How Bad Ads Affect Consumer
Perception of Publishers

An Admonsters Playbook
June 2023
All Rights Reserved

Sponsored by:What’s a Playbook?
A playbook is an extension of what the AdMonsters community has been doing at ourconferences for 20 years. A playbook solidifies what has made our events “must attend” for many
digital strategists. By bringing people together to share learnings and best practices in a focused
way, people can create a plan and avoid hours—if not days—of doing research on their own.
The AdMonsters playbook concept takes existing AdMonsters content (from conferences and
AdMonsters. com) and, with the help of the AdMonsters community, “crowd sources” a documentthat outlines best practices on a particular topic. Our belief is that this will allow for a free exchangeof ideas with the benefit of curation for accuracy. This document does not get into specifics aroundindividual solution providers intentionally.				
Great effort has gone into writing the playbook in a fashion that applies to as many publishers
as possible without becoming too general. In a technology-driven industry like digital advertising,information quickly becomes obsolete. The intention is that, based on the feedback of the
AdMonsters community, the next playbook will start to take shape and, with additional contributors,
grow in both depth and breadth.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.

Assessing the Impact of Bad Ads on the Publishing Industry | 4

2.

Executive Summary | 5

3.

Key Findings | 7

4.

Assessing the Consumer’s Exposure & Response to Bad Ads | 8

5.

Bad Ads Taint Consumer Trust | 12

6.

The Playbook | 173

1. ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF BAD ADS ON THE
PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
Distrust in news organizations is on the rise. According to Pew Research, only six in ten Americans trust
news organizations to tell them the truth.
At the same time, news avoidance is also increasing. Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford released
its annual Digital News Report, a survey measuring people’s news consumption habits and sentiment.
Consumption of news media has declined, and interest in news “has fallen sharply across markets, from
63% in 2017 to 51% in 2022.”
Is advertising contributing to that sense of distrust? Malware and malvertising scams start from advertising,prompting the US government to advise organizations to install ad blockers — a move that could defund
the internet if followed. Late last year, the FBI reported that consumers lost some $10 billion to online
scams, and recommended that consumers install an ad blocker to protect themselves.
Is there a connection between bad ads and media distrust? How does seeing bad ads affect consumers’
perception of the sites and apps that display them? Specifically, we wanted to understand:■ Do bad ads prompt users to leave a news site or app? Do they report those poor experiences

to the publisher?

■ What is the impact of a bad ad on the consumer’s propensity to return to that site, recommend

it to others, or make a purchase on it?

■ Do bad ads send users a message that publishers care more about making money than they doabout their safety?

To gain that understanding, we surveyed 250 consumers about the impact of a “bad” advertisement on
their perceptions of a website or app. We defined a bad ad to survey takers as “any advertisement —including the web page or app that clicking on it brings you to — that you find unpleasant, inappropriate,
untruthful, or has some kind of computer virus associated with it.”4

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Publishers have always struggled with bad ads. Nefarious players and scammers, who sought to exploit
the digital advertising ecosystem to steal money or data from consumers, have been around almost since
the first ad was placed. But as the world became more digitized, and as global wealth (and access to it)went online, bad actors stepped up their game. Online scams beginning with a digital ad are now dizzyingly
complex, with fraudsters going to great lengths to appear legitimate to their victims.
Not surprisingly, malvertising is now a major crime, with 46% of consumers saying they, or someone theyknow, has fallen prey to a scam. According to the FBI, American consumers lost $10 billion to online
scammers in 2022, and 2023 promises to be an even worse year for consumers.
Malvertising and malware are upending digital advertising, with the FBI warning consumers to install ad
blockers, and the New York Times telling its readers that “if it’s advertised, you probably shouldn’t buy it.”
Programmatic advertising burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s promising better monetization opportunities
for publishers and better access to audiences for brands. That promise led to a robust industry; in 2022
global revenues topped $173.74 billion worldwide.
The scales have tipped, and programmatic has become more of a liability than an asset. Last year,
Bloomberg News made headlines when it announced it was pulling the plug on open programmatic, citing
bad ads and the impact they had on the reader’s experience.
They’re hardly alone. Jared Collett, Sr. Director of Ad Operations and Analytics, Major League
Fishing, also said his company changed who they work with as a result of bad ads. “We’ve had to severrelationships with various programmatic partners and ad networks because they couldn’t get control over thebad ads they were sending us. I would rather serve a house ad, or no ads than serve a bad ad.”Worse, bad ads are eroding consumer trust in publishers. For 77% of consumers, a bad ad is a signal thatthe publisher cares more about making money than it does about their safety. Another 64% say that seeing a
bad ad on a single site tarnishes the entire industry. It’s fair to say we’re at a crisis point.
“This finding is really important. It brings home the point that rightly or wrongly, the reputation of theadvertiser and the reputation of the publisher are really tied together. This is something media organizations
will need to address.” said Amnon Siev, CEO, GeoEdge.
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Users Don’t Report Bad Ads
Most publishers hope that their readers will share their experiences with bad ads so that they can address
them, but that’s not the case. Over half (56%) of consumers say they’ll leave a site or close an app
immediately when they see a bad ad. Thirty-one percent of consumers will stop and consider how bad an
ad actually is (e.g. an ad selling medical miracles vs. malware) prior to leaving.
In a previous survey, we found that 71% of publishers say they learn about bad ads that appear on theirsites only if they are reported by a reader.
The Upshot: Publishers rely on users to alert them of bad ads, but most users don’t report them.
The result is a blindspot that’s growing bigger each quarter.

