Since the advent of online advertising in the mid 1990s, ads have become an integral part of people’s daily online experience.
But while the proliferation of ads has broadened options for consumers, it has also encouraged some advertisers to aggressively seek the attention of target audiences - often, by continually promoting unwanted products. Such use of ads has, unsurprisingly, led to widespread ad fatigue and, more specifically, banner blindness among consumers. It’s also often involved the use of ads to collect users’ data without their consent, which has further undermined the reputation of advertisers.
To combat such aggressive advertising, many consumers have now resorted to ad blocking, which is the use of ad blockers to disable pop-up ads and other digital ads when a website is visited. Ad blockers are browser extensions or apps that prevent ads from appearing on a web page when a user visits a website. By blocking ads, ad blockers afford users a faster and more enjoyable browsing experience, including one where their user data remains safe. Not surprisingly, ad blocking has become popular worldwide, with over 900 million people actively using ad blockers, including nearly one-third of Americans.
But while ad blocking has been a boon for many consumers, it’s been the opposite for many publishers and advertisers. Like other ads, online ads have been - and continue to be - a vital source of income for publishers and advertisers, and their neutralisation by ad blockers has led to significant revenue losses for many businesses. According to Eyeo, one of the world’s major producers of ad blockers, publishers around the world lost about $54 billion in potential ad revenue in 2024, thanks to the use of ad blockers.
Revenue loss, however, isn’t the only problem posed by ad blocking. The disabling of ads on a site by ad blockers results in user traffic that cannot be measured, known as ‘dark traffic’. While consumers may welcome such a development, in a broader sense, it actually works against them, as it makes it harder for advertisers and publishers to link purchases to certain ads and, therefore, to give consumers what they want. The accompanying loss of user behavior data - data that it normally collected through ads - also compounds the difficulty in analysing user behavior to give consumers what they want.
But all is not lost for publishers. With the right ad blocker detecting techniques, along with a respect for users’ wishes to tailor their online experiences, publishers can maximise their revenue by, at the same time, offering audiences the products that they need. This article will outline how to achieve just that. Before we examine the issue more closely, however, it’ll be instructive to learn just how ad blockers actually work.
How do Ad Blockers Work?
Our guide to ad blocking tech covers the basics of ad-blocking, how it works and what publishers can do after detecting ad blockers.
Ad blockers- software that users install to remove ads from their web experience- are more popular than ever, with Statista data showing ad blockers’ penetration increased from 15.7% in 2014 to 27% in 2021 in the US alone.
Adblocking technology has created a virtual tug of war between digital publishers and website users who are resistant to ads in their web experience.
While users have no way of completely rendering ad blockers invisible to publishers, so too, publishers cannot consistently make their websites immune to ad blockers.
For publishers, ad blocking software ultimately leads to a loss of revenue. To calculate the exact financial effect of ad blocking software, digital publishers need the ability to detect when people are using an ad blocker. Once they have detected which users are blocking ads, they can begin to mitigate the damage and recover lost revenue.
This article covers the basics of ad-blocking software, how it works and how site owners can reduce the negative impact of ad blocker technology.
Ad blockers are browser extensions or plugins that disable ads on specific web pages. An ad blocker works by blocking communications to ad servers and then hiding the elements of the web page that are designed to display advertising content. Ad blockers perform this function by referring to filter lists containing the addresses of all known ad servers along with vast sequences of pattern matching rules.
For users who have an ad blocker installed, the space where the ad creative would usually appear will now be simply a blank space.
Ad blockers start working the minute a page starts loading in the browser. When an ad blocker browser extension or plugin is installed on a user’s computer, the ad blocker quickly scans any web page the user navigate for scripts. These scripts are then compared to a database of known ad scripts. If any of the scripts match, these ads will be blocked from being displayed.
While ad blockers are undeniably painful for publishers, the benefits to users are plain to see. Along with reducing page load time, they also remove what are often deemed by users as annoying ads.
If publishers can't find a way to convince web users to stop using ad blockers, how can they best conduct ad blocker detection to ensure minimal loss to revenue and maximum return on investment for advertisers?
