Ad Blocker Analytics: Know Your Enemy

Last updated on May 31, 2024

Ad blocker removes or alters advertising content. It’s a piece of software, which blocks or changes the ads on the user’s device. An ad blocker is an application, plugin, or extension with a blacklist of sites and scripts. Once anything is added there, the user of the ad blocker will stop seeing some content, most commonly ads.

Ad filtering tampers your marketing data. Besides hiding your ads, ad blockers can invalidate your tracking settings. Any ad-blocking user is simply not registered by the analytical tools. Besides skewing your campaign reports, it can force you to turn off a profitable campaign.

Ad blocking diminishes UX. This software doesn’t always block ads in full, which may look as if your website is from the '90s with broken links and missing content everywhere. Needless to say, the user will be quick to blame your website design and never come back.

Marketer’s Remedies Against Ad Blockers

More than 37% of users worldwide utilize ad blockers. Marketing is already a highly-competitive field and losing a third of traffic will only stiffen the rivalry. Luckily, there are a couple of remedies how to fight back the ad blockers.

Know your audience. Not all people are tech-savvy, so if you target Gen Z primarily with nutra products, then ad block might be not your problem at all. On the other hand, people of 25–34 y.o. use ad blockers the most. If that’s the case, just keep on reading.
Settle for server-side ads. HilltopAds makes sure your ads are always delivered and encourages publishers to implement ad block-proof solutions. Refrain from client-side ad insertion (CSAI) and choose server-side ad insertion (SSAI). A setback in terms of personalized ads, but better penetration of ad blockers and lower ad buffering, which is good for UX.
Diversify your marketing strategy. Those who block ad banners might be OK with video ads. Remember that ad blockers emerged for a reason — users got tired of irrelevant and irritating ads. It would be wise to take the road less traveled toward the hearts and minds of the audience.
Learn where ad blocker popularity peaks. This way you will know in advance which GEOs and browsers are infested with ad blockers and redirect your campaigns elsewhere. We have already done all the work for you and prepared a report regarding ad blocker popularity.

Ad Blocker Popularity by Country

Desktop

Regions with the highest share of ad blockers:

Western Europe (9-23%): The Netherlands 🇳🇱 - 19.76% , Luxembourg 🇱🇺 - 9.08% , Germany 🇩🇪 - 23.22% , Austria 🇦🇹 -20.89%, France 🇫🇷 - 20.96%;
Oceania (14-16%): Australia 🇦🇺 - 14.95%, New Zealand 🇳🇿 - 16.09%;
North America (14-19%): Canada 🇨🇦 - 16.95%, US 🇺🇸 - 14.59%, Mexico 🇲🇽 - 19.79%;
South America (18-25%): Brazil 🇧🇷 - 18.26%, Venezuela 🇻🇪 - 22.00%, Colombia 🇨🇴 - 24.60%, Ecuador 🇪🇨 - 17.53%, Peru 🇵🇪 - 18.98%, Bolivia 🇧🇴 - 19.13%, Argentina 🇦🇷 - 24.79%, Chile 🇨🇱 - 25.00%;
South Africa (13.71%) - 14%.

Regions with a low share of ad blockers:

North Africa (10-11%): Algeria 🇩🇿 - 11.49%, Egypt 🇪🇬 - 10.63%;
Southwest Asia (6-13%): Iraq 🇮🇶 - 6.16%, Jordan 🇯🇴 - 13.20%;
Southeast Asia (7-14%): Vietnam 🇻🇳 - 14.61% , Thailand 🇹🇭 - 7.68%;
Southeast Asia (5-18%): India 🇮🇳 - 16.77%, Chia 🇨🇳 - 4.85%, Bangladesh 🇧🇩 - 12.79%, Nepal 🇳🇵 - 18.09%, Pakistan 🇵🇰 - 18.15%;
Central Asia (6-18%): Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 - 18.6%, Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 - 6.05%.

Mobile

Regions with the highest share of ad blockers:

Western Europe (6-12%): The Netherlands 🇳🇱 - 10.79% , Luxembourg 🇱🇺 - 11.48% , Germany 🇩🇪 - 6.68% , Austria 🇦🇹 - 5.60% , Switzerland 🇨🇭- 7.25%, France 🇫🇷 - 7.20%;
East Africa (7-19%): Kenya 🇰🇪 - 19.82% , Tanzania 🇹🇿 - 12.16%, Uganda 🇺🇬 - 7.19%, Ethiopia 🇪🇹 - 9.76%;
South Africa (11.97%) - 11.97%;
South Asia (8-16%): India 🇮🇳 - 10.28%, Pakistan 🇵🇰 - 15.46%, Nepal 🇳🇵 - 8.21%, Bangladesh 🇧🇩 - 16.54%;
Southeast Asia (2-18%): Vietnam 🇻🇳 - 2.11% , Thailand 🇹🇭 - 2.70% , Laos 🇱🇦 - 2.44% , Malaysia 🇲🇾 - 9.86%, Indonesia 🇮🇩 - 6.29%, Brunei 🇧🇳 - 18.64%, Philippines 🇵🇭 - 7.00%;
East Asia (3-23%): China 🇨🇳 - 23.63% , Mongolia 🇲🇳 - 3.87%, Korea 🇰🇷 - 9.34%, Japan - 🇯🇵 11.05%, Taiwan 🇹🇼 - 3.57%.

