3 Important Facts We Need To Acknowledge About Ad Blocking Misconceptions

Ad blocking has become a perk for some internet users and a headache for websites. AdBlock as well as similar extensions and mobile apps have caused a major controversy in today’s online media. Depending on who you ask, blockers are either killing the free web, or saving the digital industry from itself.

Whichever of these two perspectives is the true one, both scenarios are unfavourable for websites, which means much of their valuable, free content can disappear in the near future.

The industry is working hard to prevent this outcome. The Interactive Advertising Bureau has launched the L.E.A.N. initiative to promote unobtrusive, safe, and bandwidth-friendly advertising. This initiative is just one of the steps taken to accommodate the end-users’ demands. However, real progress in this matter depends on the industry’s ability to establish dialogue with its consumers. To succeed in this, we must eliminate two widespread misconceptions that persist in the discussion surrounding ad blockers.

One of these misconceptions is that ad blocking only threatens small, low-quality websites. Another one relates to anti-ad blocking strategies: many people believe that the soft-sell approach is enough for most publishers.

1. “Echo Chambers” Aren’t the Only Ones Affected

According to Monday Note’s Jean-Louis Gassée, ad blocking is only detrimental to the so-called “echo chambers”, the marginally profitable, low-tier sites that repurpose existing content. Bigger publishers, as well as high-quality niche sites, will survive.

After all, if you produce valuable content, someone will pay for it, right?

This logic may look good on paper, but the truth is some top-quality websites have struggled to stay afloat even before blockers compromised their revenues. If you like in-depth tech reviews, you’ve probably heard about Gigaom. In March 2015, the blog became unable to pay its creditors in full and closed down. At that point, it had an audience of 6.4 million monthly readers.

While Gigaom later relaunched as a property of Knowingly Corp, The Dissolve, a high-quality film review site, was less lucky. The acquisitions of The Washington Post and Re/code are additional examples of the same tendency.

2. Softer Anti-Ad Blocking Tactics Don’t Work

Several sources argue that websites shouldn’t fight ad blockers. A proposed softer approach comes down to asking users to disable ad blocking extensions or whitelist websites. Appealing to people's’ morals seems like a sound tactic that is definitely worth trying. However, this approach may prove unrealistic in many cases.

The creators of the content blocking app Crystal claim that 71% of their users would consider whitelisting sites. An anti-ad blocking company PageFair insists only 0.33% actually do this. Keep in mind that both companies get their money from ad blocking, and take both figures with a grain of salt. Still, an important difference is that Crystal focused on opinions, while PageFair analyzed real-life actions.

Another essential detail: Crystal’s poll refers to sites that comply with the “Acceptable Ads” criteria. As acknowledged by IAB, the online advertising ecosystem isn’t ready to produce ads that are fully optimized for user experience, performance, and transparency. The industry will eventually reach this goal, and ad blocking has given it a good reason to evolve faster. In the meantime, site owners will have to look for other anti-ad blocking solutions that will help them pay their bills.

3. Publishers Will Have to Take Action

As of today, publishers have two options. First, they can confront their audiences by either using paywalls or restricting access to content. Second, they can circumvent blockers with technical solutions like dynamic domain switching from Yavli, compensation ad experiences from Sourcepoint, or display ad serving from Epom based on native frames.

The second option leads to an “arms race” with ad blocking companies, so every solution of this type may be temporary. Yet, this approach doesn’t prevent the audience from accessing the content. For this reason, it may work better, especially if used in moderation and combined with unobtrusive advertising formats.

By experimenting with these strategies, publishers will recover at least part of the revenue lost to ad blocking. However, just like with anything in the digital industry, there is no silver bullet. Every solution will have its opponents, so website owners have to test every approach and see if their audience accepts it.