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Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

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Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#161

Post by stcredzero »

kuschku wrote: post #72
jacquesm wrote: post #37

Does that mean they'll block youtube? Try playing a video on a phone that does not have the youtube app installed, it's just about impossible to get it right, it's a roulette that's rigged with more than half the links going to the youtube app page on google play. Highly annoying since there is no reason why the youtube page of some video should even have that app installation link at all.

Exactly. And, even worse, when trying to play the video on youtube on mobile, I often get "this video is not available in embed mode, please click here to go to youtube, and it reloads the same page -.-

Are mobile devs not eating their own cooking anymore? I can't do anything on a smartphone anymore, outside of some very well worn ruts, that doesn't involve encountering some annoyance like this somewhere between twice an hour to every other minute.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#162

Post by jfoster »

pdkl95 wrote: post #132
gizmo686 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Against whom is Google being anti-competitive with this move. How should we prevent this move from being illegal, without specifying what metrics Google is and is not allowed to use?

As search becomes something that society depends upon, start treating it as a public utility . > without specifying what metrics Google is and is not allowed to use? Why not? If society depends on something, we regulate it. There are many different possible degrees of regulation, so this is not a boolean condition, even though painting such situations as a boolean choice between pure laissez-faire and nationalizing a…

Google would break if it were transparent. I'm frustrated by the status quo; I run a site where users who found it through search contact me to say that it should've been higher in the search results. I think this would only get worse if it were transparent, though. Gaming Google would become predictable and mechanized. The outcome would be ugly.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#163

Post by stcredzero »

skeletonjelly wrote: post #149
lucidstack wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ultimate Guitar, I'm looking at you. The worst.

Their push to install the app is horrendous. It just keeps getting worse too!

Some clueless investor pouring more money indirectly towards junior devs, to keep implementing pointyhairbrained schemes. At least, I hope it's that and not worse!

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#164

Post by ashark »

s3r3nity wrote: post #30
ianphughes wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure I agree with your first point. It seems the most frequent case is that a user wants to access content right away. Regardless of how much "better" the native experience might be, its a lot of hoops to jump through to fulfill the immediate need. I certainly can't argue that it does yield positive business results under certain scenarios, but for the average user it seems to injure common web experiences.

Sure -- that makes sense. I find that it depends upon the category or space that the company is in. For eCommerce, this type of interstitial is a no-brainer: users have an easier time feeling more secure purchasing through an app vs. Safari or some other mobile browser. (Especially if it's Apple Pay enabled!) For content heavy sites, it might be that the opposite is true: faster access to content can be used to hook…

Considering that even Amazon's iOS app was worse than their site the last time I checked—which is really impressive since their site is terrible—I doubt I'm going to gain anything by installing the app for Bob's House of Air Conditioners or whatever.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#165

Post by stcredzero »

roasm wrote: post #150
neoCrimeLabs wrote: post #71

This is a little curmudgeonly, but this is how I feel... If your developers are not capable of making your website mobible friendly in 2015, any app they develop is likely worse. This is especially true when your app demands access to everything on my phone even though it doesn't need any of it to function.

You're suggesting that you can make something as usable on a mobile browser as you can with a native app. That's just not true; if it were, there wouldn't be any native apps. For many use cases (games, highly interactive experiences, camera or microphone using app, etc.), a native app may just be better, and guiding users there might be a better experience and a better conversion funnel. Yes, you can make a website m…

Often, the native app is just as bad or worse! At least the just-as-bad native app didn't soak up your time and bandwidth!

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#166

Post by EarthLaunch »

leereeves wrote: post #61
avemg wrote: post #46

In and of itself I really like this move, but I have to wonder if it's good thing in the long run to allow Google to assert its vision of good UX on the entire web. Where's the line? Of course nobody is forcing websites to do anything, but Google is such an important traffic driver it's hard to imagine a site not having to comply to survive.

What's the alternative to allowing Google to rank results as it chooses?

Government forcing them to modify that based on 'fairness', 'need', etc. It's coming and it will be supported by HN, for obvious reasons.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#167

Post by georgemcbay »

jbigelow76 wrote: post #88
matchu wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what makes this abuse. Curating the content you serve isn't just okay ; it's one of the key value propositions of a search engine. The problem is when a content provider, for whatever reason, intentionally curates in a way that provides less value to the consumer.

So what about an OS vendor that "curates" a particular default browser and destroys a competing browser provider in the process? I seem to remember that happening a few years back. It's not so much the curating that's the problem, nobody would care if Duck Duck Go did it, the problem is with the regulators that view Google to be the only curator out there.

The problem in the Microsoft case was use of near-monopoly in one market (operating systems) to gain unfair advantage in another market (browsers), though even that seems a bit outdated already since the idea of shipping an OS without a browser built-in seems ludicrous today.

In any case, that concept of using monopoly power in one market to bolster power in another doesn't really apply here with Google.

I share a lot of the unease many people have with the amount of power Google has been able to amass as the de factor curator of the Internet, but I'm also somewhat amazed they are in the position they are in and have been as (mostly) benevolent as they have been. I suspect it is actually pretty hard work just to remain somewhat close to neutral when you are sitting on that much power.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#168

Post by bradgessler »

Content publishers have created a really bad situation for themselves on the web from these types of ads, slow Javascripts, and other "ad tech" excesses.

Apple is responding with ad blocking technology and a news app. Facebook has responded with articles that load quickly from their apps. These solutions represent an existential threat to the open web, and therefore Google.

I really hope Google doesn't just stop at app ads, and starts punishing websites that do objectively horrible things to end-user experience.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#169

Post by xiaoma »

jacquesm wrote: post #37

Does that mean they'll block youtube? Try playing a video on a phone that does not have the youtube app installed, it's just about impossible to get it right, it's a roulette that's rigged with more than half the links going to the youtube app page on google play. Highly annoying since there is no reason why the youtube page of some video should even have that app installation link at all.

I sure hope so. Google has been a pretty bad offender across the board as far as pushing users to install their mobile apps: https://twitter.com/mdudas/status/638792939842469893/photo/1

Even more extreme is that every single time I click a link in a hangouts chat on iOS, it asks me if I want to download Chrome.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#170

Post by ianlevesque »

dizzyviolet wrote: post #142
cm2187 wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My personal solution is to install the app, give it a very bad rating with the reason why I am pissed off as a comment and delete the app.

Ohhh. I like that idea. I'm going to start doing that.

Your installs are improving their App Store ranking anyway though!
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