Twitter is now delivering on its promise to show less ads to Twitter Blue subscribers. The company has added details of how “Half ads” will work to its Help Center.
Why we care. If you’re advertising on Twitter or thinking about it, this change could have a minor impact on ad reach. “Minor” because the total number of Twitter Blue subscribers is less than 1{6cb8abfeb559d66631b8e4d3acbefbf94e33aab91056d243d8f72af0fa67e1d6} of its overall user base.
What’s changed. Twitter has added this information:
“See approximately 50{6cb8abfeb559d66631b8e4d3acbefbf94e33aab91056d243d8f72af0fa67e1d6} fewer ads in the For You and Following timelines. As you scroll, you will see approximately twice as many organic or non-promoted Tweets placed in between promoted Tweets or ads. There may be times when there are more or fewer non-promoted Tweets between promoted Tweets.”
Clearly, “Half ads” won’t actually be “half ads” on Twitter. It will be approximately 50{6cb8abfeb559d66631b8e4d3acbefbf94e33aab91056d243d8f72af0fa67e1d6} fewer, and limited to the For You and Following feeds.
Where “Half ads” doesn’t apply. Twitter specifically mentioned it won’t apply to the following areas, but noted it’s not “limited to” these:
- Ads on profiles.
- Ads in Tweet replies.
- Promoted events in Explore.
- Promoted trends.
- Promoted accounts to follow.
Updated Twitter Blue subscribers count. Twitter now has 498,117 Blue subscribers as of April 2, according to this analysis.
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About the author
Danny Goodwin has been Managing Editor of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX since 2022. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events.
Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.