Is Ad Blocking Safe and Legal?
In general, ad blocking is safe and legal, with most countries recognising it as a form of user content filtering, the only major exception being China, which banned ad blockers in 2016.
In spite of ad blockers’ widespread legality, however, many publishers try to combat them by employing software that detects ad blockers. When a user’s ad blocker is detected, the software prevents the user from accessing the site’s content until they disable their ad blocker.
Other points worth keeping in mind regarding the safety and legality of ad blockers are:
- Malvertising: Ad blockers can be an effective way to combat malvertising.
- Use established brands: Ad blockers from reputable companies are the best option as they’re likely to be able to handle the latest ad block detectors.
Avoid free blockers: Users should be wary of free ad blockers, as they can often sell user data or even infect a user’s computer with malware.
How Can Publishers Detect an Ad Blocker?
Even if publishers are getting a decent ROI for the advertising efforts, if they are encountering ad blocker extensions- which it is almost certain they are- they are losing valuable marketing revenue. As ad-blocking technology has expanded, so too has anti-ad block technology. There are now several known applications, plugins, and JavaScript codes that publishers can use for ad block detection.
Bait Content
Ad blocking works by placing what is known as 'bait content' within the pages of a website. Although this bait content is invisible to users-often being as small as a pixel in size, this code appears to ad blockers as advertising content. After a web page has finished loading, the ad blocking code checks the properties of the bait content to ascertain whether it is still visible. If the bait content has been hidden, the detection code knows that an ad blocker is active.
A simple example of bait content is as follows:
<div class="banner_ad"> </div>
In the above example, the attention of most ad blockers is drawn to the class name of “banner_ad,” which can be found within most ad blocker blacklists.
For publishers not confident in writing their own script and looking for an easily implementable ad block detection script, the following are readily available online and should easily integrate into their web pages.
How to Check for Active Ad Blockers on a Computer
You can quickly check whether an active ad blocker is installed on your computer simply by looking for the ad blocker icon on the toolbar of your browser. Typically, the icon will be a red stop sign with a white hand in the centre, located in the right corner of your browser’s toolbar.
Depending on the browser you’re using, here a some other ways to check for active ad blockers:
- Chrome/Edge/Opera: Type about:extensions in your browser’s address bar, then press Enter
OR
Click on the three-dots icon in the right corner of your toolbar, then select Extensions from the drop-down menu.
- Firefox: Type about:addons in your address bar, then select Extensions in the sidebar.
- Safari: Click on Safari, then Preferences, then Extensions.
To pin an ad blocker to your toolbar, follow these steps:
- Chrome/Edge: Click on the Puzzle Piece icon in the right corner of your toolbar, then find your ad blocker in the list and click the gray pin icon next to it to turn it blue and pin it to your toolbar.
- Firefox: Click the Puzzle Piece icon or the Menu button, then click on Add-ons and Themes. Then find your ad blocker in the Extensions tab, click on the Gear icon next to it, and select Pin to Toolbar.
How to Check for Active Ad Blockers on Mobile Devices
Given that mobile browsers don’t have a toolbar, users need to check their list of installed apps and extensions. Depending on the device you’re using, follow one of the following procedures:
iPhone/iPad
- Tap the Settings icon on your home screen.
- Scroll down and tap Safari.
- Under the General or Extensions section, tap Extensions (or Content Blockers) to see which ad blockers have been installed on your device.
- Use the switch next to each blocker to turn it on or off.
Android
- Tap the Menu icon (three dots).
- Select Extensions to access the list of installed ad blockers.
Ad Block Detection Scripts
IAB Script
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is an independent, international, research and development consortium comprised of digital publishers and ad technology firms. IAB Tech Lab aims to reduce friction associated with the digital advertising and marketing supply chain. From this mission was borne the IAB ad-block detection script.
The IAB ad-block javascript has been tested on Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari Browser.
Publishers can access the script and all the installation details on IAB’s GitHub page.
