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Klixxx Magazine Archive - Web Trends |
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Pop-up Advertising: Don't Give Up the Ship
Anyone will tell you that pop-up ads are intrusive, infuriating, useless, and far too numerous-a savvy webmaster would avoid using them. But online advertisers will tell you that they work. How can you make them work effectively for you without alienating your surfers?
The term "pop-up" actually covers a group of related advertising strategies comprising basic pop-ups, pop-unders, transition ads, replacement interfaces, splash ads, and pop-up transition ads. These closely related terms are explained by whatis.com as follows:
A pop-up is a graphical user interface (GUI) display area, usually a small window that suddenly appears ("pops up") in the foreground of the visual interface. Pop-ups can be initiated by a single or double mouse click or rollover (mouseover). A pop-up ad is smaller than the background interface-windows that fill the user interface are called replacement interfaces, and usually resemble a small browser window with only the close, minimize, and maximize options at the top.
Pop-unders are windows that load behind the Web page that's being viewed, and remain hidden until they are revealed when the user leaves the Web site. A transition ad is a Web page containing a commercial message that appears temporarily between two other Web pages. This kind of interstitial advertisement either fills the current browser window or opens in a new window (in the latter case it's called a pop-up transition ad). Sometimes called a splash ad, because it appears in a splash page, the transition ad is typically set to disappear within a certain number of seconds.
A Bad Rap?
According to a recent Nielsen/NetRatings study, 90% of surfers regard pop-up ads as "very annoying." [Morrissey 2003a] Anyone will tell you they are intrusive, infuriating, ineffective, and far too common.
Pop-unders, and transition ads in particular, do not make a good first impression on users, since these "may appear to be a Web site that they've inadvertently navigated to, or, worse, have been taken to unwittingly. A frequent complaint from users is that such ads often contain a script that can cause browsers to crash, a negative characteristic that is unlikely to create a favorable impression for the product or service that is being advertised." [Whatis.com]
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Bunnyfoot Study Findings
- The company name or logo was only physically seen in 2% of all ads.
- 50% of ads were closed before the ad finished loading.
- 35% of pop-up ads were ignored completely.
- The average time from a pop-up ad frame appearing and the clicking of the close button was 2.5 seconds, the average time for a company name or logo to appear in a pop-up is 8.2 seconds.
- There were no positive comments about pop-ups from any of the users tested.
- Users feel that their intelligence is being insulted because of the suggestion that they cannot find what they are looking for themselves.
- Users feel imposed upon because sometimes they have no choice but to act in order to get rid of the advertisement.
- Users are particularly irritated by pop-ups which are not related to the site, as there is no real or useful reason for them to be there.
- Users are particularly frustrated by adverts which appear in the center of the screen or obstruct information because they are an unwanted interruption.
Source: Anne Chan, Dr Jon Dodd, Robert Stevens. The Efficacy of Pop-Ups and the Resulting Effect on Brands: A White Paper by Bunnyfoot Universality. 02/04. www.bunnyfoot.com.
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A recently released study [Chan 2004] equates pop-ups with "brand suicide" - consultancy Bunnyfoot Universality (www.bunnyfoot.com) found 60 percent of users believe pop-up ads make them mistrust the brand being advertised. Half of the consumers closed the ads before they loaded completely. Only two percent could determine the name of the advertised brand. Bunnyfoot says the results indicated "a strong and intense dislike for pop-up ads, resulting in a negative attitude towards the website itself, and the brand owner." They concluded:
- Pop-ups can damage brands by creating a poor online user experience and this can have a detrimental affect on the entire brand.
- Users have learned to almost completely ignore the existence of pop-up ads in their various forms.
- There is a high probability of pop-ups being closed even before the opportunity to observe the offer/message or logo has occurred.
- Pop-up blockers will probably continue to be employed by users, further diminishing their ability to deliver effective ROI.
But, that's just the conventional wisdom-what is the actual state of affairs? Firstly, pop-ups have historically accounted for only a small proportion of all Internet advertising, even though that proportion is now growing: "Pop-ups' share of the online media pie is more than double what it was a year ago. Nielsen/NetRatings found they accounted for 7.4 percent of all online ad impressions in Q3 2003, up from 3.0 percent for the same period last year." [Rodgers 2003] Still, banner and other types of advertising are far more prevalent on the 'Net-the fact that pop-ups are noticed more may be their strength.
And, even though they seem to be universally hated, pop-up ads definitely appear to work-according to analysis by Advertising.com, pop-up ads generate a click-through 13 times that of the standard 468 x 60 pixels banner, and a conversion rate more than 14 times better. [Morrissey 2003b] Some very respectable online advertisers, such as the New York Times and Washington Post have enjoyed great success with pop-ups.
