A recent survey found that a startling 91% of shoppers will not purchase from a brand that serves ads deemed to be intrusive. The research from Wunderkind - a leading performance marketing channel - demonstrates that intrusive ads can lead to lost conversions and a damaged reputation. It is clear that your brand will want to avoid intrusive ads at all costs, but what exactly is an intrusive ad? It can be hard to define, and every user will be different, but this post will look at a few defining factors of invasive ads so that you know what to avoid.
User Experience Disruption
One of the main reasons why an ad is deemed intrusive is when it disrupts the user experience. Everyone has experiences where they visit a website only to get frustrated by pop-ups and videos that play automatically. This can be incredibly frustrating and make engaging with the desired content difficult. Unless the user is patient and committed, this usually leads to exiting the page. Additionally, ads can easily disrupt the mobile experience by taking up screen space, leading to unwanted taps on adverts. With mobile commerce on the rise, you must be able to provide an easy and intuitive mobile experience free from intrusive ads.
Irritating Ads
Similarly, some ads can easily irritate consumers with the content that is used. Loud noises, repetitive messages, and flashing images are just a few factors that can irritate website visitors and lead them to exit the page. You always want an ad to stand out, but you never want to annoy consumers, as this can turn them off your brand for life.
Overexposure
Have you ever had an ad seemingly follow you everywhere you go? When you see the same ad time and time again and places all over the internet, it can cause a great deal of frustration and feel invasive. This is why it is essential to avoid repeating the same ad and to develop new messages regularly.
Privacy Intrusion
It is critical to be cautious of intrusion on privacy regarding ads. While a level of personalization is smart and can be effective, you do not want customers to feel like you are spying on them. Highly personalized content with private information based on online behaviours is a step too far and can, understandably, feel invasive.
Irrelevant Content
At the other end of the scale, an ad can feel intrusive when it has absolutely no relevance to the individual. Ads that do not address their interests, wants, or needs frustrate website visitors and could lower engagement.
Slow Loading Times
These days, web users do not want to wait around for a website to load. Ads can slow down loading times when they use large files or feature tracking mechanisms, which could see web users exit the page and visit a competitor instead.
With 91% of shoppers claiming that intrusive ads will prevent them from making a purchase, it is clear that you need to know what makes an intrusive ad. The above are a few main factors you must avoid when developing ads to enable a positive user experience.
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