Ad blocking: How can marketers work around it?

Marketers spend a lot of time creating and designing great adverts and giving them the visibility needed to reach big audiences; however, ad blocking softwares are getting more and more popular, hindering your chances of getting your ads seen. Let’s see how marketers can face this issue.

Who uses ad blocking and why?

Ad blocking is used for a variety of reasons, amongst which are security concerns and frustration at interruptive ad formats. Speed issues and the opinion that there are too many ads online are also popular reasons, as are privacy concerns and excessive frequency.

Regarding ad blocking in the US, a PageFair study reveals that ads are blocked by:

• 20% of males
• 15% of females

Another study by BI Intelligence looking into ad blocking in Germany found that content targeted at men has higher levels of ad blocking than gender-neutral content. The general consensus is that ad blocking is more commonly used by men.

Ad blocking is most popular amongst the young internet users: they are educated, they have higher incomes, they care about product quality and the brand’s reputation, they are tech-savvy, and they spend money on digital content.

How to by-pass ad blocking

As a great advertiser, it is your duty to ensure that your ads are not irritating or invasive, and that you are providing a relevant and positive experience that prevents your ads from being blocked in the first place.

You can try different tactics, such as ad block walls, which force users to disable their ad blocker before they can enter your website; ad blockers who are not willing to disable their ad blocker would have to leave your website.

The best way to grasp the most determined of ad blockers, however, is to invest time and money in creating quality non-advertising content.

A great content marketing strategy is the best way to retain users opposed to ads of any kind or type.

Ignoring the growing trend of ad blocking would be foolish, especially if your target audience shows ad blocking behaviours: remember that they are a valuable segment of the population and their concerns are valid and have to be taken into account.

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Elin Box

Content Marketing Manager at Webcertain

Elin is a Content Marketing Manager at Webcertain. She is responsible for Webcertain’s Self-learning platform, producing in-depth guides on a range of international digital marketing topics. She also helps run the Webcertain blog and is the writer of the Webcertain search and social report, an annual report summarising digital marketing best practices in over 50 countries. She is passionate about educating and empowering people to make the best decisions for their business and is proud to help share Webcertain’s wealth of digital marketing knowledge with the world. Elin is from the UK.

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