DetectAdBlock
DetectAdBlock aims to simplify the process of ad-blocking detection in the following three straightforward steps.
Step 1: Publishers should start by creating a hidden ‘div’ section in a file called “ads.js” and then place it in the root directory of their website, which will look like the following javascript code:
var e=document.createElement('div');
e.id='mnMzPGBywKre';
e.style.display='none';
document.body.appendChild(e);
Step 2: Next, publishers should place their ad block detection code in the HTML source code, above the body code. The express purpose of this code is to detect if “ads.js” exists (ads are allowed) or not (ads are blocked):
<script src=”/ads.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>
<script type=”text/javascript”>
if(document.getElementById(‘mnMzPGBywKre’)){
alert(‘Blocking Ads: No’);
} else {
alert(‘Blocking Ads: Yes’);
}
</script>
Step 3: Finally, publishers can add a message directing to disable the ad blocker and display the ad content in question.
F**kAdBlock
F**kAdBlock is a more formalised ad blocking detection code, developed by the online community also known as BlockAdBlock. Publishers can reference the F**kAdBlock GitHub page for the code and example implementation.
What Publishers Can Do After Detecting Ad Blockers
Around 30% of publishers are now using scripts to detect ad blockers. But where to next? With adopters of ad blockers clearly adverse to display ads, how can publishers navigate this, with the aim of both reclaiming potentially lost revenue while also ensuring not to alienate site visitors?
The answer lies in putting the power back in the hands of the users. Renowned publishers such as Forbes and Business Insider do this by displaying anti ad blocking messages. Anti ad messages pop up in the users’ browser requesting their permission to display ads by agreeing to disable their ad blocker.
Perhaps surprisingly, data shows that the simple fact of handing the choice back to the user, means around 50% of users will agree to disable their ad blocker to view the advertiser’s content.
Alternatives to Anti-Ad Block Technology
With an ever-increasingly diverse digital ecosystem, anti-ad block technology may not be the best option for every publisher. Web admins may want to look at other alternatives to increase marketing monetisation in a post-ad-block world.
Ad Reinsertion
One option available to website owners is ad reinsertion technology. This technology is an emerging method that involves advertisers serving what are deemed ‘acceptable ads’ to browsers actively using an ad blocker. This is perhaps the least ethical anti-ad blocking technology, as it ignores the ‘please don’t advertise to me’ message.
Ad reinsertion also requires ad tech partners to be whitelisted by ad block creators and may need constant updating on the publisher’s behalf for ultimately minimal benefit.
Publift has this technology implemented within our Ad tags allowing for customers to serve Acceptable ads to Adblock users, generating incremental revenue on users that were previously non monetisable.
Native Advertising
Native ads are another effective way to circumvent adblock tech on a website. Native ads are designed to resemble the other content on the website. In this way, in-feed ads are difficult for adblock software to detect, as they match the editorial content in form and function.
Sponsored posts on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are examples of how native advertising can be used to monetise content.
‘Ad Free’ Subscriptions
Publishers and bloggers with content-rich websites should consider offering ‘ad free’ subscriptions. For news sites, their content is their product, so ads are an essential part of their revenue-raising strategy. Offering an ad-free news experience will often appeal to users of these sites, particularly in the mobile environment.
Talk to Users
Finally, publishers should consider simply asking their users to turn off their ad blocking software. By explaining that ads allow the website to continue operating and paying its staff, users will often willingly disable their ad blocker, particularly for websites that offer a superior user experience with free and valuable content.
How Ad Blocking Enhances User Privacy
Displaying ads has always been one of the principal ways in which advertisers offer their products to their target audiences. But while the proliferation of online advertising has resulted in many users being offered products tailored to their needs, the trade-off of such marketing has been the commodification of user tracking data, such as data concerning the web sites users have visited, as well as the purchases and searches they’ve made.
Privacy, then, has become a contentious topic. Consumers increasingly wish to have more control over their data, including how their data is shared, if they choose to do so. Ad blockers have emerged as one of the key tools that help users to protect and manage their privacy while browsing online. Here are some of the key ways that they protect user privacy:
- Filterlists: Also known as Blocklists, these are regularly updated lists of websites that are associated with specific ads, tracking software and malware.
