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The Search for Ad-Blocking Solutions Continues

By Tinuiti Team

Many internet users feel frustrated – even angry – by the intrusive amount of native and display advertising. In fact, most people who use ad blockers do so because of annoying or intrusive advertisements, at 64 percent. This is based on HubSpot research.

Other reasons are interference with online tasks, security concerns, poor page load time, and offensive material. Pop-up advertisements are the most disliked online ad type, at 63 percent. People are largely disengaged by these advertisements because they’re unexpected and direct users’ attention away from desired web pages. On top of this, these ads can be very malicious.

Following this ad type is online video ads, including the ones that automatically play. Users are especially distracted when trying to enjoy blog articles or even other videos in the midst of these. So, how are these factors impacting the growth of ad blocking among users?

The growing prevalence of ad-blocking

Let’s put things into perspective. “Adblock Plus, the world’s most popular ad blocking extension, has been downloaded over 500 million times,” says HubSpot. And according to Sourcepoint, most people use extensions like this on the desktop. But content consumption has moved past this space, allowing mobile devices to take the lead.

As a result, the ad blocking ecosystem is trying to keep up with this transition. The goal is to block unwanted native and display advertising of cross-channel activities. For example, Apple and Samsung have added ad blocking capabilities to their mobile devices within the last two years.

How it’s impacting marketers globally

Ad blocking has cost the advertising industry $22 billion worldwide. Back in January 2010, 21 million global desktop users were relying on ad blocking software. Usage has dramatically increased during the following years as online ads gain more momentum.

During January 2015, 181 million global desktop users took advantage of the software. In other words, 160 million people joined the ad blocking revolution. This number grew to 198 million as of June 2015.

With growth like this, it’s no surprise that certain researchers estimate ad blocking will cost global advertisers $27 billion by 2020. Some even say $35 billion by this time. Global publishers are definitely worried about how their native and display advertising will be impacted.

Ad-blocking attitudes gaining popularity among marketers

After surveying 150 international publishers, Sourcepoint learned nearly 70 percent were concerned or extremely concerned about auto-blogging browsers. More than 50 percent were concerned or extremely concerned about carrier-level blocking, which blocks ads at a network level.

Half of the publishers are already witnessing ad blocking rates between 10 and 30 percent across mobile and desktop. About a third of them believe this rate will be between 30 and 50 percent over the next three years.

And about half of the publishers believe ad blocking to be one of the most important problems impacting their business. But most publishers are interested in employing some sort of measure to reduce revenue loss of native and display advertising.

The strength of transparency and display advertising

It’s necessary to practice transparency to cope with ad blocking. This can afford you more respect from internet users regarding your native and display advertising efforts. Let them know your intentions are to serve them with high-quality ads that don’t intrude or annoy.

More than half of the publishers surveyed are likely or extremely likely to implement direct messaging as a means to disable ad blocking among users. More specifically, this would require them to directly message users and tell them ad blockers will prohibit them from viewing content unless removed.

More than 60 percent preferred this method for directing visitors to their site. The further 56 percent prefer this for optimizing social media traffic. Other methods include content locking and whitelisting, but they’re not as popular. Either they are too aggressive or costly.

Most importantly, don’t let the surge in ad blocking dissuade you from optimizing native or display advertising. These marketing areas are highly essential, among others.

For example, display advertising gives you the opportunity to understand the interests of your target audience, based on how they respond. You can feature ads on relevant sites, capturing significant leads and conversions. Also, you can typically enjoy lower marketing costs.

And you can get the best results from us, a marketing team with extensive experience. We understand display advertising has the power to balance retargeting and prospecting for efficient business growth. For more information on how to excel at online marketing, see How to Convert: Top 10 CRO Tips.

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