Ad blocking has been a point of concern across the digital landscape for a long time. With any concern, it is important to dive into what exactly the issue is, how it impacts digital advertising campaigns, and how to overcome ad blocking for within digital advertising campaigns.
What is Ad Blocking?
Ad blocking is a technology that allows ads to be blocked before they appear on a web browser. AdBlock is an extension/add-on that is installed into a web browser that scans through web pages for specific words and HTML tags and removes them from the page if found, hence this, no ads will be displayed on that particular page.
How Does it Impact Digital Ad Campaigns?
Ad Blocking is currently at about 11% of users online in the US. Online polls have shown that users do in fact want to be advertised to, but they want to enjoy a high-quality experience. Marketers must work to create relevant, engaging content that attracts their target audience. Also, putting all your eggs in one basket has never been advised for digital marketing strategy. When it comes to ad blocking, if the majority of your budget, time and effort are spent on one advertising strategy, as is the case for 70% of respondents in the annual state of PPC report, your marketing model could be in jeopardy.
How To Address It?
Marketers can overcome ad blocking by doing some things to make their digital advertising campaigns more effective. First, leverage frequency capping to limit the number of times an ad is shown to users in a given time frame. This will help to create a good experience for users online and one that they do not feel bombarded with. Secondly, diversify reach by taking advantage of multiple channels and advertising strategies. Using a combination of strategies and channels, marketers can reach their audience in a myriad of outlets and websites. Thirdly, use data to inform targeting strategies to keep content relevant. This will allow marketers to reach their audience with relevant content without sacrificing user experience.
Ad blocking does not need to be a concern for marketers if they address it in the right manner. Leveraging various marketing channels, monitoring campaign performance, and informing users of the value of advertising can help marketers continue to produce successful advertising campaigns.
