What to Do About Ad Blockers Slashing Your Marketing Reach

People hate your ads. It’s not you, they just generally don’t like ads at all. You already know this, but did you know just how far some folks are willing to go to avoid seeing ads?

Ad blockers probably aren’t the first thing you think about when you set out to build a digital marketing campaign. There are so many other elements that rightfully draw your attention such as audience targeting, timing, marketing message, graphics, and media channel.

But when it comes time to examine your data, you may not be aware that a hidden adversary lurks behind the scenes. Ad blockers.

Potentially millions of people aren’t even seeing your ads because they’re using ad blockers on their internet browsers or computers, and this is a major reason your conversion tracking data can be less than accurate.

The good news is, there’s something you can do to circumvent ad blockers and still get your marketing campaigns in the hands of your target audience.

Let’s dive in.

What are ad blockers?

Quite simply, ad blockers do exactly what the name implies. They block ads. People can install them as part of their internet browser as an extension, or as a standalone application on their desktop, laptop, or other devices.

A variety of ad blockers exist, and they don’t all work the same or block the same types of digital ads. In general, people install them to block things like popup ads, video ads, display ads – especially those with sound – and banner ads.

Ad blockers usually do not affect things like ads within blog articles, as these typically resemble other graphics. They also most likely won’t interfere with social media posts that show up in the normal feed from companies you’re following. And they don’t affect email marketing or text message marketing. So some digital marketing is unaffected by ad blockers.

However, on many platforms consumers can opt to spend a little extra money to get the ad-free version. You can do this with email, as well as on most video and streaming music platforms.

Ad blocker statistics – how much of your marketing isn’t being seen?

People who use ad blockers do so for fairly obvious reasons.

They’re annoyed with too many ads, or because ads interfere with what they’re trying to do on a particular site. Others use ad blockers because they’re worried about digital privacy. And others use them to improve device performance since ads can cause the browsing experience to slow down. Still others use ad blockers to stop inappropriate content from being shown.

Right now, about 1.77 billion – yes billion – people using the internet worldwide are using ad blockers on their computers or devices. That’s about 30% of global internet users.

In the US, about 33% of Americans use ad blockers. So it’s a safe bet that about one third of people – including those within your target audience – will never see most of your digital ads.

But that may not  be all. In terms of upgrading to ad-free versions of digital services, 28% of consumers will upgrade to avoid just seeing one or two ads, and 38% will do so if the number rises to three or four. 8.8% will upgrade by default, wanting a zero-ad experience. While these aren’t ad blockers in the traditional sense, it means the same thing to companies – these people aren’t seeing your ads on those platforms.

What are the costs of ad blockers for companies?

Ad publishers around the world lost about $54 billion in ad revenue in 2024 because of ad blockers, which represents about 8% of digital ad investments. And some software browsers like Safari ITP and Brave are integrating ad blocking techniques into their default software.

At first glance, that looks somewhat disastrous. But when you look at the bigger picture, you’ll soon see that the idea of blocking ads isn’t new, and it happens on just about every marketing channel.

Ad blockers aren’t the only cause of wasted marketing spend

Even for digital ads that do get seen, how many them are actually ‘seen’? People scrolling social media might see ads on their screens for a fraction of a second. Display ads on websites get ignored by large percentages of the audience that sees them.

And though email marketing doesn’t get blocked by ad blockers, they can be filtered into spam or promotional folders. Even those that don’t suffer this fate can just as easily be ignored or deleted without ever being seen.

TV ads can’t be blocked, but changing the channel or muting the sound is as easy as pushing a button. This is one reason why TV ratings measurements have always been problematic. Neilsen, the company that tracks viewership data for TV and radio, has always had to battle with flaws in their data caused by behaviors like these. Counting impressions in ad-supported media channels is inherently difficult to do accurately.

So just like you can’t fully trust digital ad tracking data, TV and radio data can only be so accurate as well.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Attributing the success of an ad presents its own complicated problem. There are whole platforms devoted to helping companies properly attribute credit for their multichannel ads for whatever revenue results from the campaign. Multiple attribution models can be used, and each one gives a different impression of how effective your various ads were.

