Popular gossip blogs such as Bossip are fighting back against ad blockers that deprive them of tens of thousands of dollars in ad revenue.
Readers who visit Bossip.com see a message informing them to disable their ad blocking software or they will be blocked from viewing the site.
The move by Bossip to protect dwindling blog revenue comes at a time when advertisers are increasingly scrutinizing publishers for advertising fraud.
Other news organizations have banded together to battle ad blocking software from their sites.
The New York Times blocks ad blockers but also offers readers an ad-free experience for a price.
40 percent of readers who participated in a New York Times study said they were willing to disable their ad blockers in order to view the website.
Most readers who use ad blockers say they simply want a hassle-free surfing experience. Blogs such as Bossip are loaded with ads, pop ups and overlays that obstruct the content or demand reader interaction such as clicking banners to view the content.
Other readers use the software to protect their devices from ads that inject malware and redirects to other websites.
It can be irritating trying to wade through the jungle of advertising on some news and gossip blogs.
Advertising giant Google routinely removes ad blockers from the Google Play Store.
Startups such as Secret Media, Oriel and othes offer WordPress bloggers tools to circumvent ad blockers.
Some readers find they cannot use ad blockers without also blocking content on smaller WordPress blogs.
An Oriel spokesperson said ad blockers don’t differentiate between small blogs that depend on revenue to survive, such as Sandrarose.com and Rhymeswithsnitch.com, and big league blogs like Bossip that drain every nickel and dime from readership views.
