Adblock monetization is a crucial way to monetize adblock traffic for online publishers and advertisers who depend on ad revenue as a major income source. However, many internet users use adblock plugins to get rid of online ads, which lowers the profits of publishers and advertisers. In 20XX, Adblock tools made publishers lose $35 billion in revenue (PDF download).
Different kinds of AdBlock software or plugins can block various sorts of online ads. Some adblock extensions are more sophisticated and can block intricate ads, while others are simpler and can only block ads like pop-ups or banners.
Publishers need to know how ad blockers work and what adblock monetization entails, as well as some solutions to monetize adblock traffic effectively.
Table of Contents
- How Does Ad Blocking Work
- Ad Blocker Usage
- How Publishers Can Monetize Adblock Traffic
- Request Adblock Users Whitelist Your Website
- Ask Adblock Users for an Email
- Provide Enhanced User Experience
- Implement Adblock Walls
- Include Native Ads or Direct Links
- Insert Ads in Podcasts and Videos
- Place Ads Smartly
- Secure Ad Blocker Whitelisting
- Implement Paywalls
- Frequently Change Ad Formats
- Display Alternate Ad Content
- Final Thoughts
How Does Ad Blocking Work
An ad blocker is a tool that you can install on your browser or device to prevent ads from appearing on a website. It checks the website and its code against a list of unwanted content and hides or removes anything that matches. The list of unwanted content can be customized by the user according to their preferences.
It can block or hide various types of online ads on a site, such as pop-ups, banners, native ads, embedded texts, and tracking codes that may compromise your privacy. By blocking or hiding these ads, an ad blocker can also improve the loading speed and performance of the website.
You can use an ad blocker on different devices like computers, mobiles, tablets, etc. However, this also means that publishers have to constantly find new ways to monetize their content without irritating users with excessive ads. Some publishers may ask the users to whitelist their sites or pay a subscription fee to access their content without ads.
Ad Blocker Usage
The Global State of Digital report reveals that 37% of internet users aged 16-64 have installed ad blockers on their devices to avoid seeing ads when they browse the web.
The report also shows that men are slightly more inclined to use ad blockers than women, with a difference of 5 percentage points (39% vs 34%).
The main motivations for using ad blockers are related to the quality and quantity of ads, as most ad blocker users said that they found ads too intrusive and too frequent.
How Publishers Can Monetize Adblock Traffic
Before we reveal 11 ways for publishers to safeguard their revenue from ad blockers, let’s first comprehend why some people opt to install these tools in their browsers.
The main reason for the widespread use of ad blockers is the overwhelming and intrusive number of ads.
By filtering out ads that are intrusive or irrelevant, users can enjoy faster loading speeds and lower battery usage on their mobile devices. Therefore, user experience should be the main priority for any strategy that aims to monetize adblock traffic.
Request Adblock Users Whitelist Your Website
Appeal to Adblock Users to Support Your Website You may think it’s obvious, but telling your visitors how important advertising is for your business can be a very effective way to get them to whitelist your website.
A study found that about 60% of people who use adblockers understand that website owners deserve to be paid for their work. You need to explain to your visitors how advertising helps you generate income.
If your visitors like your site, they are more likely to disable their adblockers so you can continue creating the quality content they enjoy.
Some solutions in the ad tech industry help publishers deal with ad blocking. These solutions are plugins that you can install on your website. They can detect and bypass ad blockers.
With these plugins, you can ask your visitors to turn off their adblockers if they want to see your content.
Ask Adblock Users for an Email
If you use an ad blocker, you can still access our content by subscribing to our free newsletter. We rely on ads to generate revenue, so we ask you to either disable your ad blocker or pay for a subscription if you want to read our content.
This model works well for publishers who have other ways of making money besides ads. For example, The Washington Post lets you read their content without ads if you sign up for their newsletter with your email address.
This is a good strategy for publishers who have diverse sources of income.
Provide Enhanced User Experience
Users want to enjoy the content without being interrupted by annoying pop-up ads. If the ads ruin their experience, they will not stay on the site for long.
Publishers can improve the user experience by giving them more control over the ads they see. Users should be able to skip, opt out, and dislike ads as they wish. This way, they can avoid irrelevant ads that bother them.
By combining user choice and high-quality content that meets the user’s needs, publishers can overcome the challenge of ad blockers.
Implement Adblock Walls
This method is like using paywalls to limit who can access your content. But it is more forceful. It stops users who have adblock extensions or software on their browsers from seeing your content at all.
To use this method, you need to figure out how to detect ad blockers when someone visits your site.
You can do this by installing plugins or apps that check for ad blockers on a browser and hide the site content from adblock users. They can only see the content if they turn off the ad blocker.
How well this method works depends on how valuable your content is and what kind of website you have. It can work if you are known for creating high-quality content all the time so that users with adblock software feel like they are missing out.