But what if you avoid digital marketing? The problem still remains.

If someone receives direct mail but throws it directly in the trash without opening or reading it – did they really see it?

Some of your marketing is getting through

The point of all this is twofold.

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Use the Project Estimator

First, you need to be aware that ad blockers – as well as the many other ways people can avoid ads – do result in lost revenue. This phenomenon isn’t new. It just looks a little different in each marketing channel. Advertisers want to ‘ad’. Consumers want to avoid them. It’s a tussle that goes back centuries.

Second, the funny thing is that ads still work. People will complain about ads. People will swear they never look at ads and everyone hates them and no one cares. But then, your revenue from ads keeps coming in.

The truth is, some of your marketing is reaching its intended audience. People do care. They do look at ads, and they do respond to them. We know this, because the data is there. Products get sold, and advertising can work on every marketing channel.

How companies can overcome the ad blocker effect

Understanding how ad blockers work and that they’re just one of many ways consumers can avoid ads is the key to knowing what steps to take to minimize their negative effects.

You can’t stop ad blocking in all its forms. But you can circumvent it where it matters most – when consumers are actually ready to make a decision to buy.

Use multichannel marketing

By now most marketers understand the wisdom of using multiple marketing channels to reach consumers with your message. Relying on just one channel virtually ensures a large number of people in your target audience will not see your message, let alone respond to it. This is because every channel has inherent obstacles to reaching consumers.

By using multiple channels, you leverage the benefits of each media channel while minimizing the shortcomings. In other words, email can reach people that social media cannot. Social media can reach people that PPC ads cannot. Each channel does certain things well, and has certain drawbacks.

Ad blockers are one drawback of certain digital marketing platforms. But those platforms still offer several clear advantages over other channels. You have to go where the people are.

Create a variety of marketing messages

Next, consumers tend to increase their resistance to ads when they sense too much repetition. They don’t like to see the same ad over and over and over.

This doesn’t mean you need to create entirely new ads every week. It can be as simple as using the same graphics, same call to action, but a slightly different headline. Or maybe change the image, or just rearrange the layout of the various elements.

In addition, sometimes it’s smart to ignore what consumers say, because it doesn’t always align with what they do. Repetition has its merits, because it makes your core message memorable. 15 minutes can save you 15%. That’s a message we’ve heard so many times we all know what company makes that claim.

But while repetition has its place, in digital marketing especially you need a variety of approaches, because getting attention is hard. Repetition makes it harder to get attention because people will gloss over things they’ve seen too many times. ‘New’ gets attention.

Use door hanger marketing

The most foolproof method for bypassing all forms of ad blockers is door hanger marketing.

If you want to close the deal and make sure people see your message after all your other campaign elements have run, door hanger marketing gets it done. This is the only marketing channel that can claim nearly 100% impressions. Everyone sees your door hangers, because they’re the only thing on the front porch.

It’s new, because it’s rare. It gets attention. It’s unique.

You may be planning a multichannel campaign using PPC, social ads, billboards, TV, streaming, and video ads. Lots of people in your target audience will see some of these. Many will not. But most consumers don’t buy something the first time they see an ad, at least in most industries. It takes multiple touches.

Door hangers offer a tantalizing last-touch or complimentary-touch opportunity. Unlike most other channels, when people receive a door hanger, they have more natural consideration time simply because of the environment in which they find the ad.

There are likely no other distractions. They’ll be able to really look at it and think about it.

No ad blockers here

There is no ad blocker for door hangers. No channel to change. No sound to mute. Even better, most people kind of like them, especially younger generations who have grown up with digital devices and aren’t as amazed by them as people who knew life without them.

Younger generations have shown greater interest and appreciation for analog advertising, and that includes direct mail. Door hangers offer all the benefits of direct mail, plus many additional advantages and none of the drawbacks.

It really is the best way to supplement a multichannel campaign and ensure large numbers of people in your target audience see and consider your message.

Try it out!

Use door hangers in your next marketing campaign.

Talk to front door marketing specialist.

Get a free Ad Targeting Report as part of your consultation – and you get to keep the report regardless of what you end up doing.