Google Introduces Mute Button for Ads with [x] Icon

Anne Garcia - July 23, 2012

Google has announced that they will be introducing a new small [x] button on the corner of banner ads that will allow users to no longer see future ads after a user clicks the [x] button. The search engine will be rolling out this new feature over the next few weeks within Remarketing and Interest Categories campaigns throughout the Google Display Network.

Google says that they are investing in many ways to give users control over the ads they see and is giving users more control through their Ads Preferences Manager which enables users to edit interest categories or even opt out of all interest ads including remarketing ads throughout the Google Display Network.

Once a user clicks on the [x] icon within the ad, they will be shown a confirmation page that explains the advertisement has been muted. From there, the user will be able to change their settings within the Ads Preferences Manager. Although a user may mute an ad by clicking on the [x] icon, it does not guarantee that they will never see an ad from the same advertiser again, because a similar ad could be shown via other targeting methods throughout the Google Display Network.

It will be interesting to see how the [x] icon will affect the performance of Remarketing campaigns as well as further impact other display ad campaigns on the Google Display Network. The new move gives consumers more control over ad preferences in regard to advertisers being able to target them specifically.