Blog

Why visitors dislike advertising on your website? What can you do about it?

If truth be told, internet users have developed something of a love/hate relationship with online advertising. You often hear people complain about the presence of ads when they visit a website, but those very same people will also tell you about a great deal that they got by clicking on one of those ads. The fact of the matter is that online advertising works and it is a great source of income for both the advertiser and the publisher. It is hence no real surprise that website owners are turning to ad servers to help them maximize their advertising revenue while delivering value to their visitors. If you are looking to get the most out of your online advertising, here are some ways to avoid the most commonly disliked aspects of the medium:

Deceptive Ads

There are some ads that will pop up and tell the visitor that their computer is infected with some horrible virus. The user clicks on the ad out of fear, only to find out that the thing they clicked was something other than what it claimed to be. These types of ads will paint your website in a poor light and can lead to complaints. It is best to reject these types of ads and also reject advertisers promoting such ads from displaying on your website.

Privacy Concerns

Many online ads will ask visitors to input personal information so that the advertiser can contact the individual with more details on said product or service. If you plan on running this type of ad, make it very clear to the user how their information will be used and protected, and that it will not be shared or sold to a third-party company. This will help alleviate any concerns that they may have with the advertisement.

Security Issues

Besides the concerns about personal privacy, there is also the fear that clicking an ad will result in some sort of virus being unleashed. This is a genuine concern as it is happening more frequently. This is another reason why it is important that you know and control who and what is being advertised on your website. When choosing an ad server, choose one that has been well established with a reputation for security and reliability. It might be wise to avoid a brand new ad network with no known history or reputation.

Eye Strain

In an attempt to make ads as noticeable as possible, some advertisers go over the top by using bright contrast colors and fast animation that are nothing but a strain on the eyes. The solution here is to make the ad look as though it is part of the website. Nowadays, visitors have already developed an understanding of where ads are typically located on a web page so you don’t necessarily need a flashing red arrow pointing to it.

Speed

As mentioned earlier, ads are not always static, which means that their appearance can affect the speed and performance of your site. If you have too many ads on your site and the speed starts to slow down, you should really consider a different ad management approach with fewer but more effective ad placements. The goal is to reach a balance between advertising and usability. Only serve ads that are generating real interest from your visitors and generating revenue for you. After all, you want visitors to stick around a while rather than bolting because they are losing patience with your site loading speed.
July 24, 2014 Was this helpful? Yes / No

Related

  • Security concerns with online advertising
    "Publishers are well aware that there is a lot of money to be made by showing ads on their website. However, the issue here is that when rushing to monetize their pages, there are some site owners who do not perform proper due diligence. " More
  • What to look for in a third-party ad server?
    "If you need to run multiple ad campaigns from your own advertisers and also from ad networks or exchanges, you will need a third-party ad server to help you manage, optimize, deliver and track these ads. A third-party adserver helps a publisher lower operational and development costs compared to an in-house ad server solution that you build and operate with your own staff and servers. " More
  • Five ideas to make visitors enjoy advertising on your website
    "There are a number of different ways to make money from your website that go beyond the mere selling of your own goods and services. One method that many busy sites employ is the use of advertisements. " More