Trying to make money from ad block users can be risky and it only works if you keep creating content that is worth turning off the ad blockers for.
Include Native Ads or Direct Links
Here is a possible rewrite of the paragraph:
You can monetize your adblock visitors by using in-page push ads or direct links within your content, instead of restricting access or requesting them to whitelist your website.
Direct links are URLs that you can easily insert into your content, making them hard to detect by ad filtering tools.
Native ads match the look and feel of your website content and make it more relevant to your readers. They are not intrusive and usually appear as recommendations, promotions, or branded content on your site. For example, a food blog might have a native ad for a bread brand.
You can use native ads in different formats depending on your content and the advertiser’s product. It is a unique way of advertising products and generating revenue without worrying about ad blockers.
Statista reports that native ad spending reached over $50 billion in the US by early 2021 and is expected to grow more. Also, native ads have higher CTRs than traditional ads on your site.
Insert Ads in Podcasts and Videos
Publishers who create videos and podcasts can use a simple yet effective strategy to bypass ad blockers. The ads that are embedded in the video or audio content are not detected by the software or extensions that block ads.
Ad blockers work by screening the ad requests made by a web page and blocking any elements of the page that are on its block/hide list. To block ads in video/audio content, adblock software has to block the entire web page content. This makes video/audio ads more effective than traditional display ads, which benefits advertisers.
By using this strategy, content creators can provide adblock users with high-quality content and still maintain their income.
Place Ads Smartly
An enhanced user experience is vital for monetizing adblock users, as we have already discussed. But another key strategy that can benefit publishers is the choice and location of ads on the webpage.
Adblock users are not opposed to ads if they are relevant, non-intrusive, and match their interests. Many users have discovered new brands, products, and services through ads on web pages.
The reason why consumers install adblock software is not the number of ads, but the quality and placement of them. For instance, a pop-up ad that obscures the content on the website annoys the user.
However, if the ads are compatible with the user’s interest, fit in with the page’s design smoothly and relate to the content, they can be an effective way of showcasing sponsored content and generating revenue.
Secure Ad Blocker Whitelisting
Ad-blocking firms create software that protects users’ privacy and filters out unwanted, intrusive, and annoying ads that ruin the user experience. They do this by blocking sites that are on their blacklist. On the other hand, if a site is on its whitelist, it can bypass its filter.
Some ad-blocking firms charge publishers to whitelist their websites. To get their website domain on the whitelist of these ad-blocking software companies, the publishers need to pay a fee and adhere to certain online standards. advertising standards.
Some ad-blocking organizations have an acceptable ads program that lets publishers show ads that are less disruptive to adblock users. These acceptable ads do not have pop-ups, autoplay audio ads, or any other ad formats that can interfere with the user experience.
Many publishers rely on digital ads for their income, so they often agree to this arrangement because they have few alternatives. However, this strategy may not be the best option for them, so they should carefully consider it before making a final decision.
Implement Paywalls
Some publishers who lose money because of adblock switch to a subscription model, but this only works if your content is valuable enough.
With this method, you can charge users a small fee to access your content without ads, or you can show them some native ads, brand ads, or direct links.
You can attract users by giving them a preview of your content and asking them to pay for the full version. It is better to keep the ads minimal since the user is paying for the access.
Another benefit of this method is that you don’t have to worry about fake traffic, bots, or click spam, which wastes your advertising budget.
Frequently Change Ad Formats
To make money from adblock traffic, you can also try to change your ad formats often. Adblock tools use different methods to detect and block ad content. By altering your ads settings and delivery mode regularly, you can bypass ad-blocking scripts.
But you should keep in mind that adblock companies frequently update their software to provide a better ad-free experience for their users. So, avoiding ad blockers by changing ad formats often is like playing a game of cat and mouse.
That’s why it’s important to stay updated and make relevant changes in your ad formats to beat adblock software.
Display Alternate Ad Content
If you want to earn money from adblock users who don’t want to turn off their ad blockers, you can show them different ads instead of the ones they block. You can use different methods to put these alternative ads on your site. For example, you can use a fixed ad that does not need ad calls to fill the blank space on a web page, or a simple CTA that advertises your products or services. Monetize Adblock Traffic
Some examples of alternative content that can boost your revenue are:
- Using audio ads that can not be skipped to advertise podcasts.
- Advertising Affiliate marketing offers.
- Selling digital products.
- Promoting social media channels.
Final Thoughts
Publishers have been searching for alternative ways to increase ad revenue since 2002 when the first adblock software emerged.
Many websites depend on advertising as their main source of income, but their earnings have been affected by the growing number of users who block ads.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to monetize adblock traffic. You need to experiment with different methods to find out what works best for you.
Get in touch with us today to find out how Alteevity can help you enhance your ad revenue and grow your business!