Pop-Up Cops
Mozilla Firebird now integrates a pop-up filter, as do Alexa, AltaVista, and Google, AOL, Earthlink, and SBC Yahoo! And there is no shortage of aftermarket pop-up killer packages available. As with e-mail filters, these cures can be worse than the disease, interfering with normal page function and blocking welcome ads along with the unwelcome ones. "One thing to look for in such a program is the ability to differentiate between user-initiated pop-up windows and others, because many other applications make use of pop-up windows. If a pop-up stopper utility can't tell the difference between a pop-up window that the user has requested and an unsought pop-up ad, the program may cause more problems for the user than it solves." [Whatis.com]
Although widely available, it isn't clear that pop-up filters are actually used extensively: "Despite the profusion of pop-up blocking options available to consumers, analysts believe the number in use is still quite small. Nielsen/NetRatings analyst Marc Ryan recently said that a test the researcher did found that between 20 and 25 percent of users were blocking pop-up ads. However, he did add that the sample was small and unlikely to reflect the entire Internet population. Jupiter Research analyst, Nate Elliott, said he believes the number of Internet users with pop-up blockers is far fewer." [Morrissey 2003c]
But Microsoft's recent decision to integrate a pop-up filter with Internet Explorer could spell the end of pop-ups altogether. Or not..Nate Elliott, an associate analyst with Jupiter Research, said "If they turn it on by default, that would effectively kill pop-up advertising on the Web." On the other hand, if blocking the ads is not the default setting, pop-ups will probably continue to be served. "Consumers already have plenty of access to pop-up blockers. Nearly half of people online at home have free access through their ISPs," but only a small percentage are using them." [Rodgers 2003]
Publishers seem indifferent to pop-up advertising's future or lack of future. Although a useful part of the current mix, there are many alternatives available and the future direction seems to lie in rich media and paid search. Display advertising has also seen a recent resurgence. [Mara 2003]
Nevertheless, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has recently set up a major committee with the mission: "This task force is responsible for the development of standards and guidelines for the use of pop-ups and pop-unders. By developing coherent standards, the task force enables advertisers, their agencies, and consumers to have simplified media buying, planning and creative processes. Issues the task force will review include frequency capping, sizing standards, and content guidelines." The committee has the following specific projects and goals:
- Develop standards and guidelines for pop-ups and pop-unders
- Achieve industry adoption and certification
- Develop an industry education strategy
- Educate key industry stakeholders.
Doing It Right
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Effective Pop-Ups: The Right Stuff
- Use pop-ups in a targeted way, don't broadcast them indiscriminately.
- Make your pop-ups as context-sensitive and pertinent as possible.
- Don't bombard surfers with repeated pop-ups-maybe one, and a delayed one.
- Place your pop-up where it will not interfere too much with page content.
- Prefer a pop-up that is unobtrusive enough that surfers don't need to close it.
- Keep pop-ups to a reasonably small size-the "pop" attracts attention.
- Design your pop-up ad frame to load quickly-you don't have much time...
- Avoid transition ads and replacement interfaces-too big and intrusive.
- Follow the Interactive Advertising Bureau's guidelines when they appear.
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ClickZ expert James Herring is certain pop-ups' days are numbered: "Someone please call a funeral director; we'll soon need his services." He gives the following reasons pop-ups are a bad move for advertisers:
- Why associate yourself with the level of products and services that advertise with pop-ups? You're known by the company you keep.
- A pop-up is a forced opt-out; users have to click to close the unwanted ad. Didn't we all agree to stop doing that with e-mail?
- Over 50 million users installed pop-up blockers. Doesn't that say something?
While there is some truth there, we could poke a hole in each of those reasons. The fact is most marketers agree that pop-ups can be very effective and some major businesses have enjoyed great success with them. Users undoubtedly hate pop-ups because so many webmasters are using them in a bone-headed fashion.
The obvious conclusion? Use pop-ups properly, and take advantage of what they can do for you! It's not hard to do that-the main thing is just to avoid excess, put some careful thought into the campaign, and try not to irritate or alienate the surfer.
Sources:
Anne Chan, Dr Jon Dodd, Robert Stevens. The Efficacy of Pop-Ups and the Resulting Effect on Brands: A White Paper by Bunnyfoot Universality. 02/04. www.bunnyfoot.com/popup/bunnyfoot_popup.pdf.
James Herring. "Pop-Ups May Ye Rest in Peace," ClickZ Experts 03/02/04. www.clicz.com/experts/media/agency_strat/article.php.
Janis Mara. "Display Ads Back From the Dead," Cyberatlas 12/31/03. cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/advertising/article/.
Brian Morrissey. "No Consensus on Future of Pop-Ups," Internet Advertising Report 09/11/03. www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php.
Brian Morrissey. "Pop-Ups Work," Cyberatlas 05/29/03. cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/advertising/article/.
Brian Morrissey. "SBC Yahoo! Joins Anti-Pop-Up Crusade," Internet Advertising Report 09/16/03. www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php.
Zachary Rodgers. "An End to Pop-ups? Advertisers Wince, Then Shrug," Boston.internet.com 11/14/03. boston.internet.com/news/article.php.
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