Ad Block. Why i think Ad-Block is a great invention.

[Stuart Wright]

People have a right to use adblockers if they want, so long as they disable them for the websites they use regularly.
If people visit and get use out of a website then they should allow ads. Otherwise that's leaching.

 

[Daniel Hood]

I've never used an ad blocker and I've never had a problem with ads. If I go to a site and have a problem with their ads, I don't go back. I also think it's fair to the owner to display ads since they put a lot of time and effort into their site. If it becomes invasive or an issue they'll lose their following. If they can find a balance that doesn't bother the user and makes themselves happy, then let them be.

 

[Dragapult]

Unobtrusive, text-based ads do not annoy me. Keyword: "unobtrustive." Extremely loud, bright, pop-up or banner ads is why I have to still use Adblock.

 

[Daniel Hood]

Unobtrusive, text-based ads do not annoy me. Keyword: "unobtrustive." Extremely loud, bright, pop-up or banner ads is why I have to still use Adblock.

You don't "have" to. Display ads also don't bother me pop ups are another story. If I got pop ups I'd stop visiting that site or very obstructive banners.

 

[Hentai]

Nowdays the IAB has really been pushing their "Rich Media" add format that includes pop-over content, auto-play audio, and loud and flashy video. These "Rich Media" ads are a disservice for all webmasters and I believe shows disrespect toward ones users.

That being said I am loving ABP's new "Allow some non-intrusive advertising" allowing the best of both worlds. Users can view ads and support sites they like and block all the "Rich Media" shenanigans that has been catching on recently.

 

[AzzidReign]

As forum owners, we need to find ways to give better value to our advertisers and our users. IMO, advertisers need to start sponsoring content. What I want to start doing is give advertisers the ability to post a thread promoting their product(s), giving discounts to our users, etc. That way, that content cannot be blocked by adblock, it gives exposure to the advertiser, allows interaction between their customers/potential customers, and allows the members to interact with the companies that they buy from.

Could just be me...but I think that is a huge source of revenue we, as forum owners, can be tapping into.

 

[FredC]

I only ever just served text ads. Because traditionally they always got the most clicks.. However google has been pestering me to try rich media and I bit. Ad revenue plummeted.

 

[Wildcat Media]

That pisses people off. If you don't want sign-ups, go ahead and install that. I recently read a report of how less than 6% of the internet populous uses ad blocking software.

I wonder how accurate that report is. Check this out.

Across all of my sites and servers, I'd noticed my VigLink totals were running lower than normal. Turns out the ad blocker list (EasyList, I think?) and one of the others they maintain were blocking VigLink code. If you are not aware, VigLink serves no ads whatsoever--they monetize links, and you can also enable link insertion. Maybe in some remote way someone considers that an ad, but I don't. Yet some overzealous individuals got their way and it was added to the lists.

I'm not a charity, and without income, I start closing sites down. I've already closed half a dozen in the past few years due to lack of income from them--all of my sites need to earn their keep. Ad blockers do nothing but hurt smaller publishers like me. Since banner ads and interstitials are so distracting, I chose to use link monetization. It pays the bills without adding "junk" to my sites.

Anyway, I found a way to change my VigLink code (it's proprietary--I can't give it out) so that it circumvents the ad blockers. And guess what? My VigLink revenues jump up anywhere from 25-35%, back up to where they should be. That tells me that more than a few members, certainly more than 6%, use ad blockers. It does depend on the type of site you operate, though. A general interest site, yeah, it may have 6% of users running ad blockers. But on a site that attracts tech savvy users, I would bet it's much, much higher.

Having said all that, I use an ad blocker myself. Many of the big media sites (*ahem* c|net *ahem*) have made their sites so drenched in ads that they are like trying to pay attention to one clown in a three-ring circus--there are way too many distractions. The ad blocker makes sites like that tolerable.

 

[BirdOPrey5]

Please, think of the kittens.

 

[z3r010]

I wonder how accurate that report is. Check this out.

