Ads on Ecosia Search

Ecosia shows ads on the search results page, just like other search engines. These ads are what allow us to fund tree‑planting and other climate projects.

Not every search will show ads, and some tools (like ad blockers or privacy settings) can hide them. This FAQ explains where ads on Ecosia come from, how to recognise them, why you might not see any, and how they relate to your privacy and our climate mission.

In this article: 

What are ads on Ecosia and why do we show them?

Ads on Ecosia are sponsored links that appear on the search results page. Advertisers pay to show their websites when people search for certain keywords.

We show these ads because:

  • They are our main source of income
  • We use that income to fund tree‑planting and other climate projects
  • This allows you to support the climate simply by using Ecosia to search

We try to keep the ad experience:

  • Clear – ads are labelled so you can tell them apart from normal results
  • Relevant – ads are related to your search query
  • Balanced – most pages show only a small number of ads, and many searches show none at all

Where do ads on Ecosia come from?

Ads on Ecosia are provided by advertising partners. Depending on your country and settings, ads can come from:

  • Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads)
  • Google AdSense for Search
  • In some cases, other ad partners or formats we test in limited regions

These partners:

  • Run the ad auctions (where advertisers bid on keywords)
  • Decide which ads are shown for a given search
  • Handle much of the ad delivery and billing behind the scenes

Ecosia:

  • Integrates these ads into our search results page
  • Makes sure ads are clearly labelled
  • Uses the proceeds to fund our climate projects

For more information about where organic (non‑paid) search results come from, see our separate FAQ: Search result providers on Ecosia

How can I recognize an ad on Ecosia?

We want it to be easy for you to tell ads apart from other search results.

On Ecosia, ads:

  • Are clearly labelled with a marker such as “Ad” or “Sponsored” 
  • May appear in special ad boxes (for example, a block of product or shopping ads in some regions)

Organic results:

  • Do not have an “Ad” or “Sponsored” label
  • Are ordered by our search providers’ ranking algorithms, not by payment

Other features on the results page, such as maps, weather information, translations, or AI answers, are not ads. They are provided by our search partners and feature providers to make your results more useful.

Do ads affect my search results or rankings?

No, ads do not change how organic search results are ranked. Instead:

  • Organic results are ranked by our search providers (for example, Microsoft Bing, Google, EUSP) according to their own algorithms
  • Advertisers cannot pay to change the order of those organic results on Ecosia
  • Ads appear in separate slots that are reserved for advertising and clearly labelled

This means:

  • A website can advertise on Ecosia and still appear low or not at all in the organic results
  • A website can rank very high organically without buying any ads

If you want more details about how our search partners rank organic results, see the article for

Search result providers on Ecosia

Why don’t I see any ads on Ecosia?

It’s normal not to see ads on every search. There are several reasons why you might not see any ads.

Search query

  • Advertisers usually choose specific keywords where they want to show ads
  • Some queries simply don’t have any active advertisers, or not enough to show an ad

You’re more likely to see ads when you search for:

  • Commercial topics, like “laptop deals”, “cheap flights to Paris”, or “car insurance”
  • Products or services that businesses commonly advertise

You’re less likely to see ads for:

  • Very general or informational searches (for example, “what is photosynthesis”)
  • Sensitive topics where ad policies restrict what can be shown

Country or region

  • Ad availability depends on your country or region
  • In some places, our ad partners have fewer advertisers, so some queries will show fewer or no ads
  • Certain ad formats or partners are not yet available everywhere

Ad blockers or privacy tools

If you use:

  • Ad‑blocker extensions (such as Adblock Plus, uBlock Origin, etc.)
  • Built‑in tracking/ad protection in your browser
  • DNS‑level or network‑level ad blocking

These tools can hide search ads on Ecosia or prevent them from loading.

You can usually allow ads from Ecosia by allowlisting ecosia.org in your ad blocker. See the section “How can I enable ads on Ecosia if I use an ad blocker?” below.

How can I enable ads on Ecosia if I use an ad blocker?

If you’d like to support Ecosia by allowing search ads, you can allowlist specific domains in your ad blocker or privacy tools. Broadly, there are three places to check.

