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 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 clickthrough 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