The Challenges Of Ad-Blocking Software
Who foots the bill when ads don’t pay?
Mobile phones and portable devices have become our default gateways to the internet, accompanying us everywhere we go and receiving the majority of today’s web traffic. However, our deeply personal attachment to these devices means the inevitable advertising can feel more intrusive than it would on a TV screen or billboard.
Mobile Ads Galore
As mobile web traffic has soared, so has mobile advertising. This industry is predicted to be worth $135 billion next year, with huge volumes of ads being displayed everywhere from message board forums to apps. While much is legitimate blue chip advertising, a significant percentage of ads are either inappropriate or overly intrusive – such as bandwidth-hogging videos that can’t be closed or muted.
Blocking The Onslaught
The inevitable consumer backlash against intrusive advertising has led to rapid growth in ad-blocking tools. These applications attempt to identify ads from their tracking codes (or by the use of third-party scripts), preventing them from displaying on a recipient’s device.
Unfortunately, some ads still slip through the net, and legitimate content often gets blocked by mistake. Webpages end up full of unsightly gaps or broken links, while the advertisers themselves are unable to get their message across to a percentage of their target audience.
Residents of Far Eastern nations are far more likely to block advertisements, whereas European and North American audiences appear willing to grudgingly accept them. Interestingly, that percentage is considerably lower in Britain than in other countries – 5.8% versus 21% globally. Ad blocking is nonetheless on the rise, which creates a number of major issues.
Survival of the Code
Advertising is rather like water – it finds a way to reach its destination regardless of the obstacles in its path. Just as unskippable YouTube ads evolved because people were bypassing their predecessors, so advertisers will engineer increasingly intrusive methods of getting their messages across if click-through rates are too low. This is already happening with the likes of hover ads and full-screen advertisements, whose irritating nature inspires more people to install ad-blockers. A race to the bottom ensues, and everyone loses out.
Somebody Has to Pay the Check
Perhaps the most significant risk posed by ad blocking software is its erosion of the business case behind many websites, apps and services. Because online content is usually free to view, it’s easy to forget that every article has to be written, edited and published on a paid-for domain.
Multimedia content is particularly expensive to assemble, while app development and maintenance costs can be substantial. If ad revenue can’t pay the wages of the creatives and programmers generating the content, the only real alternative involves payment firewalls and up-front fees – which many of us instinctively resent on the ‘free’ internet.
Tricky Business
The obvious solution to this conundrum is to abolish tacky clickbait ads and offensive adult-oriented banners altogether. Research by the Internet Advertising Bureau has shown that consumers are less likely to object to relevant messages, with companies like Amazon demonstrating how cookie-based marketing can appeal to individuals.
Ironically, Google AdWords is often whitelisted by ad blockers, because its content is usually seen as relevant. Google’s targeted advertising is a model many other advertising firms could – and should – follow.
With an O2 survey last year indicating that people would rather accept ads than pay for content, some service providers have started explaining to their audiences why they rely on advertising in an attempt to reduce the use of blockers. These reputable companies are leading a hearts-and-minds campaign that promises respectable levels of advertising, targeted as closely as possible to match the known preferences of each consumer. As with so many aspects of marketing and advertising, the soft sell is often the most effective approach.