gotten close to 10 links. Now, the results are going to be much more informative as unveiled to Google Search.

All the SGE responses powered by GAI means people could see reviews that combine information on a host of various subjects like maintenance expenses, supply of uncomfortable interiors, and beyond. This could even end up predicting yearly maintenance costs too.

The amendments will alter the world of marketing as explained by the CEO.

Now, Brightedge has even shared more data on this front and given out tools like AI gestures for mobile phones. These make it possible for GAI to give rise to a whole new world of search and Google is said to benefit from this tremendously.

While it’s yet to be rolled out as a whole right now, we’re seeing more information on this front including how an estimated 84% of all queries carried out on Search would be benefited from this. The world of Healthcare, B2B, and e-commerce will be impacted greatly as mentioned in these reports.

The company just rolled out all the detailed stats on this front. This includes healthcare being impacted by 76% and ecommerce being impacted by 49%. The world of B2B would be impacted by 48% while insurance would be affected by 45% and education similarly.

Food industries, entertainment, travel, and even finance would be affected less significantly but it’s still going to happen, the study added.

So as one can see, businesses are all set to get a massive shift, thanks to the world of GAI. The latter would completely alter the way brands market and enable product sales because they can now carry out content analysis, intentions, and sentiments of users, and also detail nuances linked to personal search.

Every question put out would get an immediate response with an opinion and experts think search will change forever after this with Google and its related advertisers benefiting big time.

Chart: Brightedge

Alarming New Study Exposes Facebook’s Intrusive Monitoring Of Users’ Online Activities

 Tech giant Meta is again under fire after a new report exposed the company’s Facebook app as invading user privacy by tracking their online activities.

The study was conducted recently by leading company Consumer Reports who proved a whopping 2,230 firms that were engaged in sharing information of users through the Facebook app.

There were also some alarming facts mentioned including how instances had 7000 firms involved who shared data amongst their users through Facebook making the ordeal easy.

The news is very shocking because it comes at a time when the concerns linked to data privacy are growing around the globe. The stats are creating serious trust issues and may end up impacting the company’s reputation as well. But in today’s markets such as the EU, data privacy regulations are going strong and continue to be at the topmost agenda for discussion.

Rules keep getting stricter and data privacy regulations in place ensure no trust issues are broken. But with such stats going strong, research like these proves that there’s a lot to be worried about and so much trust has been broken when it comes to big tech giants like Meta being involved in such behavior.

And in regions where there is even more scrutiny now than ever, it means saying hello to serious increases in legal and ethical issues.

Meta has been rolling out transparency tools of various kinds and refuted claims that it endangers users’ privacy.

Studies like these continue to highlight big issues like the unclear identity of data providers depending on what name was disclosed to users across the board. It also spoke about firms rolling out services to top advertisers so they’re able to disregard any requests where the user could choose to opt-out.

So how exactly did this research come into being? Well, the company began by collaborating with Markup to hire close to 709 volunteers who shared data archives on Facebook. This is where participants downloaded up to three-year data archives through Facebook settings and went on to submit those.

This ensured the firms could analyze all tracking services, unraveling how many firms were sharing data belonging to users via personal data transfer activities from one server to the next on Meta.

The study did reveal how many of the findings could not be representative of the American population in general. However, since the data arose from a specifically selected group of people, it’s not conclusive to represent the entire nation. At the same time, the results weren’t even adjusted depending on specific demographics as well.

Some people who took part were too concerned about their privacy and therefore weren’t technically inclined. Let’s not forget the element of bias that arises due to some members of the research firm also taking part.

So what does Meta have to say about all of this? The company mentioned how they’re giving rise to a long list of transparency tools to ensure people understand what types of data they share with the world and how it gets used.

Instagram Is Keen On Maximizing Revenue As It Experiments With Innovative Ad Options

 The holiday season is upon us all and Instagram is making sure it doesn’t lose out on any chance coming soon.

