In "The Most Hated Advertising Techniques," Jakob Nielsen explains the most hated advertising techniques on the web. I am interested in this becasue I get really annoyed by ads, and I am interested to see what Jakob Nielsen has to say about it.
Ads are everywhere, and the problem is that those who maintain the websites do not always understand the amount of frustration that people have with ads, nor do they understand how annoying they can be. The info in this newsletter is based on findings from John Boyd from Yahoo! and Christian Rohrer from eBay.
The following are the ad techniques that users rated most negatively in 2004.
| Design Element | Users Answering "Very Negatively" or "Negatively" |
|---|---|
| Pops-up in front of your window | 95% |
| Loads slowly | 94% |
| Tries to trick you into clicking on it | 94% |
| Does not have a "Close" button | 93% |
| Covers what you are trying to see | 93% |
| Doesn't say what it is for | 92% |
| Moves content around | 92% |
| Occupies most of the page | 90% |
| Blinks on and off | 87% |
| Floats across the screen | 79% |
| Automatically plays sound | 79% |
Users have started to defend themselves agains ad techniques, especially popups. Not only do users dislike pop-ups, they transfer their dislike to the websites and the advertisers. Bad news for the websites.
People like to be aware of what is going on. The following list shows what they like:
Obviously, these guidelines are like all other usability for the web: make the users' options clear, speak plainly, and provide the information users want.
Sites that do accept advertising should make sure to avoid displaying ads that 80-90% of users strongly dislike. That does not make for good customer relations, nor does it encourage long-term relationships.
Advertisers themselves should think about changing their marketing plan. If they want customers, they should avoid doing things that associate them with being the worst scum on the face of the planet.
Corporate websites can also learn, as they exhibit some of the problems also. For instance:
Respectable sites should avoid these at all costs. If they don't they will be in a world of hurt from being associated with the worst scum on the earth.