Can Ad Blockers Actually Ruin Online Advertising?

Perhaps the hottest debate in advertising right now centers on ad blockers. Outspoken critics in Utah and elsewhere claim that these services are a cancer, literally killing publishers and media sites while devaluing the entire advertising industry. Others argue that the popularity of ad blockers is a testimony to how intrusive and ineffective online ads have become.

Agency leaders in Utah and elsewhere are considering how to react to the surge in ad blocker use. Can these humble plug-ins really bring the online advertising giant to its knees?

When a consumer clicks on a content link, his or her browser begins a complicated series of operations. Not only must it load the desired content, it also has to communicate with an advertising server, where different companies will bid for space on the page the viewer is about to see. 

This process takes time. It also takes up a lot of bandwidth. Ad blockers make the Internet faster because they subvert the ad bidding process. They ensure that the only thing to load is the desired content. 

Obviously, many Internet users love the service. Most ad blockers are free and easy to install. PageFair reports that 41 percent of Millennials in places like Utah have used the plugins. The same source estimates that Google loses around 6.6 billion dollars to blocked ads every year.

While these numbers look grim, some advertising agency leaders believe the ad block revolution might actually be good for the industry. Patricio Robles, a writer for Econsultancy, argues that websites who force consumers to disable ad blockers are deluding themselves. “…you can't force customers to pay you,” he says. “They have to want to do it, and that usually only happens when you have the right business model.”

If online ads are so hated, are they really that effective at selling goods? Robles suggests that companies should advertise in less intrusive ways. An agency or company might sponsor content on a site, rather than distracting from it with banner ads.

With Apple’s recent announcement that the new iPhone will come with an ad blocking option for safari, it looks like this isn’t a passing fad. As has always been the case, those companies in Utah that are able to adapt will emerge stronger. An agency that remains inflexible in relying on traditional web ads might lose a lot of revenue and suffer.

Can ad blockers really damage the industry? Yes, but only to the extent that the industry refuses to innovate.

 Tanner Wadsworth writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. He writes for many other clients as well. Follow on Twitter