Google is facing criticism for allegedly misleading advertisers and violating US sanctions. The Wall Street Journal reported that research from analytics company Adalytics suggests Google may have cost media buyers billions of dollars by placing ads on sites in ways that violate its own standards. The report specifically focuses on Google’s video ad format, TrueView, which is placed on YouTube and other sites across the web. Adalytics found that Google often did not meet its promises regarding the placement of ads, instead placing them in small, muted video players that appear in the corner of the screen. Adalytics argues that this violates Google’s quality standards and could artificially inflate ad completion rates.
In response, Google has called Adalytics’ claims “extremely inaccurate” and stated that the majority of video ad campaigns serve on YouTube. The company also argues that advertisers can review and ban ads from appearing on certain sites, and that it prohibits publishers from engaging in disruptive ad-serving practices. However, Nandini Jammi, co-founder of the advertising industry watchdog group Check My Ads, found inconsistencies with Google’s response. Google’s blog post suggests that advertisers have the option to opt out of running ads on third-party sites, but according to Google’s own support page, this is not the case for all types of campaigns.
Concerns about low-quality ads are not the only issue raised in the report. Adalytics also points out that Google has been running ads on Android apps that are not available on the Google Play Store, some of which are from developers in countries sanctioned by the US government. This raises concerns about whether advertisers have inadvertently paid sanctioned entities. Check My Ads further highlights several questionable third-party websites where Google runs its ads, including Russian state-controlled media sites, right-wing outlets Breitbart and Newsmax, and the far-right financial blog Zero Hedge.
Paul Tang, a Member of the European Parliament, criticized Google for potentially advertising on Russian propaganda websites. Tang accused Google of making itself the play doll of dictators and dragging the European Parliament through the mud. He called for Google to make running ads on partner sites opt-in only and to share how it vets these websites.
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It is unclear what the next steps will be for Google, but advertisers are calling for refunds on money spent on ads that did not meet Google’s promised standards. Check My Ads is also urging advertisers to request that Google make running ads on partner sites opt-in only and to provide transparency on its website vetting process.
Advertising companies have started to react to Adalytics’ findings, and this development does not bode well for Google. Michael Feeley, co-founder of Black Bean Media, a programmatic advertising management company, believes this should serve as a wake-up call for advertisers participating in Google’s ecosystem and buying programmatic video in general.