Across all of my sites and servers, I'd noticed my VigLink totals were running lower than normal. Turns out the ad blocker list (EasyList, I think?) and one of the others they maintain were blocking VigLink code. If you are not aware, VigLink serves no ads whatsoever--they monetize links, and you can also enable link insertion. Maybe in some remote way someone considers that an ad, but I don't. Yet some overzealous individuals got their way and it was added to the lists.

I'm not a charity, and without income, I start closing sites down. I've already closed half a dozen in the past few years due to lack of income from them--all of my sites need to earn their keep. Ad blockers do nothing but hurt smaller publishers like me. Since banner ads and interstitials are so distracting, I chose to use link monetization. It pays the bills without adding "junk" to my sites.

Anyway, I found a way to change my VigLink code (it's proprietary--I can't give it out) so that it circumvents the ad blockers. And guess what? My VigLink revenues jump up anywhere from 25-35%, back up to where they should be. That tells me that more than a few members, certainly more than 6%, use ad blockers. It does depend on the type of site you operate, though. A general interest site, yeah, it may have 6% of users running ad blockers. But on a site that attracts tech savvy users, I would bet it's much, much higher.

Having said all that, I use an ad blocker myself. Many of the big media sites (*ahem* c|net *ahem*) have made their sites so drenched in ads that they are like trying to pay attention to one clown in a three-ring circus--there are way too many distractions. The ad blocker makes sites like that tolerable.

That 6% is way off the mark, on my sites it's around 25%, you can measure the impact on your sites with the basic setup @ http://pagefair.com/

 

[OSS 117]

6% of the internet populous is a very large number. If you use your forums as examples, of course it'll be higher. It's extrapolation of data. Your 1,200 active member strong forum may as well be a droplet from a spritzer in comparison, assuming this 2.4B figure is accurate. 144.3M people using adblocking software in that case. I doubt any site has that many active members.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

 

[rdn]

I only ever just served text ads. Because traditionally they always got the most clicks.. However google has been pestering me to try rich media and I bit. Ad revenue plummeted.

It's not on mine:

 

[Sador]

6% of the internet populous is a very large number. If you use your forums as examples, of course it'll be higher. It's extrapolation of data. Your 1,200 active member strong forum may as well be a droplet from a spritzer in comparison, assuming this 2.4B figure is accurate. 144.3M people using adblocking software in that case. I doubt any site has that many active members.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

To add on this, average % does not mean this percentage will be the same around all subgroups.

For example, if 80% (made up number) of the world has access to the internet, this will likely be a lot higher in the US or Europe than it will be in some poor country in Africa. This does not mean the average percentage is incorrect.

Adblock will likely be used a lot more often by more tech savvy people. So if your website is about a technical subject, chances are good that your visitors will be more likely to use adblock than if it were about something more mainstream. In addition to that, forums generally already attract more people that know their way around the internet, thus having a higher chance to have something like adblock.

Anyway, in my previous jobs I've talked to plenty of people that think "the blue internet icon" is the only possible way to reach the internet and wouldn't be able to understand how to install or use Firefox or Chrome if their life depended on it (or how to reach a website without typing it in google), so the percentage makes sense to me.

 

[SilverCircle]

6% of the internet populous is a very large number. If you use your forums as examples, of course it'll be higher. It's extrapolation of data. Your 1,200 active member strong forum may as well be a droplet from a spritzer in comparison, assuming this 2.4B figure is accurate. 144.3M people using adblocking software in that case. I doubt any site has that many active members.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

6% is maybe a good guess for an overall average. If you're running a IT-tech oriented site, you're more in the 50-60% range of adblock users. A relatively popular german site that targets IT professionals and software developers once published that about 68% of their regular users were using adblock.

It's not the users fault though, the ad publishers should re-think their strategies. If there were only text-based ads, I would stop using adblock right now. It's the so-called "rich media" crap and other things (like link injections) which I do not want to see, particularly because some of these things *can* be dangerous.