- Request Interceptions: When a user visits a web page, as the page loads, the ad blocker inspects the browser’s requests for content, such as scripts and images.
- Content Blocking: If a request matches a URL listed in the Filterlist - for example, a tracking pixel from www.tracking.com - the ad blocker prevents that request from being sent or the content from being loaded.
- Cookie and Fingerprint Blocking: Some ad blockers can block third-party cookies and detect browser fingerprinting techniques, preventing web site owners from tracking users across different sites.
Because ad blockers prevent publishers’ websites from tracking users, a ‘dark’ audience has emerged in which users’ activity cannot be properly measured and noted. While such a situation, admittedly, makes it difficult for advertisers to develop successful ad strategies for certain target markets, it also adds an extra layer of security, given that many ads also function as vehicles for malware.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Ad Blocking
Apart from the obvious benefit of shielding users from unwanted ads, ad blocking has become increasingly popular for a host of other reasons, such as the following:
- Improved security: ad blocking protects users from malvertising and other forms of malicious software.
- Fast browsing: the absence of ads means that web pages can load faster.
- Reduced data and greater battery life: The absence of ads means there’s less content to load on web pages, which translates into reduced data loads and a longer battery life for devices.
- Basic parental control: When children are browsing the internet, the filtering of inappropriate ads serves as a parental control.
In spite of such advantages, there are several disadvantages that should also be kept in mind:
- Web site interference: Ad blockers can interfere with a site’s functionality, resulting in non-intrusive content being blocked.
- Imposition of revenue models: Stripped of their ability to generate revenue through ads, many publishers can be forced to rely on paywalls or other revenue models.
- Security risks: Ad blockers themselves can be compromised, resulting in data loss, revenue loss and malware infection.
- Blocking legitimate ads: In their blocking of intrusive ads, some ad blockers can also block ads that both users and clients would be prepared to discuss.
Key Takeaways
When evaluating how to work around adblock software, publishers and advertisers must keep in mind that users have the right to use any plugin or extension they choose to enhance their web experience.
Adblockers exist because pop-ups, malvertising, redirect ads, and spam are creating a web experience that is distracting and annoying to the user.
By looking at their client base, publishers can employ a range of strategies to work around adblock technology and continue to monetise their content.
As a Google Certified Publishing Partner, the team at Publift are experienced in assisting publishers, and advertisers monetise their content for maximum return on investment. Contact our friendly team today to learn more.
If you’re making more than $2,000 in monthly ad revenue, contact us today to learn more about how Publift can help increase your ad revenue and best optimise the ad space available on your website or app.
FAQs
How can I tell if I have an ad blocker?
To clarify whether you have an ad blocker on your computer, click on the three-dots icon on your browser’s toolbar, then click Extensions.
To find the ad blocker in your Chrome browser on your iPhone or iPad, click on Settings, then Safari, General/Extensions and Extensions again.For Android users, select the Menu icon, then Extensions
How to get around ad blocker detectors?
If you wish to visit just one website that has detected your ad blocker, disable Javascript on your device or activate incognito mode to bypass the ad block detector.
For multiple websites, use either a standalone ad blocker or a VPN that blocks ads.
Why is it saying that I have an adblocker when I don't?
Sometimes, built-in browser privacy settings, VPNs, anti-virus software, router settings or even specific extensions can mimic ad blockers and trigger a warning.
To resolve the matter, try disabling your browser tracking settings, check your VPN or anti-virus settings or adjust your router’s security settings.
How to find hidden ad blockers?
Depending on the browser you’re using, to find hidden ad blockers follow one of these procedures:
- Chrome/Edge: Click on the three-dots icon > Extensions > Manage Extensions
- Firefox: Menu > Add-ons and themes > Extensions
- Opera: Menu > Extensions > Extensions
- Safari: Safari > Settings (or Preferences) > Extensions