Google will automatically convert Flash ads to HTML5

Google now offers advertisers the option to convert both existing and new advertisements placed in Flash containers to HTML5. As a result, the ads must now also work on browsers that do not support Flash.

Since September, Google has been offering advertisers the option to show ads in HTML5 format as a fallback when it detects that a browser cannot handle Flash objects. Google has now announced that it wants to automate this process: once an advertiser uploads a Flash ad to the Google advertising platform, it is automatically converted to HTML5 code to be displayed in browsers instead of a Flash SWF object.

The automatic conversion to HTML5 increases the potential reach for advertisers because browsers that do not support Flash can still show advertisements. Google states that most Flash banners can be converted without any problems, but there are also exceptions. To test this, advertisers can manually convert their Flash objects using Google’s Swiffy tool. If this tool successfully converts a swf object to html5, then the automatic conversion on Google’s platform should also succeed.

Google also indicates that it also wants to automatically convert older Flash ads on its Google Display Network to HTML5. The internet giant is working on several fronts to exchange the outdated and insecure Flash from Adobe for HTML5. For example, the HTML5 player has recently become the standard for displaying YouTube clips in most browsers.