Ad Blocking Now

Marina Johnson
Jul 24, 2017 · 5 min read

An Independent POV

Source: Lisa Omarali

Numbers Don’t Lie

Ad blocking has been irritating marketers for years and the industry feels the trend is likely to stay. In a report earlier this year, eMarketer estimated more than a quarter of internet users will be using ad blocking tools by the end of 2017 and speculated an increase to 30% in 2018. With Google’s recent announcement to introduce Chrome-native ad blocker in early 2018, that number is expected to increase even further.

Browsers such as Brave and Opera already come with built-in ad blocking technologies, however, they represent only a small portion of internet population. Web traffic analysis site, StatCounter, estimates that Chrome comprised almost 45% of internet browser market share in June 2017 in the United States, making it the single most used browsing tool. Google’s plans of enabling the ad blocker by default makes the threat of revenue loss for publishers very real.

The Annoying Ads

In 2016 HubSpot and Teads presented two separate research studies trying to identify why people use ad blocking software. The majority of respondents in both studies expressed, as expected, that they simply find ads annoying and/or disruptive and pointed to pre-roll (especially non-skippable) and pop-ups as the key formats that turn them to the use of ad blockers. HubSpot study also showed that the older generation is more likely to block all kinds of ads and younger people are more willing to pay for content as well as whitelist websites to access content they like. Many respondents insisted on taking control over their internet browsing experience and ad blocking software allows them to achieve that.

Make Ads Great Again

There are dozens ad-blocking tools available in Chrome Webstore — such as Adguard AdBlocker, Adblock and AdBlock Plus, Fair AdBlocker, AdBlocker Ultimate to name a few. Google’s newest move to create a proprietary tool to allow users more control over the overwhelming amounts of ads on every digital step they take may be related to several strategic moves — solidifying text based search ad business, their key ad revenue driver, eradicating auto playing video ads, thus steering towards user initiated content, removing 3rd party content recommendations and potentially just making web experiences smoother, faster and somewhat more enjoyable for users.

Some might speculate that Google is becoming a sort of digital ad police, deciding which publishers are using sneaky methods to drive revenues and skew internet landscape. However, the company itself positions this move as an attempt to build a better web experience for everyone. Instead of forcing users to block all ads completely, it would try to enhance the user experience by aligning with industry group Coalition of Better Ads efforts to improve ad standards online. The key ad formats that are to be attacked on desktop include pop-ups, auto-playing videos with sound, “sticky” ads that take up more than 30% of the screen and prestitials with countdown; and additionally, on mobile the list extends to flashing animated ads and full screen scrollover ads. Google is promising to police their own ads that appear in these environments.

AdBlock Plus, one of the most popular ad disabling extensions, charges to become part of “Acceptable Ads” program and in turn allow search engine ads powered by Google pass through filters. Chrome ad blocker will also allow publishers to enroll to Funding Choices program, which allows publishers to make a case to internet users why they should whitelist their site to avoid ad blocking or pay for a subscription.

What Does This Mean for the Industry?

The clients and agencies are already requesting estimates of the scale impact Chrome ad blocker might bring. The ad formats listed as the biggest offenders are not likely to include any of premium ad products, however, it is still unclear what detection methods Google will use. While Chrome ad blocker will shake up the industry combined with already popular Ad Blocking tools it will lead path for users to surf the web ad free and possibly shift to subscription based services.

As a possible “hack” to ad blocking, Server-Side ad insertion (SSAI), also known as server-side stitching, might work as a temporary solution. It allows publishers to stitch content and ads on the server side, thus allowing bypass browser or device-level integrations, as well as create video streaming a more seamless experience. Several companies, including Ooyala and Verizon Digital Media Services already offer this solution.

The key takeaway is clear — users feel overwhelmed by the intrusiveness and prevalence of ads. Various ad-blocking tools that serve more like ad filtering software rather than complete eliminators are only going to become more popular, regardless of Google’s Chrome default ad blocker. The solution is already available — guide clients and advertisers to promote their products and services smarter rather than louder. Offering and demonstrating the value of Premium Products — Branded Content Syndication, custom Sponsorships, Native units and brand partnerships — is a strong next step. The quality over quantity is what allows higher efficiency and stronger performance for campaigns overall and provides investment and room for innovation.

Sources

eMarketer.com — Ad Blocking in the US: eMarketer’s Updated Estimates and Forecast for 2014–2018 report

https://www.betterads.org/standards/

http://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/all/united-states-of-america/#monthly-201706-201706-bar

https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-plans-ad-blocking-feature-in-popular-chrome-browser-1492643233

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/06/05/google-says-its-chrome-ad-blocker-will-lead-to-better-ads-but-some-see-a-self-serving-ploy

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/19/google-said-to-be-planning-a-built-in-ad-blocker-for-chrome/

http://mashable.com/2017/05/10/can-ad-blocking-save-the-ad-industry

https://www.betterads.org/coalition-for-better-ads-releases-initial-better-ads-standards-for-desktop-and-mobile-web/

https://adexchanger.com/tv-and-video/server-side-stitching-publishers-bypassing-ad-blockers-avoiding-video-latency/

https://blog.google/topics/journalism-news/building-better-web-everyone/

https://research.hubspot.com/reports/why-people-block-ads-and-what-it-means-for-marketers-and-advertisers

http://info.teads.tv/hubfs/+Global+/Downloads/Teads_Research_Why-People-Block-Ads_EN_Global_Final.pdf

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