Browser settings

Some browsers have built‑in ad or tracking protection. You can normally:

  1. Open your browser settings
  2. Look for Privacy, Security, Tracking protection or Content blocking
  3. Either:
    • Add ecosia.org as an exception, or
    • Lower the blocking level so that search ads can appear

For exact steps, see your browser’s help pages, for example:

Ad‑blocker extensions

If you use an extension like Adblock Plus, AdBlock, uBlock Origin, PoperBlocker, Fair AdBlocker, or Ghostery, you can usually allowlist Ecosia like this:

  1. Go to Ecosia - the search engine that plants trees
  2. Click the extension icon in your browser toolbar
  3. Look for an option such as:
    • “Pause on this site”
    • “Don’t run on pages on this domain”
    • “Whitelist/allowlist site” or “Allow ads on ecosia.org”
  4. Confirm or reload the page

After that, ads on Ecosia should appear again (if any are available for your search query and region).

DNS‑level or network‑level blockers

Some tools block ads at the DNS or network level (for example, Pi‑hole, NextDNS, some antivirus software, or router‑level filters).

To allow ads from Ecosia, you may need to remove certain domains from your blocklist or allow specific ad‑serving domains used by our partners. This is an advanced option, to see ads on Ecosia the following domains need to be whitelisted:

Using the Ecosia browser or apps

If you use our desktop browser or mobile apps, ad management works a bit differently. Ecosia Search ads do not need to be allowlisted. For details on how built‑in blockers and tracking protection work, and how to adjust them, please see: Ad Management on Ecosia Browsers (desktop, Android, iOS)

How does ad blocking work in the Ecosia mobile apps?

The Ecosia mobile applications include built‑in features to make browsing more private and less cluttered.

In general:

  • Ad blocking in the apps focuses on intrusive or tracking‑heavy ads while you browse the web
  • Tracking protection helps block tracking scripts and cookies used by some third‑party sites
  • These features are separate from the search ads on ecosia.org that fund our climate projects

You can usually find these controls in the app’s Settings under sections like “Ad Blocking” or “Tracking Protection”.

Do I help Ecosia by clicking on lots of ads?

Please don’t click on ads randomly or repeatedly just to support Ecosia.

Our ad partners (like Microsoft Advertising and Google AdSense for Search):

  • Have systems to detect invalid or artificial clicks
  • May not count or pay for clicks that look suspicious

You help Ecosia best by:

  • Using Ecosia as your everyday search engine
  • Clicking on ads only when you are genuinely interested in the offer
  • Sharing Ecosia with others who might like to support tree planting through their searches

Simply by using Ecosia regularly, you already support our mission.

How do ads on Ecosia relate to privacy and data use?

To show you relevant ads, our ad partners need some basic information. This typically includes:

  • Your search query (what you typed)
  • Some technical information (for example, your IP address, device type, browser)
  • Your approximate location (country/region), so they can show local offers where appropriate

Ecosia’s approach:

  • We aim to use as little data as possible while still making sure the ads are useful and relevant
  • We do not build detailed personal profiles for advertising based on your searches
  • We regularly review our systems and partners to see where we can further reduce data use and improve privacy

Each ad partner (for example, Microsoft, Google) has its own privacy policy explaining how it handles data.

You can learn more in:

For how search result providers (not just ads) use your data, see: Search Result Providers

How do ads on Ecosia support climate action?

Ecosia exists to address the climate crisis. Ads are a key way we fund that work.

The way it typically works is:

  • Advertisers pay to show ads on Ecosia’s search results
  • Our ad partners (like Microsoft and Google) share part of this revenue with Ecosia
  • After covering our running costs, we use the remaining profits to:
    • Plant trees with trusted partners
    • Support other climate and biodiversity projects

By allowing and occasionally clicking on useful ads:

  • You help generate the income we use for these projects
  • Even if you don’t click ads often, simply using Ecosia helps us grow and sustain our climate impact over time

Thank you! 

How can I report or request removal of specific ads?

If you see an ad on Ecosia that you think is misleading or a scam, offensive or inappropriate, or promoting something that may violate our or our partners’ policies, you can report it directly from the search result page:

  • Click the three dots next to the ad and follow the partner’s reporting flow.

Screenshot: Repot ad

For more information have a look at: Content and ad removal requests

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