An estimated $22 billion is expected to be lost by publishers because of the latest developments in ad blocking software. As this becomes such a dominant part of the internet, many more fears have been added following Opera’s latest move, which allows users to block ads natively within their own browsers.
This has resulted in many companies, including the New York Times, trying to find ways to prevent users from blocking their ads.
The battle continues between companies like those producing web design in Cardiff and publishers trying to get their adverts in front of customers. One tries to improve the customer user experience whilst the other tries to prevent the loss of revenue.
Blocking ads
Opera’s latest development allows users to block ads at the “web-engine level”, providing a superior ad blocker compared to those that users normally install as a plugin. This latest design has come following recent studies that indicated a 41 per cent increase in the number of people using ad blockers on their computers from 2014 to 2015.
Opera also released statistics showing that when this feature blocks ads, users can experience 45 per cent faster browsing speeds, making it faster than Google Chrome’s AdBlock Plus.
The implications
The Times aren’t the only company forging a stance against these blocking tools, as Hulu, The Washington Post, Forbes and Wired are amongst others that have also noted their objections. The Times has also been very honest about why they want to do this: blocking ads will severely impact their revenue. They currently employ the use of a pop-up that tells those who are blocking their ads that advertising helps fund their journalism and they would appreciate their support by whitelisting them or subscribing to them.
Many companies, such as web design in Cardiff through ambercouch, will be focused on increasing user experience, which many feel popup ads don’t do, whilst organisations such as The Times believe they can encourage users to put up with their ads or pay money to read their content.
However, many ad blockers state they are in place to aid all users across the world and any sites trying to prevent them won’t succeed, which makes one wonder whether The Times won’t succeed unless all news websites take their stance.