The platform has recently spoken about a series of innovative ad options that are designed keeping in mind maximal revenue generation. This is also said to give more brands an array of opportunities. However, we don’t feel it can be a very popular addition in terms of users. After all, who loves ads in the first place?

For starters, the app says it is adding some new features to its Explore Tab. This page now has its own unit for ads that may be seen across content feeds. The example of the ad put forward by the company is quite big and we’ve got zero confirmation if all the advertisements will be just as mighty as this.

Whatever the case may be, it’s a huge opportunity to reach out to the audience on the app during the early stage of their discovery, especially in terms of content that they love.

We do see this as a great consideration to have some businesses’ products getting featured across the main feed on the app. In the same way, we’re seeing Instagram test out more ads in its profile.

This is the type of feed experience that users can get accustomed to after they visit a certain profile or tap on a particular post. Hence, the next time you like a post on a follower’s account, be prepared to receive ads within your area of interest.

• Also read: Only 6% of Adults Buy From Livestreams, Does That Mean It Can’t Work?

The platform is also searching for ways to make this option a form of monetization for all of the app’s creators. Remember, all of the activities are linked to a particular profile so that makes sense.

Instagram says it’s also experimenting with a new feature called ‘multi-advertiser ads’. This displays a lot more promotions via similar entities, right after engagements with an ad are complete.

Whenever a person is seen expressing a form of commercial intent through direct engagement with ads, similar ads are delivered in greater quantities from other firms. The subject is of interest, thanks to the AI- tools of machine learning.

All in all, the app is looking forward to adding more forms of related business. And if that means adding more ads on users, then so be it. For now, we aren’t quite sure how effective this might turn out to be. But it might end up getting your brand in the driver’s seat of users showing interest in the niche, depending on if they’ve engaged in it in the past.

Last but not least, Instagram is getting started for a test of AR ads. These can be found on Instagram’s Feed and the app’s Stories section.

Designed in the app’s Spark AR platform, these types of AR ads will invite people to engage with ads more. This can include the likes of placing virtual paintings in your drawing room or even test driving some vehicle.

Meta says by giving a brand the right tools to develop a more immersive experience, they’re really keen on driving performances and helping them prepare for the ongoing metaverse taking place.

Although the worlds of AR and VR are worlds apart, creating three-dimensional objects is a key feature for the next stage. This will ultimately assist in advancing to the next stage with ad measures.

We won’t lie, the considerations here are quite interesting. But we also feel we might be seeing more marketing take place on your feed through the app. And that’s not the best news for viewers.

52% of Americans Report Seeing More Ads on Facebook

 Digital ads are the main source of income for most tech platforms, and users have been reporting seeing an increase in the number of ads that they are exposed to. 52% of Facebook users stated that they are seeing more ads than they used to, and that number is around 47% for YouTube. In spite of the fact that this is the case, most other platforms have a majority of users stating that the number of ads they are seeing has stayed more or less the same.

Facebook and YouTube are unique in that they are the only platforms that have more users reported a higher number of ads than those that say they are the same number. 39% of Facebook users and 45% of YouTube users said that the number of ads has stayed consistent, although there is clearly a far larger disparity when it comes to Facebook with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that LinkedIn is satisfying its users the most in this regard, Only 20% reported an increase in the number of ads, with 64% saying that they are seeing the same number as before. Reddit, Pinterest, Twitter and Snapchat are also doing fairly well here with 54%, 55%, 53% and 48% of users respectively reporting the same ad volume. The percentage of users reporting higher ad volume for these platforms are 27% for Reddit, 29% for Pinterest, 35% for Snapchat and 37% for Twitter.

Things are a bit more dire in the world of TikTok and Instagram. TikTok performs marginally better, with 46% of users reporting the same ad volume compared to 41% reporting an increase. Instagram users are split right down the middle, with 44% saying they are noticing more ads and a further 44% reporting the same numbers as before.

Facebook’s recommendation algorithm is notorious for its low accuracy and success rate. That means that users are seeing more ads but there is only a 71% chance that the ad would be relevant.