Search Advertising and AdSense Blocker a Threat to WebMasters

Advertising Blocker to Steal Money from WebMasters

[lorenbaker]

The InterMute, Inc. company announced today the latest version of its best selling Internet ad blocking software which gives users the option to block paid or sponsored Search Engine results, the fastest growing segment of the online advertising industry.

Accoding to InterMute’s CEO Ed English "Search Engines have lost their way and tarnished their credibility. Instead of first displaying the most relevant search results, most Search Engines now show the highest paying ad-sponsored results."

Their new feature, dubbed New Search Sanity, lets the user block paid or "sponsored" listings from showing up on the most popular search engines including, Google, Yahoo, Overture, MSN, AOL, AltaVista, AllTheWeb and LookSmart. The tool even has the power to block contextual advertising, such as Google’s AdSense.

AdSense and ContentMatch blocker! To heck with spyware, this is one LARGE threat!

More news: [news.google.com...]

How do we fight this potential revenue blocking menace?

[john316]

The search engines should be proactive with their users and offer the ad free experience as a preference.

If people don't want to see your ad, they probably aren't going to buy anyway, kind of a moot point.

[Chndru]

>The new software, which retails for $29.95,

I doubt many will pitch in 29.95 to block text ads. Sounds kinda self-defeating.

[bcolflesh]

I doubt many will pitch in 29.95 to block text ads

Especially when you can block them in your host file for free ;)

[korkus2000]

Webmasters won't even pay that fee for Opera. I don't see anyone else doing it either. Its when it is autoinstalled that there will be a problem.

[Chndru]

I downloaded the 30-day trial version. And so far i am impressed.

It has contextual ads blocker turned on by default. Search sanity (blocker for Ads on SERPS) turned off as default. The available options are:- Google, Yahoo, MSN Search, AOL Search, Alta Vista, LookSmart, Alltheweb.

Try it on MSN search or Yahoo..Real Clean Fresh feeling :)

And it zaps 'em clean in all these SEs (but ONLY for Web Searches, not for product searches/groups etc) :)

[lorenbaker]

Exactly, and like popup blockers, there is a trend of first free versions, then ISPs catching on.. and so on.

The good thing is that ISP's with search deals would be killing themselves with such a tool.

I would bet that free versions will be available soon, especially with all the uproar about sponsored listings not being able to be determined from organic listings by the average user.

[lorenbaker]

Chndru, that's pretty scarey.

I wonder if there will be a way to counter the use of such tools on your site, like one can for AdWare like TopText or Gator.