Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Digital Transformation
    Marketing Operations
    Data
    Customer & Digital Experience
    Performance Marketing
    Marketing Management
    Special Reports
    MarTech Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech
    Mission
    Staff
    Newsletter
    Search Engine Land
    Third Door Media

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Performance Marketing » Forecast: 33 percent of internet users will be ad blocking by next year

Forecast: 33 percent of internet users will be ad blocking by next year

Rapid growth of ad blocking requires more soul-searching, faster action by industry.

Greg Sterling on June 23, 2016 at 4:13 pm

ad-blocked3-ss-1920

The now almost-cliche response to the issue of ad blocking is: “Deliver better ad experiences that consumers don’t want to block.” Easier said than done. Indeed, there’s no simple solution to this growing industry challenge.

Forecaster eMarketer estimates that this year, 70 million people in the US will use ad blockers, representing growth of nearly 35 percent year over year.  Next year, the company estimates that nearly 87 million internet users in the US will be blocking ads.

adblocking growth

Earlier this year, PageFair released a mobile ad-blocking report indicating that 419 million people around the globe were blocking ads on mobile devices. The majority were located in Asia, fewer in North America and Europe. However, the eMarketer projections suggest that roughly one-third of US internet users will be blocking ads next year.

According to online polling firm CivicScience, 55 percent of survey respondents had ad blockers on their PCs, and 25 percent had them on their smartphones. This was based on a survey of more than 11,000 mobile and PC users over the past six months.

These penetration figures are likely higher than the general internet population. Regardless, they should be very worrisome to publishers and marketers. Here are some of the demographic data CivicScience captured in that survey:

  • Mobile blockers are more likely to be 25 to 54 years old; desktop blockers skew younger or older.
  • Mobile blockers have higher incomes; 34 percent had incomes over $100,000.
  • Mobile blockers are more likely to be parents than desktop blockers.
  • African Americans and Hispanics are more likely than Caucasians to be mobile blockers.

The CivicScience data also examined ad blocking and various affinities, such as political engagement, device ownership, interest in sports, fashion, fitness and brand affinities. More of that data can be accessed via the company’s webinar.

Coercive approaches to ad blocking are unlikely to succeed. Higher quality and improved ad experiences (including speed improvements) are critical. Facebook, Google, Yahoo and AOL, as well as a few others, are in a position to help nudge the industry toward those solutions. The IAB’s LEAN initiative may also help.

I’m not optimistic. That’s because there’s a fairly massive gap between rhetoric and reality in terms of addressing the problems and issues that are driving mass adoption of ad blockers.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    How clean, organized and actionable is your data?
    Replacement Survey: The top 5 solutions replaced
    What’s the biggest hidden secret in Google Ads?
    Native video tops social media in brand awareness study
    Worsening economy has more shoppers getting online info before making in-store purchases

About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

Performance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS The MarTech Conference logo.

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Training Now: Master Classes

Start Discovering Now: Spring



The SMX Conference logo.

Start Training Now:: SMX Advanced

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes

Webinars

Agencies: Grow Revenue Streams Through Web Accessibility & Compliance

Protect Your Paid Advertising Spend Against Ad Fraud and Invalid Traffic

Build an Integrated Search Strategy Across Google, Amazon and YouTube

See More Webinars
Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports
Featured White Paper

Site Search 101

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.