There has been a lot of buzz around ad blockers after the launch of iOS 9, Apple’s latest operating system, as content blocking software topped Apple App charts worldwide.
In the UK, two content blockers have hit the top 20 paid apps, with Purify at number 11 and Peace at number 12. In the US, the take-up has been even starker: is at number 5 in the charts, and is the top paid app nationally.
Making ad blockers easily accessible to hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users will have a tremendous impact on how we use our devices. Parents, for example, will be able to eliminate unwanted advertising on their children’s phones. Tests on news sites proves that .
The rise of adblocking has proved concerning for web publishers, many of whom rely largely or exclusively on display advertising for revenue. We run a small , and we have seen a decline of as much as 30% of our ad impressions. Ad Networks are considering this move almost unethical because it allows users to view content without paying the implied price of an ad impression.
Apple iOS Safari ad blocker will have a very real impact on companies that rely on online marketing.
Before now, web marketing existed in an environment where a steady increase in websites and users provided a constant increase in ad inventory which has kept prices stable. As a , we haven’t notice a particular change in the display/ad placement market, but we won’t be surprised if prices will go up when inventory became scarce.
We forecast a shift back to SEO from Adwords, reversing the last 3 years trend. After April 24, 2012, with the launch of Google Penguin Algorithm, marketers started investing in Google Adwords more aggressively to compensate traffic losses.
We believe that this new iOS development will . In a world inundated with ad blockers, web searches will still be a viable way for users and online businesses to connect, but a successful SEO strategy will be crucial for the discoverability of products and services.
As competitors realise SEO is the most reliable way to succeed, the . Content creation will still be crucial and the constant publishing of new, highly optimized pages, blogs, case studies, and PR will be more important than ever.
Content creation will be richer with affordable videos produced by market places like (disclaimer – they are a client) and amazing pictures commissioned to the world’s top photographers at .
Social media will continue to remain important and will continue to be a way of supporting and promoting content, especially via . It will also remain a viable means of advertising though the cost of that advertising may increase to better support a market with limited advertising opportunities.
To learn more about .
