Google is revising one button on YouTube that could lead the company to make more money
You know that feeling. You have your eyes focused on your handset with the YouTube app open and you're looking forward to watching a video (don't forget to subscribe to the PhoneArena YouTube channel-shamless plug over). Before the video starts, you are waiting for the "Skip ads" button to appear so you can tap it. A survey of 1,015 adults conducted by ORC International revealed that 90% of the "pre-roll" ads (the ones that you see before a video) are skipped while overall 65% of YouTube ads are also skipped.
Google doesn't charge an advertiser for an ad that is skipped by a YouTube user. Besides Google, a skipped ad means that the content creator also does not get paid. Many YouTube users are now programmed to hit the "Skip ads" button in the first micro-second after it appears on the screen. According to Search Engine Land (via 9to5Google), Google is working on a way to make it harder to spot the button and press it although it won't confess that this is the reason for the change.
A YouTube spokesperson told Search Engine Land, "We’re testing an update to the design of the 'Skip Ads' button across all platforms. Our goal is to provide a more consistent user experience in line with the updated look and feel on YouTube we announced last year." The new design for the button includes the following features:
- A reduction in the size of the text.
- A background with reduced opacity.
- A button that is curved instead of a rectangular box.
- Using 'ads' instead of 'Ads' in the text.
In the slideshow embedded with this article, you can see a comparison between the current "Skip Ads" button and the new revised one. While Google says it is updating the button for consistency, the redesigned "Skip ads" button blends in more with the background and is smaller possibly making it harder for some users to find. This could lead to an increase in the view rate for ads on the streaming video platform which Google would like to see as it could result in more YouTube ad campaigns. The bottom line? Fewer YouTube users stopping the ads before they run to the end resulting in more ad dollars for Google.
The new look "Skip ads" button has yet to appear on my iPhone 11 Pro Max running iOS 16.6 and my Pixel 6 Pro with Android 14 Beta 5.1 installed. Has it appeared on your phone?
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