Learn more about ad blockers

Ad blockers are browser extensions that prevent ads from being displayed when they visit your news site.

37% of people use ad blockers.

💡Best practices

• Inform your audience
• Ask directly
• Consider AdBlock as part of your strategy

50% of people who use ad blockers allow ads on at least one site. Being transparent about how ads support your journalism helps your audience understand why it’s important.

💡Best practices

• Incorporate your mission, like, 'Help shine a light on stories in the dark'
• Explain how ads support you
• Show repeat visitors how often they visit with an article counter, like 'You’ve read 10 articles this month! Consider supporting us by unblocking ads'.

54% of people who use ad blockers don't know what the term \'allowlist\' means.

An 'allowlist' refers to the list of websites that someone has approved. It's a technical term, which can be useful when talking to people with that expertise, like engineers, but can confuse or alienate your audience.

💡Best practices

• Ask for permission, rather than describing the action, like, 'Allow ads' or 'Allow ads?'
• Avoid jargon like 'allowlisting' or 'whitelisting'
• Show your message multiple times

Learn more about how to increase a button’s click-through rates.

48% install ad blockers because of annoying ads.

💡Best practices

• Remove intrusive ads, like pop-ups
• Offer an ad-free subscription instead of blocking ads
• Consider making your ask non-dismissable, which might reduce how many people use AdBlock, but might cause them to leave your site