Will adblockers bring the end of free websites?
They are add-ons / plug-ins people can download to their web browsers. They block anything written with javascript and flash. This means they automatically block ads and in many cases interactive activities. One of these add-ons is Firefox’s biggest download. Millions more people are using adblockers every week.
The bad news
Many English language teaching websites that make materials available for free rely on ads (from Google or elsewhere) to keep going. These include sites like mine (BreakingNewsEnglish.com, Listen A Minute.com, ESL Discussions.com, etc).
Adblocking software is effectively strangling the revenue streams from these sites.
Many webmasters and materials creators are deciding to call it a day.
The bottom line is that many more sites will go offline because of the damage adblockers are doing.
What can you do?
If you have adblocking software, please “whitelist” the sites you do not want to go out of business. There are filters within the menu of the add-on / plug-in for you to allow ads on those sites. You will be really helping their survival.
What can free websites do?
Be responsible and filter the ads on your site. Below is a site that perhaps needs to think a lot more about who will potentially see these ads, and less about maximizing ad revenue from absolutely minimal content.
This particular graphic shows why many people, justifiably, have got fed up with ads and are turning to adblockers. This website page shows the famous diet and IMVU ads encircling just EIGHT words of content.
I teach young Arab women in the Middle East. Any “fleshy” ads can cause offense to them, even in cartoon / avatar-like format. I block them from appearing on all of my sites.
The future of my sites
I really don’t know what to do. I wouldn’t really be exaggerating to say the bottom fell out of my world when I came across adblockers and what they are doing to my sites. I have worked pretty hard every day for six years on my sites. I’m now wondering whether it’s worthwhile continuing, given the fact that one day (probably very) soon, everyone will have adblocking software.
I will have to make one of three choices soon:
- call it a day on my sites altogether (really can’t entertain this thought)
- start charging subscriptions (don’t really want to do this)
- ask for donations (not sure if this would work)
I’m thinking if I can make more sites, I won’t have to resort to asking people to pay.
Your comments would be very welcome. I need all the advice I can get.