The Consumer’s Clarion Call: Fix Digital Advertising
Since its inception in the early 1990s, digital publishers have relied on advertising to fund their content,
and later on, their apps. Publishers have a fair expectation for consumers to view ads in exchange for freecontent. However, consumers are now making their own request: Ensure that the ads displayed on yoursite won’t pose any harm to me.
The industry would be wise to heed the consumer’s demand. The data revealed in this survey show that weare in a crisis. The consumer is suffering great harm from malvertising, and that’s hurting the publisher’s
reputation. If the industry doesn’t make meaningful progress in combating and mitigating bad ads soon, theentire ecosystem will be at risk.

46%

of consumers say they
were victims of an adscam or know someone
who was656%

of consumers say thatwhen they see a bad ad,they leave the site or close
the app immediately

77%

of consumers say
publishers that have badads care more about
making money thankeeping users safe

3. KEY FINDINGS: A WAKE-UP
CALL FOR PUBLISHERS■ 77% of consumers encountered bad ads; nearly a quarter of them

(19 out of 77) say they encounter such ads almost every time they
consume media websites and apps.

■ 56% of consumers say that bad ads will cause them to leave asite or close the app immediately. 31% will stop to consider how
bad the ad actually is prior to leaving the site.

■ 73% of consumers said they won’t recommend a site or app tofriends and family after encountering a bad ad on it.

■ 77% of consumers believe that when they encounter bad ads ona site, they conclude that the publisher cares more about making
money than they do about their safety.

■ 64% of consumers agree that seeing bad ads undermine theirtrust in all media organizations, not just the site where I see the ad.

■ 67% of consumers say that the primary responsibility for keeping

bad ads at bay lies with the website owner.

■ 77% of consumers said they’d report bad ads if the publisher or

app made it easy to do so.

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4. ASSESSING CONSUMER EXPOSURE& RESPONSE TO BAD ADSFirst we wanted to understand how frequently consumers encounter bad ads, and to what degree such ads
affect their overall experience.

77% of Consumers Say They’ve Seen Bad Ads
We asked survey respondents if they’ve encountered ads that met the definition of bad ads — e.g. ads theyfound unpleasant, inappropriate, offensive, untruthful, or containing malware. The vast majority — 77% said
they did. Of the 257 consumers who answered this question, only 30 said they’ve never encountered a bad ad.
Next, we asked how frequently they see such ads. Here’s what we heard:
Almost every time I consume content on media websites and apps.

19%

Occasionally
Very rarely
Never

3%

Don’t know

4%

8

50%
24%

How do those encounters affect consumer behavior? We asked: “When you see a bad ad, does it prompt
you to leave the site or close the app immediately?
	We heard:

Yes (56%)

32%
56%

No (12%)
Depends on how bad or offensive the ad is (32%)

12%

Bad ads clearly have a negative impact on a publisher’s reputation. When we asked survey respondents
if they’d recommend a website or app to others after encountering bad ads on them, the answer was
decisively no.

13%

14%

Yes (14%)
No (73%)Don’t know (13%)
78%“As search algorithms change and social media traffic comes and goes, word-of-mouth sharing between
friends and family is wildly important to a brand. You lose the chance for a new reader to be referred toyour site when the experience is so bad no one wants to DM anyone the URL.” Justin Wohl, Chief Revenue
Officer, Salon.com.

