Pop-ups Versus Banner Ads: Which Is Better For Increased Website
Traffic?
Everyone who uses the web knows that advertising is a huge part
of the entire experience. The internet is full of advertising
for every possible company and product you can imagine. Although
many complain about the forms of advertising, there is not much
difference in internet advertising and telemarketing phone calls
to your home. The interesting thing is however that web users
prefer to be annoyed by internet ads over unexpected phone
calls. This acceptance of ads has created a breeding ground for
millions of pop-ups and banner ads on the internet. Sites use
them individually or together, but some still wonder which is
better for increased website traffic. Consumers have offered a
response, perhaps not verbally, but with statistics of
effectiveness.
Pop-ups are typically seen as annoying advertisements. Those
that include blinking lights can even be hazardous to some users
with certain medical conditions. They have been considered the
most hated form of web advertising available. With pop-ups being
so annoying however, consumers may wonder why they are still
being used so frequently. The truth is that pop-ups are terribly
aggravating, but they are indeed effective overall. For some
crazy reason, there are millions of people who actually utilize
them when they appear on their screen. This is partially due to
many sites using pop-up ads as an excuse and reason for offering
free services to site users. They will state that they must use
these forms of ads in order to offer the site for free. Users,
who don't want to pay, but still want to use the site, will
likely accept the excuse without question.
The trouble with pop-up ads these days are that there are many
programs to install on a computer that will not allow pop-ups
through. This means that when a pop-up is meant to appear on
your screen, your installed "pop-up blocker" program does not
allow it to happen and instead blocks the advertisement from
reaching you, the user. These programs are very effective most
of the time and can cost advertisers a great deal of money if
the ad is not reaching the intended target. Advertisers are now
coming up with newly programmed pop-ups however that can bypass
these "blocker" programs and still deliver the ads to your
screen, whether you like it or not.
Banner ads began to appear on websites in response to the
annoyance consumers felt from pop-ups. Advertisers thought that
if banner ads were not as bothersome, they may offer even better
results than the pop-up ads. Sites began sticking banner ads in
every free area of their site. Upon doing so, they soon realized
that although banner ads are not typically as bothersome as
pop-ups, they are also not as effective. Users were less likely
to utilize banner ads for their purpose. Many of the banner ads
were perhaps not as noticeable as an aggressive pop-up ad right
in the user's line of vision. Some are off to the side of the
screen and out of the direct eye contact.
Many users prefer banner ads when asked, because they claim they
are easier on the eye and they are often unnoticeable. This may
mean more comfortable use for the user, but it means something
completely different to the advertiser. An advertiser wants
their ad to be noticed, even at the user's expense. They would
rather annoy the user and get the ads noticed than the ads
simply sit being unnoticed. In whole, advertisers were not
seeing a large turnout with banner ads, and therefore many sites
no longer use them for advertising purposes.
The answer to whether or not pop-ups or banner ads are best
really lies with who you speak with. Consumers will likely tell
you banner ads are much better than troublesome pop-ups.
Advertisers however would tell you the exact opposite. They both
have a place on the internet and their own group of "fans". The
conclusion is however that unless users completely boycott
pop-ups in an extremely dramatic way, they will likely continue
to replace banner ads. The power of the choice lies in the hands
of the advertisers at this time and until users want to force
them to change their ways, the advertisers will continue to
support pop-ups over banner ads.