Adblock user study: adblockers are open to new value exchanges - including paying for monthly ad-free subscriptions to support the sites they visit.
The relationship between users and websites has become increasingly difficult to forge with the exponential rise of adblocking. With nearly one-third of internet users in the U.S. employing an adblocker, Publishers who rely on advertising revenue to operate have found it increasingly challenging to continue delivering free content. Many of theses publishers are turning to various solutions tackling this issue of content monetization with the hopes that users will remain inclined to continue supporting them.
The Problem
The biggest problem adblockers cause for publishers is the complete removal of advertising revenue. While this is obvious to site owners, many users are unaware how their adblocking software is slowly crippling these websites, and some adblockers block Google Analytics tags as well.
However, through a recent adblock user study sent to 5000 we find that the majority (76%) of ad block users agree that publishers have the right to earn revenue to support the content they publish.
For more information on Adblock Revenue Recovery, Getting Started, and Best Practices, see our comprehensive Adblock Revenue Recovery Guide.
As a follow-up question, we then asked if adblock users were willing to offer alternative value in exchange for an ad-free experience from the sites they regularly visit.
It's clear adblock users are willing to support their favorite websites, and many will whitelist a website when asked, however some users would rather demonstrate their support through alternative means. Publishers need to engage these users to determine a new value exchange beyond advertising that fits within their KPIs. Adblock monetization should applies across the visitor journey, from whitelisting to open up the full ad stack, to ad-lite experiences, and for repeat visitors, paid subscriptions, email newsletter signups, push notifications and social follows. In fact, adblock users may be optimal for subscriptions in some cases.
This new method of creating a relationship with the user while simultaneously providing something useful to the content owner is what many speculate to be the future of consumer interaction on the internet, and this gives publishers a diverse range of options when it comes to expanding their business. It also deepens the publisher-to-visitor relationship, and can build first party data to give publishers more control. For a comprehensive look at adblock recovery, anti adblock, best practices, and FAQ, see this Adblock Revenue Recovery Guide.
Check out this article to learn more about Admiral's free Adblock Analytics dashboard. For more adblock user survey results from Admiral's Adblock Research Panel, please feel free to contact Michael Yeon, VP, Marketing at: michael@getadmiral.com
