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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 engines.
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. |
