Are People Ignoring Online Ads?

Banner Blindness - A term that refers to web users and how they ignore online ads. According to Jacob Nielson's August 20th Alertbox, eye tracking studies reveal that most online user never look anything that appears to be an ad. Even if it's not an ad, if it looks like an ad, users will still ignore it.

"At all levels of user engagement, the finding is the same regarding banners: ...almost no fixations within advertisements. If users are looking for a quick fact, they want to get done and aren't diverted by banners; and if users are engrossed in a story, they're not going to look away from the content."

What is an online advertiser to do? Eye tracking studies indicate that there are 3 things that will divert people's attention from content.

1. Plain Text
2. Faces
3. Cleavage and other "private" body parts.

These top 3 formats, especially #3 may not be applicable to your site. However there is a 4th format that Jakob calls an "unethical path to ad fixations." If you make your ad look like content, it will attract attention.

• "The more an ad looks like a native site component, the more users will look at it.
• Not only should the ad look like the site's other design elements, it should appear to be part of the specific page section in which it's displayed."

Keep in mind the cautionary lesson to be learned here. If you trick your readers into clicking on an ad they think is content, they aren't going to be very happy with you and may begin looking elsewhere.

How can we use this information to make a better online ad? You need to beware of fancy formatting. Big words, bold colors and text design all make content look like promotion and ends up getting ignored. Nielsen did a study where a number of people were given question that could be answered by looking at a website. The answer was clearly indicated in big red numbers in the upper right hand corner of the homepage. 86% of the users failed to find the information requested. Even though the section contained the exact information they were looking for, over half of the test subjects saw the information but didn't use it to answer the question. Over 1/3 of the users didn't see the information at all. "The reason? The information resembled a promotion."

I recently conducted an informal survey on a web development forum. The question, "Do you click advertisements on website?" yielded similar results. The majority responded that they seldom click on ads and if they do it has to be extremely relevant to what they are looking for.

Bottom line?

• Use clean design with little or no fluff.
  
• Focus on the user's needs and why they are visiting the website you are advertising on. In other words, advertise on a site relevant to your service offerings.
  
• Make sure the user knows exactly what's going to happen when they click on your ad.
• Provide some real value when they click on your ad.
• Have a properly formatted landing page with a call to action to maximize conversions.
• Don't trick users.

As online advertising continues it's record setting climb, it becomes more important to refine the way we advertise. Internet information seekers are becoming more savvy and are less affected by online ads compared to 6 years ago. Remember, keep your ads clean, useful and honest. If you follow these simple guidelines you will be able to maximize your ad's effectiveness.

I am curious what you think. Do you click on ads or sponsored listings when browsing? In your opinion, what is the most annoying thing about online ads?

Let me know your thoughts.


Other interesting reading on the subject:

• Firefox users ignore online ads