Is it right to use ad blocker when surfing the internet?
Although it seems logical, ad blocker is having a devastating affect on bloggers like me, like everyone online.
Let’s start with the definition of an ad blocker program. It’s basically an add on to most internet browsers that stops most HTML scripts from being shown aka adverts. This means that adverts won’t be seen, therefore can’t be clicked on, therefore blogger’s can’t earn money. Your probably thinking ‘it’s not that bad’. It is. Some people claim that over 90% of their visitors run ad blocker programs. 90% of potential earnings just disappears, stolen.
Just check right now if you saw an advert at the top of this page or on the side. If you did, thank you. If you didn’t you should feel bad. Web pages are free but the way most people make money is through adverts. We can’t make money if you can’t see the adverts. I have even heard some stories of people having to close down their websites due to ad blockers not because they weren’t making money, but because they couldn’t make money.
I’m not going to be biased so I’ll show both sides of the argument. Ad blocker programs say they created them to stop the annoying pop up ads from appearing. But, surely all the pop up ads only appear on scam websites? Every decent website won’t have pop up ads because they annoy visitors. We know this and that’s why we don’t ever use them to monetize our websites.
Even if your not going to click on an advert, you will still affect bloggers. Ad blocker stops advert programs tracking views and some ads are run on pay per view basis. Either way, you will be affecting them, us. Adverts are not there to make money. There primary use is to share information with visitors and attract customers to businesses. Without adverts, the internet (or Jeremy Clarkson’s interweb) will be very ‘narrow’ like a motorway, where there are no turning you can turn off. There will be no adverts to give you the ability to turn off the road.
Ultimately, even if you are not the one to ever click on an ad, still don’t use ad blockers. Just think, bloggers provide the latest and best content on a daily basis. The least you can do in return is let them show ads. I’ll leave you pondering over a question, ‘if you only made money from adverts online, would you use ad blocker yourself?’
I know my answer, what’s yours?
Just installed ad blocker myself. I was happy to put up with the so called anoying ones for a couple of years but it just got to much. Adverts have become to intrusive and are usualy just malicious crap trying to lure me with stupid shit like "you are the 999,999th visitor, you have won magic beans"
The final nail in the coffin is the sound ads that you have to mute every 2 minutes or just leave the site completely because there is no mute button… Turn my sound off you say? not much use when that mutes the video i was trying to watch on the very same site.
I stopped using many sites because of this but more and more have become tainted with "bad advertisement" that i have just installed ad blocker and cleansed my browser of it all. No regrets.
Oh and since when was sharing your opinion on the internet a valid reason to expect a pay day?
To answer your question. If i only earned money from adverts then i would make sure those adverts where non intrusive and safe. I would still block sites that show bad ads.
I do see your point. The websites with sound ads just infuriate you giving you a reason to use ad blocker. However, not all websites share opinions to get money. There are millions of fully operational businesses providing up to date news, sports news, contact etc.. That use adverts to monetize.
And your answer to the question is exactly what I done. I have placed useful adverts on my page which can help the reader. Thank you for the comment.
You see where you say you're not going to be biased, and then are biased…? Yeah, how does that support your claim that "bloggers provide the latest and best content on a daily basis."
I want to have a certain amount of control over what I see when I'm on the internet. I don't want advertisements up in my face. As such, I block them. If you're making money from them, then I'm glad to be stopping you making money from such a goddamn annoying source.
Which isn't to say I don't want people making moeny on the internet, just be more creative. Advertisement money seems kinda lazy.
The majority of the internet make money from advertisement though? I wasn't biased. I undestand that adverts that get in your face like pop-up advets are annoying which is why every decent website doesn't use them. I don't use them. Until you own a website and understand that some people depend on what they make from advertising to stay financially healthy, you really won't understand.
You have to think about the viewer. If the ads relate to what is being searched for, and they don't pop up or block videos or have loud screaming videos or something like that, then they are fine. I have no problem with an ad on the side of a page. It's the ones that talk or block my videos from playing or pop up that I can't stand. If everybody stuck to ads that just appeared on the page in the margins and didn't distract from anything, it would be fine. However, I use ad block to stop from having so many pop ups and trackers. Even respectable websites have lost their minds when it comes to ads.
Did you seriously just compare crime to convenience provided by a web plugin? That's like calling someone a shoplifter that takes a free sample.
Using AdBlock is not theft. Guess how I got to this 4 year old blog post today? The Drudge Report. Not some stupid ad. And I'm sure you'd be getting more organic traffic on the merits of the content of the post if you could do simple things like using "there, their, and they're" correctly. I'll leave it up to you to find out where you made that mistake.
"Is it right to go into a shop and steal?" no. "Is it right to pirate films?" no. "Is it right to break into a car and just drive off" no. "is it right to change/mute/turn off your tv when a ad comes up?" yes or in your case the question is "Is it right to use ad blocker when surfing the internet?" to which i say absolutely because it is MY browser and i have my rights for what i want to see
Poorly written and biased article. I won't be adding this site to my blocker's whitelist