9	Next, we asked consumers to describe how bad ads affect their opinion of the website or app thathas shown them bad ads. Most agreed that it made the publisher seem unprofessional.
I consider it a low quality / unprofessional publisher
I become concerned for my security
I question the legitimacy of the publisher

57%

51%
50%

It scares me away from making purchases or sharing my first-party data with the app or site

46%

I’m less like to return to the site or app

50%

Other

1%

Some of the impressions provided under “other”:■ “I turn them in as fraudulent”■ “It rubs me the wrong way and makes we wonder if they screen advertisers”■ “I cringe”

Nearly half (46%) of survey respondents said that either they or someone they know have been victims of amalvertising scam. Given the high percentage, we asked them to tell us what they believe it says about the
publisher’s priorities.
We asked: When you see a bad ad on a website, do you feel as if the publisher cares more about making
money than ensuring your experience with their site or app is safe?

10Here’s what we heard:

13%

Yes (77%)10%

No (10%)77%

Don’t know (13%)

PRO-TIP:“We need to be cognizant of the balance between the user experience and revenue.
As publishers, revenue is obviously important to us. A lot of the ads that users are
calling out in these findings are the high-impact ads, which they see as intrusive. As publishers, it’s
important for us to ensure that the user experience is paramount.
Many publishers are shifting their revenue model away from per impression and thinking in terms ofrevenue per session. When your goal is to encourage users to have lengthy user sessions and readmultiple articles, the user experience becomes far more critical. In this scenario, it’s important that the first
few ads a user sees aren’t intrusive. We also need to create environments where the user doesn’t actively
seek to avoid ads, with an ad blocker.” Michael Persaud, Head of Programmatic, A360 media.

Publishers Weigh In
Why are bad ads so commonplace right now? To some, the shrinking pool of available consumers totarget is a culprit.
“Obtaining user consent is crucial for ad-supported website owners, whether it’s GDPR or ATT on iOS
apps. The lack of user consent is directly leading to low bid density due to low marketing outcomes.
This presents itself as the perfect environment for low-quality ads to serve,” explained Jeremy Gan,
SVP, Revenue Operations & Data Strategy, Mail Online.

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5. BAD ADS TAINT CONSUMER TRUST
Trust in media is at an all-time low, with just six and ten consumers stating they believe publishers tellthem the truth. Does advertising play a role in that distrust?
To find out, we asked quite explicitly, “To what extent do you agree with this statement: “Bad ads
undermine my trust in all media organizations, not just the site where I see the ad.”Here’s what we heard:
Strongly agree

29%

Somewhat agree

35%

Neither agree nor disagree

23%

Somewhat disagree

10%Strongly disagree

3%12	Who should take responsibility for keeping sites free of misleading and dangerous ads?
In the eyes of the consumer, that task should fall to:
The website itself

67%

The government

14%

Me

5%

Don’t know

12%

Other

2%

Responses provided under other include:■ “Web companies and app stores”■ “Website owners and government both”■ “Website running the ads, particularly games geared towards children”■ “Companies like Facebook and Google who sell those ads”
	How do users respond when they see a bad ad? Do they know what to do? To find out, we asked:
When you encounter a bad ad, which best describes your inclination to report it? Here’s what we heard:■ “I report sexual things”■ “I report sketchy ads that appear on kids’ websites”■ “If it’s a website I frequently visit I’m more likely to report an ad”■ “I would alert the website, but I don’t trust their ability to keep my computer url safe”■ “I report it when possible. Some sites don’t have a method for that.”13

	Of those who report, we asked how they go about it, checking all that apply. Here’s what we heard:
I look for a form or email address to contact the publisher

37%

I Google the editor of the paper

13%

I describe my experience on the publisher’s social media page17%

I make a complaint to a third party, such as the FTC or BBB

15%

I never report bad ads
Other

32%

7%

PRO-TIP:Is important for publishers to provide users with a direct feedback mechanism toreport bad ads. Consumers assume that publishers are responsible for serving theads and may view them as approving the content. While this isn’t accurate, giving them the ability to flag an
ad and establishing a channel of communication between publishers and end users can help identify andaddress bad actors. It will also build trust with the reader that publishers care about their experiences.

Responses provided under other include:■ “I use spamcop to find the crooks and report it to their ISP”
■ “I’m not sure how to report it therefore I have never done it....though I’ve wanted to a million times!!”■ “I’ve left reviews in the Apple Store for apps that promote bad ads.”

