This is a guest post by Syed Faizan Ali
AdBlock is a simple but effective add-on for web browsers that allows users to disable ads on your WordPress site. This can hurt you by reducing your earning potential. If you are interested in stopping people from using Adblock, then you have arrived to the right place. In this article, I will show you how to detect and deal with people using AdBlock while viewing your WordPress site.
How AdBlock Can Hurt You
No doubt Adblock brings a cherished experience to users, but for bloggers it can be a big headache because it uproots their source of income i.e. advertisements, affiliates, etc. Most bloggers are passionate about their work however at some stage in their life they think about turning their passion into profits. In other cases, some folks start their blog to earn money. In either case, if advertisement is your biggest source of revenue, then you can potentially lose a portion of your income due to AdBlocks. A lot of blogs shutdown due to low or no income, but I’ll leave that debate for another time.
How to Identify if your users are using AdBlock
There is no straight forward way to figure out if your users have adblock on. One of the ways to find out is if your blog has a lot of traffic, but your ad impressions are showing otherwise. The next sure-fire way to figuring it out is by redirecting a user with ad-block or showing them a specific image. Tracking the views of either the redirected page or replacement image will give you a clearer picture.
How to Deal with users with AdBlock?
There are few approaches that you can take to deal with ad-block. Each has their pros and cons.
The Do-Nothing Approach
As the title says, you do nothing about the users with ad-block. You simply learn to live with a loss of revenue for the sake of happy users.
Passive Approach
This is something a very popular site like Reddit does. They offer their users an ad-free experience for a small monthly fee. You can do this by adding a text link to your site below your ads saying want an ad-free experience? If the user clicks on that, they will be taken to a page where you can explain the details. See Reddit Gold page for example.
Aggressive Approach
In this approach, you simply block the site for users unless they disable adblock for your site. You can do this in a nice way by explaining to the user how it is hurting your revenue. Sometimes a gentle nudge can solve the issue. You can suggest them to get the ad-free experience like I mentioned in the Passive Aggressive approach. Alternatively, you can force them to disable adblock by simply locking them out of the website.
Now that you know of the various approaches to dealing with users with adblock, let’s look at how we can do this.
Using A WordPress Plugin To Disable Adblock
By using No Adblock for WordPress you can force your visitors to disable their AdBlocker browser plug-in if they wish to get access to your site. Remember, no matter how big your audience is, this does have a potential of a backlash. However, if you do this the “right way” by asking your users politely, this can be an effective technique.
Installation:
Step 1: In-order to restrict your users from using AdBlocker you need to install “No Ad block” plug-in which will give a friendly message to those visitors who are using AdBlocker. So the first thing you need to do is to install and activate No AdBlock for WordPress.
Step 2: Now you will be able to see “No AdBlock” on the left side of your WordPress Admin Panel, just select it and carry on to the next step.
Step 3: Now you need to customize the settings of your “No AdBlock page” which would guide users as to how they can access to your blog. Remember to fill in each and every detail by yourself otherwise it will not show the text correctly.
- Title: Write a purposeful title of your Ad Blocker Page to notify your readers that they are hurting your potentials.
- Description: To convince your readers you need to motivate them by writing an impressive author’s note. It may be a good idea to share some facts that will motivate them to disable ad blocker.
- Agree/Disagree: If they agree to disable their Ad Blocker then this will give access to your blog but if they disagree then you can redirect them to the specified URL.
Giving Gentle Nudge: If you don’t want to lose your significant traffic but still desire to warn those visitors who are using AdBlocker, then go to No AdBlock » Choices » and Check it. This would give a small nudge to visitors and will ask them to disable their AdBlocker, but it will not force them to disable AdBlocker in-order to get access to your blog.
Download No AdBlock for WordPress
I absolutely see the point that website owners want money for the content they generate and share. For me as a user it all comes down to having the choice. I really dislike website ads because they are intrusive, aggressive and break my focus. It’s not just about “don’t click on them”. There is a reason why they are the way they are and they’re hard to ignore. Having said that: I’m willing to pay for good content. Make reasonable prices, plus give me the option to spend my money easily (without having to go through yet another registration loop) and I will if I like what you have to offer. Going with ads is a completely different beast – You’re selling the ones who You claim are Your customers. Think about it.
