Ad blocking tools have become widely pervasive with over 637 million devices using them globally as of 2022. For online publishers, this equates to nearly one third of all website visitors automatically blocking ads.
Resultantly, content creators are bleeding major revenues they depend on to keep operations running. Industry reports estimate a staggering $42 billion was already lost to ad blockers in 2022 alone.
This comprehensive guide covers in-depth techniques available to WordPress site owners to accurately detect such ad blocking visitors and counteract the revenue losses through smart anti ad block strategies.
Understanding the Scale and Impact of Ad Blocking
Before devising solutions, it is vital to grasp the ubiquity of ad blockers across regions and their business impact on publishers.
Ad Blocker Usage Rates Across Countries
The adoption of ad blocking tools has seen exponential growth globally as illustrated below:
| Year | Devices With Ad Blockers |
| 2017 | 284 million |
| 2019 | 426 million |
| 2022 | 637 million |
Region-wise, the highest ad blocking rates across countries are:
| Country | Ad Block Usage Rate |
| Greece | 36.7% |
| Poland | 36.2% |
| Germany | 35.1% |
| Austria | 33.4% |
The global average ad blocking rate currently stands at 29.3%.
Key Reasons Why People Block Ads
The motivations behind rising adoption of ad blocking tools globally include:
| Reason for Ad Block Usage | Percentage of Users |
| Stop intrusive, annoying ads | 63% |
| Faster browsing speeds | 60% |
| Save on data costs | 51% |
| Prevent privacy violations from trackers | 42% |
Irritating and irrelevant ads that disrupt user experience are thus the prime trigger for adoption of ad blockers for most people.
Revenue Losses Faced by Publishers Due to Ad Blocking
The widespread filtering of ads on page visits has direct revenue implications for content creators depending on ads to fund operations.
As per industry analysis,PUBLISHER REVENUE LOSS DUE TO AD BLOCKERSSource: PageFair2022$42 billion2025$100 billion
For individual websites, visitors using ad blockers account for over 30% of traffic typically. So earnings are reduced by almost one third proportionately if unchecked.
Additionally, analytics data also gets misrepresented due to ad blockers. Metrics like lower bounce rates, longer sessions and fewer pages per visit get skewered. This makes understanding true visitor behavior difficult.
Ad Blocker Impact Case Study For Sample Website
To understand the typical revenue leakage for publishers, let us consider an example lifestyle blog with the following stats:
| Monthly Visitors | 100,000 |
| Page views per user | 2 |
| Ad Block Usage | 30% |
| Ad CPM | $10 |
| Monthly Ad Impressions | 200,000 |
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At $10 CPM with 200,000 impressions, monthly earnings is $2,000.
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But 30% visitors use ad blockers removing 60,000 impressions.
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Actual ads seen monthly are just 140,000.
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Real monthly earnings sink to $1,400 losing 30% revenue.
This showcases the direct revenue risks even mid-sized publishers face from ad blocking.
Detecting Visitors Using Ad Blockers
Having understood the ubiquity of ad blockers and their revenue impact, let us cover ways site owners can reliably detect users with active ad blocking enabled.
1. JavaScript Ad Block Tests
JavaScript provides simple yet accurate techniques to reveal if a visitor has an ad blocker installed. This involves creating a dummy test element and checking if it gets hidden by any active ad blocker.
Here is sample code that checks if a div element with ads class gets blocked from view:
var test = document.createElement(‘div‘);
test.className = ‘adsbox‘;
document.body.appendChild(test);
if (test.offsetHeight === 0) {
//Ad blocker detected on this page visit
}If the adsbox test element is successfully blocked, the ad blocker gets caught through the zero height dimension returned.
2. Dummy Ad Call Tests
An alternate approach is attempting a fake ad call and testing if errors occur indicating blocking by an ad block software.
var test = document.createElement(‘div‘);
test.setAttribute("data-ads", "blocked");
if (!test.getAttribute("data-ads")) {
//Ad blocker found blocking Dummy Ad
} Here the DOM element is assigned a dummy ad related data attribute. If an active ad blocker wipes it off, the script deductions reveal the presence of an ad blocker.
3. Traffic Pattern Analysis
Analyzing site traffic data can also uncover signals unique to ad block users such as:
- Higher bounce rates
- Faster page views
- Lower pages per visit
Though more complex to implement, advanced machine learning algorithms can be trained to differentiate between ad blocker and non ad blocker visitor patterns accurately.
4. Server-Side Ad Block Scripts
Dedicated anti ad block scripts can be incorporated in site code to notify admins of ad block enabled visits. Scripts like AdBlock Detector and AdBlock Enforcer prove quite effective.
The process involves showing alternate content to ad blocker visitors, capturing their action flows and blocking page view tracking by them.
Strategies to Address Revenue Losses from Ad Blockers
Armed with the ability to reliably detect visitors using ad blockers, publishers can now apply tactical measures to minimize the resulting revenue leakage.
1. Send Blocker Whitelisting Appeals
A simple yet highly effective recourse is showing personalized messages asking visitors to whitelist the site from their active ad blocker tool for continued access.
