Following Google (http://bit.ly/2GnNhT5) and Mozilla (https://mzl.la/2Z9O6HA) announcements, stating they will operate to reduce Push Notifications spamming in their browsers, there have been many speculations. As of this moment, it is still uncertain who exactly will be allowed to send Push Notifications and who will not. Having said that, after analyzing the announcements, we have constructed for you a list of everything you need to know to give you a better chance to stay on Google’s good side and continue serving notifications to your subscribers.
Am I at Risk?
The immediate “threat” is not to law-abiding publishers who just want to create better engagement with their users and help maintain their websites cost. Sometimes what first looks bad, can actually be a good thing.
“Arbitrage players” are Google’s and Mozilla’s first concern. You know them, those shady companies who switch fake domains every few hours, confuse subscribers and spam them with dozens of ads daily. If you are not one of them, you can relax a little bit and continue reading how to get on Google and Mozilla’s good side.
What can I do?
- First, serve your subscribers with quality content. Yes, it’s sound obvious, and still, many publishers don’t follow this basic rule. Your subscribers are exposed to so many temptations when they are online, when they receive a push from you, it should always be something that gets their attention. Not as clickbait (which will cause them to unsubscribe) but as actual informative content that will give them value.
- Always make sure the content you send is not abusive. It does not contain articles or ads about illicit content or with hurtful language. Remember your notifications can surprise subscribers when they surf the web just shopping for some shoes or maybe even with their families beside them, and abusive content is a highway to unsubscribes.
- Don’t spam your subscribers with ads upon ads upon ads. You might see a spike in revenue for a very short while. But soon after, CPM’s will drop, and you’ll find yourself with less and less subscribers.
- Strive to reach a balance between the number of ads and the number of content notifications you send to your subscribers. Balance is always key. Finding this middle ground is the way to keep CPM’s high, keep the number of subscribers high, and keep Google and Mozilla happy.
The Danger
In the last few years, Google has already received several Billion-dollar fines from the European Union’s Commission for Competition, after they have repeatedly abused their power to conduct anti-competitive moves under the pretense of helping users. Those fines always came too little, too late, after the damage was already done.
This case is no different, using their control over the Chrome browser to determine which site can or cannot engage with its users can hurt and even cripple many publishers. Their claim that the goal is protecting users is fine. However, their history suggests that this is just a step in the way to solidify their power in another field. Since Google does not have a foothold in Push Notifications advertising, it is not crazy to think they will soon ban all ads in Push Notifications. And of course, if they will be fined for it, it will probably be much too late.