Parallel tracking to be required from 30 Oct
One of Google’s initiatives to improve page loading speeds on mobile is parallel tracking, introduced earlier this year for advertisers using click measurement systems. With parallel tracking visitors clicking on an advert are sent immediately to the landing page, leaving the browser to process URL tracking requests in the background, meaning quicker page loading for users.
In a blog post last week, Google announced a deadline of 30 October when parallel tracking, optional at the moment, will become compulsory for all AdWords accounts using a click measurement system.
Google advised AdWords account holders to start consulting with their click measurement providers to ensure everything is ready for the change. Advertisers who have already confirmed that their click measurement system is compatible can opt in to parallel tracking from their account-level "Settings" page in the "Tracking" section.
AdWords to show warnings for accounts using HTTP
Google has long been nudging and encouraging webmasters to migrate sites to the more secure HTTPS, and as previously announced, HTTP sites will be marked “not secure” from July in Chrome.
In its blog post, Google detailed a number of extra steps to help advertisers make the switch:
- Enabled HTTP Search ad clicks to automatically be redirected to HTTPS when we know that your site prefers HTTPS, which we will begin rolling out the week of June 11.
- Launched Ad version history to allow advertisers to update your landing page URLs from HTTP to HTTPS without resetting all of your performance statistics.
- Will start to warn advertisers in AdWords when you’re using less secure HTTP addresses for landing pages, in the next few weeks.
Changes in HTTP / HTTPS labelling in Chrome
With more and more websites moving to HTTPS, Google is changing its labelling in Chrome. In a separate blog post it announced a timetable for dropping the “Secure” label in Chrome and displaying red “Not secure” warnings on more HTTP sites, saying:
"Users should expect that the web is safe by default, and they’ll be warned when there’s an issue.”
From Sept 2018 (in Chrome version 69) Google will stop marking HTTPS sites as secure, making the default unmarked state that sites are secure.
Google will mark HTTP sites “Not secure” from July 2018 (Chrome v. 68).
Google said that up to now, HTTP usage was too high to mark all HTTP pages with a strong red warning, but from October 2018 (Chrome v.70), red “Not secure” warnings will be shown when users enter data on HTTP sites.
For a comprehensive guide to migrating sites to HTTPS see our blog post.