For example, a gentle message may be displayed before page scroll is allowed:
We notice you are using an ad blocker that is hurting our ability to fund quality content creation for free readers like you. We humbly request you to consider whitelisting our site from your ad blocker. Thank you for your understanding and support.
The message tones and display formats can be continually A/B tested for maximum whitelist conversions from such personalized appeals. Top performing variants that convert visitors into whitelisted readers can be adopted as the norm.
2. Restrict Partial Content Access
Creating member-only gated content is an assertive tactic publishers employ for unblocking revenues. Selected premium content gets partly shown to ad blocker visitors initially.
Access to the full content requires them to:
- Disable their ad blocker, or
- Pay a small fee to register as a member
A balanced approach here is prudent since completely denying access risks alienating visitors and affecting search engine rankings from lowered user engagement metrics. A fair middle path that gently nudges visitors to comply helps turn most ad block users into earned revenues.
3. Adopt Blockade-Proof Ad Formats
Numerous forms of ads flow under the radar of ad blockers. These include:
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Sponsored Content Articles: Fully branded articles promoting an advertiser’s solution blending seamlessly into surrounding editorial content.
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Native Ads: Subtly promoted third party links formatted to match page design and surrounding text. Designed to avoid standing out.
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In-Image Ads: Logos and branding embedded into relevant photographs and illustrations.
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Interactive Content Ads: Viral polls, quizzes and game formats sponsored by advertisers.
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Audio Ads: Increasingly served on podcasts and music streaming platforms.
Research by native advertising platform Sharethrough found that native ad formats deliver exceptionally higher results across key performance metrics compared to conventional display ads:
| Native Ads | Display Ads | |
| Viewability Rates | 52% | 46% |
| Click Through Rates | 0.8% | 0.1% |
This showcases how alternative ad approaches can compensate publishers even in an ad blocking era.
4. Monetize Through Affiliate Marketing Campaigns
Another emerging stream relatively untouched by ad blockers involves actively promoting relevant third party products and services and earning sales commissions.
Review sites and niche blogs around topics such as web hosting and software solutions are increasingly driving revenues through tailored affiliate programs.
Promoting affiliate offers can be automated using plugins like Pretty Links Pro and Thirsty Affiliates for WordPress which help cloak external links, track clicks and centralize earnings reports.
5. Gather Reader Support Via Paid Subscriptions
To offset advertizing losses from ad blocking visitors, attracting a section of loyal followers into paid subscribers is growing in popularity across news and content sites.
While majority readers still consume free posts, premium subscribers get exclusive value from blocked access to:
- Full profile access
- Downloadable multimedia
- Curated newsletters
- Tools / Checklists etc
Constructing a structured subscriptions model with clear differentiation of free vs paid member benefits allows publishers to gather reader support by exchanging value.
Offering tiered subscription packages aids conversion of visitors per unique contexts:
| Tier | Price | Core Benefits |
| Free Member | – | Limited profile + Basic content access |
| Premium | $5 | No ads + Full content access |
| Pro $9 | $9 | Premium + Newsletters + Checklists |
| Elite | $19 | Pro benefits + 1-on-1 Coaching |
Such structured subscription upgrades entice visitors to willingly block ads and contribute instead for premium services.
6. Seek Direct Reader Contributions
Online creators are also increasingly exploring asking their loyal community for voluntary donations and patron support, which are relatively free of fraud risks seen in ad payments.
Using micropayments, bitcoin tips and crowdfunding campaigns, publishers can get fairly compensated for their efforts directly by consumers.
While most profitable with very niche, specialized or personality-led publications so far, such community funding models offer promise for the wider publishing landscape going forward as well.
Summarizing an Effective Anti Ad Block Strategy
In summary, a holistic gameplan to counteract the revenue drain caused by ad blockers encompasses:
| Tactic | Purpose |
| Identifying ad block users accurately | Flag traffic missing earnings visibility |
| Personalized whitelist appeals | Regain lost impressions |
| Alternative subtler ad formats | Sustain advertiser budgets |
| Affiliate marketing promotions | Compensate ad revenue losses |
| Gated premium content | Incentivize whitelisting / subscriptions |
| Paid subscriptions model | Generate direct reader revenues |
| Seeking patron donations | Fund operations via contributor support |
Publishers leveraging such comprehensive anti ad blocking strategies have successfully recovered over 80% of revenues previously leaking due to unchecked visitors using such tools.
Additionally the alternative streams in affiliated marketing and subscriber funding cultivated significant growth momentum despite the prevalent ad blocking trend worldwide.
Conclusion
This extensive guide covers structured approaches WordPress website owners can adopt to accurately detect visitors using ad blockers and counter their revenue impact using a combination of smart messaging, creative ad formats rarely blocked, paid content models and alternative monetization channels.
Deploying suitable anti ad block scripts, analytics and holistic solutions as covered above empowers publishers to sustain funding high quality free content for the wider public while keeping away disruptive ads and protecting rightful revenues.
With over 600 million active ad blocking users currently, publishers need urgent remedies to close faucets leaking billions in lost earnings. Leveraging the fix frameworks discussed here offers practical recourse.
The publishing landscape going forward calls for revised, blockade-proof monetization architectures centered around consensual value exchange with readers. Detecting those opting out of the value cycle is key before nudging them back in via gentler, contextual solutions.
