After advertisers were pulling themselves out of YouTube advertising, the video-streaming platform was on fire.
Due to its commitment to police ad-supported contents, the company rolled out updated guidelines that include its focus on hateful contents.
Advertising is YouTube's, and also Google's main source of revenue. For that reason, the company was quick in appealing advertisers confidence.
The first was when Google stops ads from appearing on channels until they reach 10,000 views. This example has made creators to see their ad revenue to decrease dramatically, or fluctuate significantly.
In a blog post on June 1st, 2017, Ariel Bardin, VP of product management for YouTube, said that advertisers have been coming back to YouTube, but realized that the past few months have been difficult for some creators. That day, YouTube added more details and expanded the guidelines for content that can be monetized on the platform.
The company added more types of contents that aren't eligible for advertising. From the screenshot above, the new ones include:
- Hateful content.
- inappropriate use of family entertainment characters.
- incendiary and demeaning.
YouTube also launched a Creator Academy course that explains how to make content appealing to advertisers.
While the reason for the update is for the good cause. Reactions have been mixed. Among the complaints include those that said YouTube to be encouraging "bland content." Some noted that the potential impact of video growth on certain genre, saying that 10,000 views is too difficult.
"We know our systems aren’t perfect and we’re also working to further improve your ability to appeal impacted videos," noted Bardin in his blog post.