It seems like most web sites are displaying ads on their web
pages these days. Some ads are not too noticeable while others
are so annoying that they push visitors away and possibly make
them leave the site. Pushing away visitors or potential
customers is never a webmaster’s goal so its best to place ads
in such a way as to avoid these kinds of problems.
Pop-up and Pop-under Ads
Some of the most annoying ads come in the form of a pop-up ad.
This type of ad will open up a new browser window to display
itself, and the visitor will need to close it before they can
continue. Pop-Under ads are similar to the pop-up, but this type
of ad opens up behind the current browser window so the user
will only see it when they close their browser. The Pop-Under
can be really confusing to your visitors as they thought they
left the internet only to realize that there is still another
window open, and this one is trying to sell them something.
Not only are pop-ups and pop-unders annoying, pop-up blockers
are freely available in most web browsers. When is the last time
you read a pop-up or pop-under ad? When one squeaks by my pop-up
blocker I immediately close it without a second thought.
Interstitials
Interstitials are all over the internet, mostly on larger
websites. They can bring in a lot of revenue and a lot of
annoyance. Here is how they work. When you come to a website you
will first be shown a webpage with an ad of some sort C a full
page ad. To get past this page there is usually a button to
click that says something like No Thanks. So your visitor is
looking for information and instead they get this annoying ad
that they have to figure out how to close. How annoying is that?
If you do decide to use interstitials anyway, make sure to use
JavaScript to make the window disappear after a several seconds
so that the visitor doesnt have to click through. That may
make the ad a little less annoying. Also, do not use tracking
cookies as this can make the ad appear many times if the user
has cookies disabled.
Takeovers and Floating Ads
Now that mostly everyone has a pop-up blocker installed on their
computer, it is time for the pop-ups to evolve into Floating ads
and Takeovers. These ads appear over the content on the top of
the page. Sometimes there will be a close button right away and
other time it will appear after a few seconds. Still other times
the close button never appears which is really annoying. Also if
the close button is not clicked exactly in the correct spot they
may be taken to the advertisers site. Many visitors dont
return to sites that use these types of ads. So by using them,
you may be pushing your customers away.
System Error Ads
One more thing to avoid is the system error and spyware
infection ads. These ads will confuse many visitors and make
them go away. These ads pop-up in your face with a message like
your computer is infected with spyware C click here for a
free scan. These ads dont know anything about the users
computer; they are just trying to trick them into purchasing an
inferior product.
As webmasters we all want to monetize our sites to their fullest
potential. However, some ads do more damage to your sites image
than anything else. Furthermore, even though some of these
tactics may work for the short term, I really doubt that they
are here to last as more and more internet users become aware of
the latest marketing ploys.
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