Oscar Trelles

Pop-up Advertising is Not Good for Business

Although the title of this post states the obvious, I just read good document that can help make the case with stubborn clients. Bunnyfoot Universality, an usability and accessibility consulting firm in the UK, has published a whitepaper on user response to pop-up ads.

Using a sophisticated non-intrusive eye tracking system, in combination with attitudinal interviews and other techniques frequently present in focus groups, Bunnyfoot Universality delivers an insightful view into users reactions to pop-up ads. Is interesting to see how they synchronize eye-tracking with video feeds, to see the expression on the subjects faces when browsing through web pages.

The results of study pretty much confirms what we find on our on experience: Pop-up ads not only don’t work, but they drive people away from websites that ‘attack’ them with that kind of publicity, harming both the website’s traffic and the brands they advertise, in that fashion.