Regions with a low share of ad blockers:

North Africa (2-4%): Morocco 🇲🇦 - 3.77%, Algeria 🇩🇿 - 2.02% , Egypt 🇪🇬 - 3.39%, Tunisia 🇹🇳 - 3.11%, Libya 🇱🇾 - 3.73%;
Southwest Asia (2-14%): Turkey 🇹🇷 - 14.49%, Iran 🇮🇷 - 5.20%, Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 - 3.92% , Armenia 🇦🇲 - 2.49% , Syria 🇸🇾 - 2.84% , Lebanon 🇱🇧 - 2.25% , Palestine 🇵🇸 - 2.01%, Jordan 🇯🇴 - 2.76%;
South America (4-7%): Brazil 🇧🇷 - 3.90%, Venezuela 🇻🇪 - 5.43%, Colombia 🇨🇴 - 7.43%, Ecuador 🇪🇨 - 6.56%, Peru 🇵🇪 - 5.04%, Bolivia 🇧🇴 - 6.42%, Argentina 🇦🇷 - 7.58%, Chile 🇨🇱 - 6.30%, Paraguay 🇵🇾 - 5.65%, Uruguay 🇺🇾 - 3.71%;
Oceania (5-7%): Australia 🇦🇺 - 5.42%, New Zealand 🇳🇿 - 6.30%;
North America (7%): Canada 🇨🇦 - 6.70%, US 🇺🇸 - 7.17%, Mexico 🇲🇽 - 7.09%;
West Africa (3-12%): Nigeria 🇳🇬 - 12.74% , Cameroon 🇨🇲 - 6.34%, Ghana 🇬🇭 - 9.79%, Senegal 🇸🇳 - 3.26%, Mauritania 🇲🇷 - 3.43%.

Ad Blocker Popularity by Browser

According to our latest data most of the browsers have an ad blocker rate of 10% or less. But you should know that targeting Windows+Chrome and Windows+Android users can be quite challenging. It’s not that you should refrain from launching your campaigns there — no. But you should understand that these browsers do handicap your traffic volume.

Highest Shares of Adblock usage By Different Regions for Popunder Desktop

Below are some of the least friendly browsers for different GEOs.

Chrome Desktop
Windows: Russia 🇷🇺 (29%), Germany 🇩🇪 (27%), Mexico 🇲🇽 (22%);
Mac OS: Germany 🇩🇪 (30%), India 🇮🇳 (28%), Mexico 🇲🇽 (24%);
Linux: Russia 🇷🇺 (20%), Canada 🇨🇦 (16%), Germany 🇩🇪 (15%);

2. Edge Desktop

Windows: Russia 🇷🇺 (19%), Egypt 🇪🇬 (14%), Spain 🇪🇸 (13%);

3. Safari

Mac OS: Korea 🇰🇷 (11%), India 🇮🇳 (10%), Japan 🇯🇵(9%);

4. Firefox

Windows: France 🇫🇷 (36%), Spain 🇪🇸 (34%), United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (31%);

5. Opera

Windows: Mexico 🇲🇽 (68%), France 🇫🇷 (67%), Germany 🇩🇪 (66%);

Highest Shares of Adblock usage By Different Regions for Popunder Mobile

Chrome (Mobile)
Android: Russia 🇷🇺 (29%), Germany 🇩🇪 (27%), Mexico 🇲🇽 (22%);
IOS: Germany 🇩🇪 (30%), India 🇮🇳 (28%), Mexico 🇲🇽 (24%);

2. Safari (Mobile)

IOS: Japan 🇯🇵 (16%), Korea 🇰🇷 (13%), India 🇮🇳 (8%);

3. Yandex (Mobile)

Android: Egypt 🇪🇬 (19%), Mexico 🇲🇽 (13%), Japan 🇯🇵 (13%), Korea 🇰🇷 (9%);

4. UC Browser (Mobile)

Android: China 🇨🇳 (77%), Taiwan 🇹🇼 (70%), Malaysia 🇲🇾 (66%), Brazil 🇧🇷 (64%), Italy 🇮🇹 (63%);

5. Samsung Browser (Mobile)

Android: Mexico 🇲🇽 (22%), Korea 🇰🇷 (21%), Japan 🇯🇵 (16%);

6. Opera Android (Mobile)

Android: Russia 🇷🇺 (75%), Korea 🇰🇷 (73%), Italy 🇮🇹 (71%), Algeria 🇩🇿 (64%), Germany 🇩🇪 (63%);

Summary

Based on our analysis of Popunder Desktop and Popunder Mobile traffic, we found The share of AdBlock by country and by different combinations of OS+Browser for both formats.

The share of AdBlock on the desktop format by country ranges from 10-25%. The major countries with the highest AdBlock share are:

Russia 🇷🇺 : 26%;
Germany 🇩🇪: 23%;
Ukraine 🇺🇦 : 22%;
Poland 🇵🇱 : 22%;
France 🇫🇷 : 21%;
Mexico 🇲🇽 : 20%;
Netherlands 🇳🇱 : 20%;
Brazil 🇧🇷 : 18%;
Canada 🇨🇦 : 17%;
Spain 🇪🇸 : 17%.

For Popunder mobile, the AdBlock share is significantly lower (usually up to 10%), but there are certain countries with high values:

China 🇨🇳 : 23%;
Pakistan 🇵🇰 : 16%;
Bangladesh 🇧🇩 : 16%;
Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 : 15%;
Turkey 🇹🇷 : 14%;
Singapore 🇸🇬 : 13%;
United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪 : 13%;
Nigeria 🇳🇬 : 13%.

High AdBlock rates for different OS+Browser on Popunder desktop are observed with Windows + Opera and Windows + Firefox.

High AdBlock rates for different OS+Browser on Popunder mobile are observed with Android + UC Browser, Android + Opera, and Android + Samsung Browser.

Whether to advertise there or not — it’s up to you. Our job is to provide you with all the relevant info and make your campaigns convert. At HilltopAds, we know how to bypass ad blockers, thanks to our in-house anti-ad blocking solutions. Contact us if you need any help, as we are ready to walk the extra mile to improve the performance of your campaigns.