How to hide ads from EU users

It is often necessary to tailor ads for specific regions—or even hide them altogether. An everyday use case is blocking ads for users in the European Union (EU) due to legal requirements or specific marketing strategies.

With Advanced Ads Pro and its built-in Geo Targeting feature, you can quickly achieve that kind of localization. This short tutorial walks you through the steps to hide ads from EU users.

Requirements for targeting ads to EU users in WordPress

Before starting, ensure you have activated Advanced Ads Pro on your WordPress site. You’ll also need to enable the Geo Targeting module in Dashboard > Settings > Advanced Ads Pro and configure it as this manual outlines.

Once you’ve set up the Geo Targeting module, you can target specific ads or placements so they do not appear for users located in the EU.

Configuring Geo Targeting for EU users

  1. Add the “Geo Location” Visitor Condition to your ad or placement.
  2. Select “By Specific Location” from the Geo Location condition dropdown.
  3. Choose “European Union” from the menu. This predefined region makes it easy to target all EU member states without selecting each country individually.
  4. With the “is not”/“is” option, specify whether Advanced Ads should hide or show the ad or placement to users in this region.
Advanced Ads Geo Targeting settings to hide ads from EU users
Settings for Geo Targeting to hide ads from EU users

Advanced Ads considers the UK’s exit from the EU in 2021, so the “European Union” region includes only current EU member states. To exclude ads for users in the UK, add this country separately as an additional Geo Location condition.

If you’re confused as to which logical operator to use—“AND” or “OR”—, try to think like a computer:

[Show the ad to the visitor who] is not [from the] European UnionCode language: CSS (css)

OR

[Show the ad to the visitor who] is not [from the] United KingdomCode language: CSS (css)

…will fit all visitors since those from the EU are not from the UK and vice versa. Hence, select the “AND” operator in this case.

Settings to hide ads from EU and UK users
Example of how to combine multiple Geo Location conditions to hide ads from users from the EU and the UK

Ensuring caching compatibility 

Enable the Cache Busting module under Advanced Ads > Settings > Pro to ensure these settings work correctly on cached pages.

Setting up fallback ads

When hiding ads for EU users, you risk leaving valuable ad impressions unfilled, leading to a potentially ad-free experience for those users. Advanced Ads can help solve this issue by setting up fallback ads.

Advanced Ads shows such fallback ads whenever it cannot serve the primary ad due to specific condition settings. 

Common types of fallback ads include:

  • Ads from other networks
  • Promotions for your products or services
  • Newsletter sign-ups
  • Social media channel promotions

To ensure that EU users that you excluded from seeing certain ads still receive relevant content create fallback ads with inverted condition settings. This setup ensures that fallback ads are shown exclusively to EU users rather than the entire audience.

Ad Setup with fallback ads for users from the EU
Example of an ad group with an ad unit hidden from EU users and an additional fallback ad

A detailed guide for configuring fallback ads is available in this tutorial.

Conclusion on hiding ads from EU users

Hiding ads for EU users with Advanced Ads Pro is a practical solution for balancing compliance with regional regulations and maintaining control over your ad strategy. By leveraging geo-targeting and fallback ads, you can manage ad placements efficiently while ensuring a smooth user experience across different regions.

This approach empowers you to create a more secure and legally compliant ad setup, deliver relevant content to your audience, and make the most of your website’s revenue potential.

Author image Joachim

Joachim started marketing his first local news website in 2009. Shortly after, he successfully monetized his travel blogs about Morocco. He is an expert in affiliate marketing in the tourism and travel industry. When he's not writing tutorials for Advanced Ads or supporting other users, he prefers staying in Marrakech or at the Baltic Sea.

With over a decade of industry expertise, Advanced Ads is your surefooted ally in the ad tech realm. Their array of WordPress ad manager plugins enhances your advertising strategy, ensuring effective ad placements. Rely on their ad tech proficiency to stay ahead in the dynamic world of digital advertising. Contact info

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