Hi, we have a blog for an eCommerce Site,
We do not have external ads but we have ads with info and internal promotions only for our products. We show the ads by creating slideshows with WooThemes – WooSlider plugin.
I noticed that Firefox adBlocker blocks some of the slideshows and some not, we can’t figure out the reason. in general, the slideshows should not be considered as ads and we try to figure out why they are being blocked and how we need to change them in order to prevent that from happening?
The best way to do it would be to use static images. Those will NOT be blocked.
This wouldn’t work on me really, for I don’t just use AdBlock by itself, but I have at least three other blocking methods in place…
Good concept otherwise, If it was my site, I too would go with the “Do Nothing” approach. I don’t use ads on any of mine anyways. (Just google Analytics)
I have heard a lot of arguments about how anyone asking politely about Adblock should be boycotted, but most people running Adblock have no idea they are missing the ads that would otherwise be showing, so why would they ever turn the ads they don’t know they are missing on, to then click on them?
Also, if it is unique content, then the user who wants the info FOR FREE can damned well at least see it how the designer wants it seen. It is the same as a “No shirt, no shoes, no service” policy, except at an otherwise free bar!
The moment a webpage implements this plugin I’ll stop visiting it, If I like a page I can disable adblock on it or whitelist (enable) some of the advertisements on it. But the moment the owner decides he have the right to decide that I have to look at his advertisements or have some/all the content of the page hidden I’d rather leave the page than agree to his demands.
I’m a webmaster for a living. You’re employing the threat “Do what I want or I won’t come back”. I get this every day. It’s not a very potent threat since you’ll use my resources and I won’t get a dime for my trouble.”
My attitude when I get this attitude is “OK bye”. I’m not blocking adblock users yet, but I probably should be.
Even as a blogger who is relying on ad dollars to keep the site afloat, I tend to agree. It’s an overtly aggressive move which stands in stark contrast to the clear social current that is developing on the web. A better solution would be some manner of ad replacer which detects adblock. Then, instead of disabling it or hassling the user outright, would display a “we run on ad dollars, please consider helping out by disabling adblock” message in the same space the ads would have been. This way, the user still gets access to the site, the owner doesn’t come off as a pompous ass (whether or not that image is true doesn’t really matter, first impressions are everything), and you’ve done it in a way that does not disturb the delicate balance of readership and net culture.
hi i am using adblock. but i see a site where i still can see ads. how is that possible. i see adf links on that site.
Chances are because that site doesn’t use scripts or frames to show ads. If we add a simple HTML image/link, ad blockers won’t be able to block it in most cases.
Thanks for the share Syed. Is it SEO friendly? How bots will look at that redirect?
It’s a JavaScript redirect. Most bots shouldn’t be affected by it.
Another option might be to find alternate/additional revenue streams beyond ads.
Yes that is a very good suggestion. Except there will be times when you just can’t find alternative methods.
I’ve been a webmaster since the thing started. There are no viable alternative revenue streams. Adblock costs me enough to come close to putting me out of business.
Kevin
retrovision.tv
Nice article Faizan.
Why I don’t use it is because I think such users who use adblockers, are quite aware with ads. They won’t click in normal conditions.
After reading this write up I am thinking to consider this handy plugin !
Yes that is true Ahmad. Most won’t go for clicking on adsense ads or untargeted advertising.
Congratulation on clear instruction on how to set up this plugin.
I don’t watch commercial television largely because of being forced to watch advertising. Any website that forces me to ingest advertising as a condition for access I won’t patronize either. In my view a user should have full control over their own experience, including the option to block ads.
It should be all about serving the visitor, and not the other way around.
Hey John,
On our websites, we go with the “do-nothing” approach. We believe that users should have the option to do whatever they like. This article was written by a guest blogger who clearly explained all the approaches first.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
If you go into a store and buy nothing, will they give you service? No. It’s the same thing with blocking ads on the internet.