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Google To Penalise Sites With Pop-up Adverts

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pop up adverts

By Dipo Olowookere

Websites which have intrusive pop-up adverts will start getting the wrath of Google, the company has disclosed.

However, this will take effect from January 10, 2017.

Google said it is updating the algorithms used to rank its search results so that offending pages are more likely to get lower placements.

For its part, Google said the move should make using some of its results less frustrating.

“Pages that show intrusive interstitials [elements that cover the content] provide a poorer experience to users than other pages where content is immediately accessible,” it blogged. “This can be problematic on mobile devices where screens are often smaller.”

Google makes much of its money from placing ads on the mobile web. One expert said the company wanted to give users one less reason to use ad-blockers or search within apps instead.

The California-based company gave three examples of practices it wanted to discourage: pop-ups that covered part of the main content when the user clicked on to a page an intermediary webpage that had to be dismissed before the main content could be seen an ad that filled the web browser’s screen so users had to scroll down “below the fold” before they could see the material they wanted Google will, however, make some exceptions.

Pop-ups that alert readers to the use of cookies are still permissible, for example, as are ones that require log-in details to let visitors get behind a paywall.

“Google is one of the largest advertising companies in the world, but it’s in a very different position to Facebook, Snapchat and other global media consumption apps,” said Daniel Knapp, senior director of advertising research at the IHS consultancy. “Google is still very reliant on the desktop and mobile web to make money, and it’s much more difficult to clean up that experience than the native app environments. “That’s why it needs to tighten the screws on everyone with this crackdown.”

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37178470

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Interswitch Supports Push for Vibrant Digital Ecosystem in Africa

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Interswitch

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

One of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, Interswitch, has expressed its commitment to promoting a vibrant digital ecosystem on the continent.

The Nigerian fintech firm reaffirmed this by supporting the recently concluded Google Developer Groups (GDG) DevFest Ibadan, Oyo State.

The flagship conference, which held at the Aweni Arena in Ibadan, brought together developers, tech enthusiasts, and industry leaders for a dynamic day of knowledge sharing, networking, and exploration of cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, and mobile app development.

Now in its fifth edition, DevFest Ibadan has grown in scale and impact over the years, attracting thousands of attendees from across Oyo State and beyond.

Participants enjoyed a variety of engaging activities, including thought-provoking talks, hands-on workshops, and hackathons designed to inspire innovation and foster collaboration.

Interswitch said it threw its full weight behind this programme because of its unwavering commitment to advancing Nigeria’s technology landscape and nurturing the next generation of innovators.

“At Interswitch, we recognise the pivotal role developers and tech communities play in driving innovation across the continent.

“Sponsoring GDG DevFest Ibadan 2024 aligns perfectly with our mission to equip these communities with the tools, platforms, and opportunities they need to innovate, collaborate, and succeed.

“We are committed to promoting a vibrant ecosystem that accelerates Africa’s digital transformation while nurturing the next wave of innovators shaping the future of fintech in Nigeria and beyond,” the Divisional Head for Growth Marketing (Merchants and Ecosystems) at Interswitch, Mr Olawale Akanbi, said.

In her presentation, a Developer Ecosystem Executive at Interswitch, Ms Elizabeth Okaome, highlighted the company’s robust suite of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and their use cases, supported with live demos.

Cutting across payments integration, transfers, bill payments and airtime recharge, identity verification or lending services, Interswitch APIs equip developers with tools to enable secure and seamless online and offline payment acceptance).

Another highlight at the event was the introduction of the Quickteller Business Referral Programme, also known as the ‘5 for 5’ Initiative, which offers developers or any referrer an opportunity to earn 5% commission on Interswitch’s share of every transaction charge, for five whole years, while enabling businesses to thrive.

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Nigerians to Know New Tariffs for Calls, Data, SMS Today

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Telco Operators

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerian will today, Friday, January 10, 2025, know what they will henceforth pay to make calls, send SMS, and browse the internet as telecommunication operators have received the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to raise tariffs.

This will bring an end to the long-term tussle for a hike in tariffs, which telcos wanted to be at 100 per cent, but the Nigerian government rejected.

Industry sources have shared with the media that the new tariffs will be announced by the NCC on Friday.

on Wednesday, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijan, at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, said the NCC would come up with modalities for tariff adjustment in the telecoms industry.

“We’ve look at a number of things in terms of how to ensure that can meaningfully contribute to the development of Nigeria.

“Some of those things include implementing the Executive Order around ensuring that we can protect infrastructure around telecoms, driving up significantly local content and importantly, ensuring the sustainability of the companies themselves that as we see inflation across the world that telecommunications companies, we don’t run them down but we allow them to continue to be sustainable so that they can contribute to our economy.

“You have seen over the past weeks that there has been agitation from some of these companies to increase tariffs, requesting for 100 per cent tariff increase. This is not something that as a government we will be able to subscribe to at the minute,” he stated.

Recently, the chief executive of MTN Nigeria, Mr Karl Toriola, said in an interview that although operators have put forward the 100 per cent suggestion, he doubts that the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), would accept.

“Now, we’ve put forward requests of approximately 100 per cent and type increases to the regulators,” he said.

The operators have also said the sustainability of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria needs to be addressed, if not, it could negatively impact Nigeria’s economy.

Mr Toriola’s counterpart at Airtel, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, in an op-ed published by this newspaper said it was needed to acquiesce to the proposed tariff adjustments in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector while unlocking significant benefits for Nigerian consumers.

“For over a decade, tariffs have remained static despite the dramatic increase in operating expenses, which have surged by over 300% in the last 18 to 24 months alone,” he wrote.

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FG Rejects Proposed 100% Tariff Hike in Call, Data Services by Telcos

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Nigerian telcos

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The prices of calls, data and others will not be increased by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria by 100 per cent as being proposed, the federal government has assured citizens.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, after a meeting with the operators on Wednesday in Abuja, however, said Nigerians should expect to pay more for call and data services very soon to keep the operators afloat, especially due to rising cost of doing business in the country.

The telcos had asked the government for permission to increase tariffs by 100 per cent because the current rates were no longer sustainable.

The chief executives of two of the leading operators in Nigeria, MTN and Airtel, said they would want tariffs to be raised by 100 per cent to guarantee qualify service delivery.

Operators in the sector had warned that if the rates were not raised by the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), they may begin to ration their services across the nation to remain in business.

“You have seen over the past weeks that some of these companies have been agitated to increase tariffs. They are requesting a 100 per cent tariff increase.

“But it will not be by 100 per cent; the NCC will soon come up with a clear directive on how we will go about it.

“We want to strike the balance as a government, to protect our people, but also protect and ensure that these companies can continue to invest significantly,” Mr Tijani said yesterday.

“As a country, over time, we have left these investments in the hands of the private sector. They typically invest where they can see returns in the short to medium term.

“We will not want this conversation to just be about tariff increase. What the world is talking about today is meaningful connectivity; people want to have access to quality service.

“A part of it that the consumers may not be aware of is the investment that needs to go into the infrastructure that is used to deliver these services,” he noted.

On his part, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Mr Aminu Maida, said, “We have looked at all of these factors, and that is why, as the Minister said, it is not likely that we are going to approve a 100 per cent tariff increase.

“I know that Nigerians are agitated to hear the exact percentage approved. We are still going through some stakeholder engagements, but you will hear from us within a week or two.”

“We are moving away from the regime where you will have a main rate, then you will now have a bonus which is at a different rate.

“It makes it often complicated and difficult for Nigerians to actually understand what they are being charged for. There is this agitation that the MNOs are stealing our data,” he added.

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