Google is in trouble with advertisers for violating its ad guidelines – Times of India

Google has reportedly deceived many advertisers about the number of people who viewed their ads on third-party websites and apps, allegedly charging for these ads despite the misleading information. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Google violated its own terms of service.
Adalytics, a company that analyses online ads, conducted a study which found that 80% of Google’s video ads did not meet its own standards. The study revealed that Google had placed video ads on websites that did not meet their own standards for monetisation, among other violations.
The research discovered that some advertisers paying for TrueView ads on external websites and apps may not be receiving the expected results.
Google’s TrueView is a video ad product that appears on YouTube, as well as on other sites and apps across the internet. Users have the option to skip the ad after five seconds, and advertisers are only charged if the user watches at least 30 seconds or the length of the ad if it’s shorter than 30 seconds. Additionally, the video must have audio and not be activated by a user scrolling past it.
The company analysed the advertising campaigns of more than 1,000 brands on the internet and discovered that many of the TrueView ads did not comply with Google’s guidelines. Some ads were displayed in small video players in the corner or at the side of the screen, while others were completely muted and lacked actual video content between ads. Additionally, some ads were displayed with little user interaction or activation.
The report indicates that some brands, like Disney+, Samsung, and Johnson & Johnson, had their video ads displayed on websites that don’t meet Google’s standards. Additionally, the firm found that even government agencies, including the US Army, Social Security Administration, and Medicare, were affected.
What does Google have to say
On Tuesday, Marvin Renaud, the director of global video solutions at Google, disputed the findings of a report that made “extremely inaccurate claims.”
Renaud clarified that advertisers are only charged when their ads are viewed. He explained that Google uses real-time ad quality signals to determine if people are present and paying attention before deciding to serve a video ad on a Google Video Partner site or app.
The executive emphasised that Google monitors adherence to its policies and had stopped serving ads on over 143,000 websites found to be in violation last year.
Despite this, clients are seeking refunds, and Google has not yet issued refunds for AdSense buyers affected by the violations.