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Would users report bad ads if it was easy to do so? More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) said yes.
Next, we asked consumers about the impact of ads on their online experiences. First, we asked,“Overall, how would you describe the advertisements you see online? (Check all that apply.):
Here’s what we heard:
Annoying

52%

Deceptive

29%

Relevant to my interests
Informative

25%

Unpleasant

22%

Offensive

17%

Disgusting
Entertaining

26%

16%
13%

Other

4%

“Other” responses include:■ “I can easily ignore ads”
■ “I do not shop from click ads — if I’m interested I will go look up the thing advertised—theseads are in my opinion generally fake/ disreputable or ways to greenwash information”■ “Damn lies”

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Finally, we asked respondents, “Do you agree with this statement: Visiting apps/websites feels risky to me.”Here’s what we heard:

7%20%

Yes (41%)41%

No (32%)
Don’t know (20%)

32%

Other (7%)“Other” responses include:■ “Not risky to me but it is to my children”■ “It’s risky to click on ads, but not to go directly to the URL”
■ “I feel hesitation only if I have to click on a link. Visiting a website or using an app from myphone’s App Store does not bother me.”■ “I tend to research website reviews prior to going to them. There is always risk.”

PRO-TIP:“Don’t sacrifice long-term growth for a short-term gain in revenue. Publishers need tomonetize as efficiently as possible and so they’ll add a lot of partners through theirheader bidder wrappers. That can deliver a lot and I think what they’ll see is a lot of revenue in the shortterm, but it comes with a lot of negative hits to viewability, trust score, and everything related to SEO.
Chasing short-term revenue can lead to long-term implications of losing readers and advertisers who don’t
want to work with you.” Michael Persaud, Head of Programmatic, A360media.

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6. THE PLAYBOOKSet and enforce standards for the types of ads that can appear on your site.
Purveyors of many ad formats promise advertisers high engagement rates and publishers higher CPMs as
such ads are guaranteed to grab the consumer’s attention. But is that a good thing?
“Many bad ads are also intrusive ads (ie: pop-up ad that is hard to dismiss due to cleverly hidden x button).
I believe most users will leave the site as it’s unclear how to proceed on with the site experience” explained
Jeremy Gan of the Daily Mail.
To protect your users against bad and intrusive ads, craft a brand suitability framework to articulate what
ad suitability means for your site or app. Discuss questions such as: Is this advertiser type or content
category of interest to our users? Look for a tool that allows you to create and apply granular rules toenforce ad security, content, and user experience (e.g. intrusive ads) standards“Most publishers we talk to settle for filtering the ads their existing tools are capable of filtering, rather thandefining what ads they don’t approve and then searching for a tool that is capable of filtering such ads,”
said Amnon Siev, CEO at GeoEdge.

Test for malvertising before allowing ads on your site
Admittedly, malvertising can be difficult to detect. An ad may pass through an SSP and multiple malware
screens because its code is clean. But many legitimate-looking ads lure consumers to landing pages thatmake unrealistic promises, trick users into disclosing the credentials to their financial institutions, or someother scam.
Malware filters won’t catch these social engineering scams. To protect your users, deploy a tool that cantest the end-to-end ad delivery process ads — ad creative, text, and landing page — before allowing it on
your site. Some tools leverage optical character recognition, image recognition, and context analysis toanalyze campaigns on a real-time basis.
“Fraudsters deploy a variety of tricks to slip their ads through filters. We frequently block ads that are
categorized as family-friendly but include images of offensives ranging from liquor bottles to sexually
explicit content,” explained Amnon Siev, CEO at GeoEdge.
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Make it easy for readers to report a bad ad, directly from the ad itself.
Seventy-seven percent of users say they would willingly report bad ads if publishers made it easy for themto do so. Take advantage of this cadre of eyes and ears on your site! There are solutions available thatgenerate reports directly from the ad itself. Establish a workflow that acknowledges the report, and follow
up with the steps you took as a result of receiving it.
The existence of a reporting tool and follow-up workflow will tell your reader that you are taking
responsibility for the experience they have on your site, which is a critical step for re-establishing trust.

Another tip: Remove Google’s “mute ad- x button” as it confuses users and provides no value to the
publisher whatsoever.

Inform your supply partners when they send bad ads to your site.
Let your demand partners know about any malicious or offensive ads on their end with automatic
notifications. Adopt a tool that automatically blocks security incidents and reports them to the partnerthat sent them to your site. Streamlining incident mitigation will both lighten your load and contributeto an overall cleaner environment.
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GeoEdge’s mission is to protect the integrity of the digital advertising ecosystem and to preserve a quality
experience for users. GeoEdge’s advanced security solutions ensure high ad quality and verify that sites/
apps offer a clean, safe and engaging user experience, so publishers and app developers can focus on theirbusiness success.
App Developers and publishers around the world rely on GeoEdge to stop malicious and low-quality ads fromreaching their audience. GeoEdge allows publishers to maximize their ad revenue without quality concerns,
protect their brand reputation and increase their user loyalty. GeoEdge guards digital businesses against
unwanted, malicious, offensive and inappropriate ads—without sacrificing revenue.
To learn more, visit: www.geoedge.com

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