Websites are losing $22 billion in advertising revenue because of Ad Blocking software, a recent study has suggested. The research was conducted by software company Adobe alongside
PageFair, an online agency located in Dublin, Ireland, whose goal is to "protect the future of the free internet by re-establishing a fair deal between web users and the content creators who they want to support". Losses in the United States alone in 2014 amounted to nearly $6 billion, with forecasts suggesting the 2015 loss will be in the region of $11. billion.
PageFair's research suggests that over the last year around 200 million people worldwide have adopted ad-blocking software, a 41% increase on the same period last year. The result is the potential for websites to lose in the region of $40 billion in 2016. The trends that show that internet usage is moving towards mobile devices (such as smart phones and tablets) are also being matched by trends showing the number of people using ad-blocking software on these devices. This could result in a complete shutdown of the advertising business model that has driven the internet over the last 20 years. PageFair's website offers a tool that allows people to determine how many visitors to their sites are blocking adverts. The website also offers visitors the opportunity to "unlock revenue with non-intrusive ads just for your ad-blockers".
"It is tragic that ad block users are inadvertently inflicting multi-billion dollar losses on the very websites they most enjoy," explained Sean Blanchfield, PageFair's CEO on the company's website. " With ad blocking going mobile, there’s an eminent threat that the business model that has supported the open web for two decades is going to collapse. PageFair is working with thousands of publishers to securely display user-friendly advertising and keep free websites in business. I hope this report will prompt more editors, website owners, and publishers to join with us to combat the problem”.
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