23. Like bad wind
Like cockroaches, pop ups have a role in life. It just isn’t very big. So how do you tell a good ‘un from a bad ‘un?
As with everything, there’s a time and a place for pop ups (especially adverts) – preferably when my machine’s switched off and I’m asleep. Remember, you might be one pop up away from losing a valued user…
Just Popped Up To Say Hello
And probably lost you a customer forever! Pop up windows occasionally appear because the web site owner wants to display information on a separate window for your convenience. A good example of their effective use is when a user is searching through an online help section. This web site regards Help as a separate function to the rest of the site and the user can still view the page that they require assistance with, whilst seeing what they should do next. But the majority of pop ups are advertising windows that hit the user unaware and uninvited, and can quite easily scare the uninitiated.
Whether you view pornographic sites deliberately or not, this is pop up at its worst. The user lands on a site, wants to leave by clicking back or clicking on the X to kill the screen and – surprise, surprise – numerous windows begin to appear. This tactic is really the lowest of the low and I’d be surprised if it ever works for the advertiser in more than a handful of cases.
Ha, Ha You Can’t See What You’re Reading
They are usually the most attractive advertising deals, but pop ups are the surest way to drive traffic away from your site permanently. Pop up technology has and will continue to move on and become ever more advanced. More and more web sites that accept advertising revenue from third-party pop ups are moving away from the basic square window that overrides all other open browser windows and becoming far more subtle. Some pop ups are time delayed and appear to be part of the web site through the clever use of graphics. One minute the user is happily reading through the text on the page and the next minute two characters climb down on ropes from the top of the page carrying with them a banner that covers the information you might be trying to read. This, coupled with the fact that the normal X to kill the screen is sometimes not in the industry standard top right hand corner, means that the user has to at least look at the pop up for enough time to find how to close it down. You may have made some cash from the advertising; but many a customer will give up reading or buying from your site and move on to somewhere else a little more peaceful.
Good Out Of Bad
Some online banks make good use of pop up windows. As an added security precaution – even though the user has passed multiple levels of security to access their personal details, the server only puts up a window containing the specific information requested, such as their statement. By using a pop up window instead of displaying the data in the regular browser window, the bank has more control over the time taken to view the page (automatic logout) and even the functionality of the window, such as turning off the print function. Because it’s the user demanding the information, they are more tolerant of pop ups appearing on their screen; but this goodwill will quickly be lost the moment the banks start accepting third-party adverts…
How did it go?
Q. OK, we’ve spent some time looking at the pop ups on our site and have realised that they are the only revenue generators on it! Take those out and we’ve no business left, even if all our visitors are happier than ever. How do we get round that one?
A. Advertising may be the only route to revenue open to you and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; but pop ups are not the only type of advert you could place on your site. If you discuss with your advertiser your fears about pop ups there may well be other options open to you, such as banner advertising, product placement, mailing lists and sponsored links. Far better to devalue your own site slightly with a fixed or rolling third-party advert than annoy your customers with a pop up.
Q. We’ve tried negotiating and pop ups are all that’s on offer for the revenue we need. Do we have any choice?
A. Take the deal if it means your survival but work on creating a sustainable future for your site that does not include pop up adverts.
Here is an idea for you…
If you do currently accept advertising revenue through your web site in the form of pop up adverts, look closely at how much revenue it brings in. You need to be sure that that you are not losing too many users because of it. A great indication of the negative effect of pop up advertising is to compare the number of hits your web site receives with the number of downloads/ purchases/registrations or other transactions taking place. This is known as your conversion ratio. If the conversion ratio is lower than normal when there are pop up adverts on your site, then you have a serious problem. You will quickly be able to compare the revenue gained from the adverts with that lost from custom and make the decision to continue accordingly.
Defining idea…
‘It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that the internet has evolved into a force strong enough to reflect the greatest hopes and fears of those who use it. After all, it was designed to withstand nuclear war, not just the puny huffs and puffs of politicians and religious fanatics.’
Denise Caruso