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Summary:
Web users are highly goal-driven, and ads that
interfere with their goals will be ignored. To
succeed, ads must work with the medium, as well
as with the user's aims and mindset. |
Making Web Advertisements
Work
There are many reasons why advertisements
don't work well on the Web, but it is most
unsettling when an ad actually portrays
something relevant to users and still fails. Why
would this occur? Well, to start, we must
consider why
text ads work so well on search enginesss.
Each user has a goal -- perhaps it is to
learn about digital cameras, perhaps to purchase
a book. In either case, users' attention is
focused on whatever gets them to their
goal; they ignore everything else. When
users enter search queries, the targeted ads
that the engine returns relate directly to what
users are after. Hence, they look at and follow
the ads. Indeed, such advertisements probably
have an advantage over the plain search results
because they show both that the advertiser is
competent and has a direct interest in serving
consumers.
Targeting User Goals
So, the secret to success is to make an
advertisement fit with the user's goal.
To this end, text-only ads are superior because
they get right to the point. Fancy graphics
exist to attract viewers, but with targeted ads,
the viewer's attention is already guaranteed.
You should thus forget the extraneous flourish
and simply deliver the sales pitch -- along with
a link to a specific page of detailed
information. The landing page (with
product or payoff information) should serve
to close the sale; expecting to provide enough
information in the ad itself to do so is
impractical. Those designs that try to squeeze
an entire user interface into a tiny ad are
missing the entire point of hypertext.
Now, it might be tempting to present your
successful search page ad as a pop-up, or in a
news site, or somewhere else. But if you do, it
will simply be ignored because it isn't
part of the goal: users now want to
read the news, or do whatever it is that
initially drew them to the site, and
advertisements -- no matter how enticing or
relevant to users' other interests -- will be
ignored.
However, when users complete their
main task, they're then ready for
advertisements. And guess what? The ads are
gone.
In Praise of Persistence
Many a time we've been working on a site and
noticed an interesting, relevant advertisement.
This typically happens in the dead time between
clicking a link to follow some item in depth and
getting a refreshed page. So, we make a mental
note to return and follow up on the ad. Oops, we
can't. When we go back, there is a different
advertisement, breaking one of the oldest
principles of interaction design:
stability.
As long ago as 1984, the
Macintosh human interface guidelines
explained that designers should avoid having the
computer yank things away from users. (That's
why it's so annoying when you go to a folder and
Windows has changed the view you specified for
that folder on your last visit.)
Notice what happens when you read a
newspaper. You turn the pages, following a
story, and your eye happens upon an
advertisement you’re interested in. Most likely,
you'll keep reading the news story, but make a
mental note to go back to the ad. When you do,
guess what? The ad is still there.
Websites should permit a similar process.
Don't attempt to disturb people in the midst of
their task -- it won't work. But once they've
finished the task, let them follow or return to
the ads.
Why not make it possible for users to review
ads after they rotate off the screen? If every
site that featured rotating, dynamically
generated ads simply offered a button at the ad
location -- "view last 10 ads here" -- we
predict that advertisement success rates would
increase. (This is a guideline similar to one we
know
works well for homepages: to link to
archives of recent features and promotions.)
Aiming for Ad Success
Reach users when they're interested and have the
time -- don’t bother them when they're least
likely to attend. Unfortunately, most current
Web advertising approaches are aimed at
taking what doesn't work and making it
ever bigger and more annoying, continuously
fighting user behavior. Moving in the wrong
direction at a faster pace is not a very
insightful strategy.
Want ads to work? Accept that Web design is
interaction design. Understand
hypertext. And, most
importantly, understand the psychology
of the viewer. |
EPNET
Born out of the advertising industry we are
concerned with business communication
to enhance companies sales messages to its
target markets.
We specialise in leveraging Internet
technology to achieve this. Our services have
grown over the last seven years to include web
design, logo design, email marketing campaigns,
newsletters, search engine placement, Internet
surveys, Telesales and our Business Monitor
service provides constant market intelligence on
your Industry or competitors activities.
"We are all equal on the Internet. What
differentiates you from your competitors is not
how big your company is or how much money you
have to spend, but how w smart
your website is!"
- Gordon Barker EPNET
Should you require a proposal on any of our
services please don't hesitate to call me?
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Web design South Africa, Web Design Johannesburg, web design Sandton - African web design company
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