83% just want to block intrusive ads; 77% would rather filter than block completely; 63% of non-users say ad blocking has positive impact on web experience<
Adblock Plus, the #1 most popular browser extension for blocking annoying online advertisements, running on more than 100 million active devices, is co-announcing survey results from HubSpot Research. The survey differs from the growing pile of studies that confirm the (obvious) rise of ad blocking, and focuses instead on the reasons why consumers block ads and what can be done to solve the dilemma of monetizing content creators.
Among the most salient findings in the 31-page report:
- 51% of survey respondents justify their use of ad blockers because they want to be in control of their own Web experience;
- 83% agree that it’s just the obnoxious ads they want to block;
- 77% say they want to filter ads rather than block them;
- 63% of non-ad block users nonetheless say that ad blocking has had a positive impact on consumers’ web experience;
- 57% say that search engine ads are actually valuable and useful;
- 45% of US respondents have paid for web content
The HubSpot Research survey included 1,055 respondents from the US, UK, Germany and France, with 70% of respondents being users of an ad blocker (any kind, not just Adblock Plus) and 30% being non-users. The complete survey results are posted here.
“It’s pretty clear from the survey results that we have two different ecosystems of online consumers – those who block ads and those who don’t – and solving the dilemma of how to successfully monetize the hundreds of millions of ad blockers means reaching them on their own terms. Those terms are already codified in our Acceptable Ads guidelines, which were developed and vetted by ad-blocking users,” said Till Faida, co-founder of Adblock Plus.
Adblock Plus introduced its Acceptable Ads guidelines in 2011 as a way to allow well-meaning websites and content creators to continue to receive vital ad revenue, and well over 90 percent of Adblock Plus users choose to allow these respectful and useful advertising to display on their favorite websites.
“On the one hand,” continued Faida, “the survey results are encouraging because they show users’ willingness to accept some advertising. But a healthier web is one where advertising is not the sole monetization spigot; so the fact that younger respondents, especially in the US, appear more flexible to fund content is equally encouraging to our Flattr Plus project, which will allow users to directly fund content they love.”
“The results of this research are very telling. People may be sick and tired of ads, but it’s only because they don’t find them impactful or valuable enough to interact with, “ said Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Marketers need to put their customers and potential customers at the center of the ad creation process. By focusing on providing valuable, relevant content through ads – just as they do blog posts, social content, offers and more – ads become an effective piece of the inbound marketing suite.”
Links:
- View the complete HubSpot survey results posted here
- Follow Adblock Plus on Twitter at @AdblockPlus
- Read and subscribe to our blog at adblockplus.org/blog/
- Media press kit with FAQ, images and company statistics is available at eyeo.com/en/press
- Visit adblockplus.org to download Adblock Plus for every major desktop browser
- Download Adblock Browser for iOS in the Apple App Store
- Download Adblock Browser for Android in the Google Play Store
About Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus is an open source project that aims to rid the Internet of annoying and intrusive online advertising. Its free web browser extensions (add-ons) put users in control by letting them block or filter which ads they want to see. Users across the world have downloaded Adblock Plus over 500 million times, and it has remained the most downloaded and the most used extension almost continuously since November 2006. PC Magazine named the extension as one of the best free Google Chrome extensions, and it received About.com readers’ choice award for best privacy/security add-on.
Adblock Plus is a free browser add-on for Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Maxthon and Opera for desktop users, and offers a free browser for mobile users on iOS and Android.
