Adblockers VS Premium Content : The Server-Side solution

The digital age has brought an abundance of information, but also an advertising saturation for internet users. Faced with this overload, Adblockers emerged and quickly became essential tools for many users. Whether for uninterrupted browsing or for reasons of personal data protection, their use is sharply increasing. However, their implications go far beyond just blocking ads.

While the main purpose of these tools is to block unwanted ads, their impact doesn't end there. They affect the launching of crucial scripts, whether they're dedicated to advertising (like Facebook or Google Ads) or essential for the proper functioning of sites. Some even go further by blocking analysis tools. These adblockers can impact a company's ability to measure their site traffic or restrict access to certain content.

The consequence ? An underestimation of traffic, reduced advertising campaign efficiency, and even disabling crucial tools like paywalls meant to protect premium content.

Statistics show that nearly a third of French internet users use these blockers. As their usage continues to grow, it poses significant challenges for website owners. But how can users be guaranteed a non-intrusive ad experience while preserving website integrity and functionality? The Server-Side solution seems promising, combining site performance improvement, increased cookie collection, consumer data protection, and data governance.

The challenge posed by ad blockers is exemplified by the case of "La Revue du Praticien". How can the protection of premium content against an adblocker be guaranteed ?

The Challenge posed by adblockers

UnNest, with its expertise in Data Consulting, positioned itself as the ideal partner for this challenge. They help marketing and CRM teams control their data to achieve ambitious objectives and specialize in Tracking, Data Engineering, Dashboards, Media Activation, and CRM.

La Revue du Praticien, a key player in ongoing medical training, has carved a niche within the health professional community. As a valuable resource, it offers specialized content for doctors, medical students, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. However, this exclusive access is restricted to subscribers, requiring rigorous authentication.

Here lies the real challenge : how to ensure the protection of this premium content ? The key to this protection is the reliable triggering of the Paywall Poool tool. For La Revue du Praticien, this tool isn't just a feature : it's the cornerstone of its business model. But ad blockers threatened its efficacy, risking exposing premium content.

For La Revue du Praticien, this situation had a direct and serious implication. Indeed, when a user had an ad blocker, they could access the premium content without identification, equivalent to a significant security breach, endangering the site's business model. Imagine the potential losses when non-subscribers access content that is normally reserved, thus undermining the site's profitability and longevity. This major challenge required a robust, suitable, and lasting solution.

The Solution

Given the critical importance of ensuring premium content protection, La Revue du Praticien chose an innovative solution : the proxyfication of GTM (Google Tag Manager) and Poool.

GTM Strategy Overhaul

The main challenge encountered was third-party tools blocking the GTM script. The solution was to switch to “first party” hosting and customize the script file (from gtm.js to a custom name). This approach made the script invisible to most ad blockers.

Server-Side Integration of Poool

Besides the GTM challenge, the Poool script, crucial for content protection, was also optimized. To prevent script blocking and simultaneously improve site performance, Poool was integrated into GTM in Server-Side mode. This not only reduced the number of scripts loaded on the user's browser side but also ensured that Poool, hosted in "first party" mode, operated optimally, even in the presence of aggressive ad blockers. And as a bonus, transitioning these six scripts was made smooth thanks to our CDN Addingwell technology !

By combining these innovative techniques, La Revue du Praticien not only strengthened its premium content protection but also optimized its website's performance, ensuring an unprecedented user experience.

The Results

As we observed, for La Revue du Praticien, transitioning to a Server-Side approach with Google Tag Manager (GTM) wasn't just a technical solution but a necessity to preserve its business model.

The Server-Side migration yielded impressive results in terms of content protection, user engagement, and conversions.

By migrating to Server-Side hosting with GTM, La Revue du Praticien not only enhanced its content protection but also saw a tangible increase in user engagement and conversions.

Conclusion

Adblockers, originally designed to offer a smoother browsing experience for internet users, have posed significant challenges for La Revue du Praticien, especially those relying on premium content to support their business model.

The case of La Revue du Praticien perfectly illustrates the delicate balance many sites must find : ensuring an optimal user experience while preserving their content's intrinsic value. Thanks to migrating to a Server-Side approach, not only was the protection of their valuable content strengthened, but a significant increase in user engagement and conversions was also achieved. This proves that solutions exist in the face of technological challenges, but they require adaptation, foresight, and strategic thinking.

For digital marketing and content players, the story of La Revue du Praticien reminds us that the key to success lies not in resisting change but in innovation. By understanding user needs and anticipating technological hurdles, brands can not only survive but thrive in this ever-evolving environment.

If you wish to explore this promising technology further, we encourage you to consult UnNest's complete article for a deeper understanding of the topic.