Microsoft Tightens Relevancy And Quality Requirements In AdCenter

Microsoft has announced changes that tighten up its adCenter Relevancy and Quality policy for ads served to the U.S. and Canada.

Changes are set to take place tomorrow, August 31, though the company says it won’t begin enforcing the changes until the next week or two, giving advertisers a chance to make changes, if needed, to comply.

The company has expanded how it defined relevancy, noting that users should find your landing page a “satisfactory destination” based on the keyword they used. Specifically, keywords should relate to the range of products, services or content on the landing page. Alternatively, keywords should directly relate to the “general content, purpose and theme of your site.”

Additionally, the company has strengthened its rules for landing pages and sites, indicating that the pages shouldn’t be primarily focused on displaying advertising or redirecting to other businesses without providing significant value. Landing pages and sites also shouldn’t require users to enter personally identifiable information (PII) unnecessarily, delay access to desired pages, or employ certain types of marketing tactics. Sites may also not redirect visitors unexpectedly to unrelated domains.

Microsoft said it would also exclude Marketplace sites that deceive users as to the origin of their content or try to trick people into sharing PII.

The full content of the policy is here.