AdRotate Pro 3.16 introduced a new feature called Adblock Disguise. This feature aims to solve the ‘problem’ created by adblockers.
Adblockers try very hard to stop you from showing adverts. AdRotate Pro tries very hard to prevent that.
Using Adblock Disguise you can try to avoid adblockers from being effective. This article explains how to best use this feature and how you can make smarter adverts so they’re less likely to be blocked.
How Adblockers work
Adblockers work very simple. They look for patterns and keywords. If they spot something that someone has listed as an advert it will hide that element from the viewer.
Stating the obvious
If should be obvious that your advert should not look like an advert. If you use a image in your advert called cocacola-320×200.jpg, that’s just asking for it to be blocked. Removing the -320×200 bit will increase the chances of your advert being shown.
A common issue is that even if you’re smart about making your adverts, themes offering advertising spots often label these zones as advertising areas. Dumb names like Header advert are all too common.
Because of the uniform way AdRotate works, the same is true for AdRotate to some extent. AdRotate (Pro) tries to use ‘generic’ code wherever possible to avoid adblockers doing their thing. But that’s no longer enough. Hence Adblock Disguise.
Enabling Adblock Disguise
Enabling the Adblock Disguise feature is super easy. You head over to AdRotate Pro settings and in the General tab you’ll see the Adblock Disguise option (Green arrow), a new text box where you enter your hash.
The Text Widgets option (Blue arrow) may be required for themes that do not allow shortcodes in the WordPress Text Widget.
Widgets
With widgets there is always the word adrotate attached to your advert. This increases the chance of your advert being blocked greatly.
If at all possible you should use the WordPress text widget and in that use an AdRotate shortcode. This increases your adverts chances of being shown.
For more information on how to use shortcodes, check out the shortcode manual.
Don’t be a dick
The sole reason adblockers exist is because some people believe that they should have more adverts than content. Others think that blinking, expanding adverts are the way forward. And yet even more annoyingly – Some deem adverts with audio acceptable.
Don’t be a dick and be reasonable with your advertisements. Place them in smart places where they are not obnoxious. Don’t place too many adverts on your site, either.
Use advertisements in a sensible way!
Disclaimer
While AdRotate Pro keeps on trying to avoid adblockers it’s very much a cat and mouse game. These features, methods and such are not guaranteed to work. Your own code and settings, adverts and even the rest of your website will influence the effectiveness of these features.
