Top Most Hated Digital Ad Formats on Mobile and PC
Even the largest companies sometimes struggle to understand user expectations. Given that 64% of Internet users conduct online research before going to a store, it is essential to avoid mistakes and make sure your digital advertising formats do not annoy your potential customers; on the contrary, they should encourage them to move further through the conversion funnel. Which types of online ads should you avoid? Which formats do users like the least? Feed Manager tells you more about the topic.
Which digital advertising formats should you avoid on mobile?
With the number of mobile users continuing to grow — 60.2 million in France in January 2019 — it is better not to get it wrong and to implement actions that match users’ needs and expectations. According to a study conducted by the Coalition for Better Ads, here are the mobile digital advertising formats most disliked by Internet users worldwide:
- Pop-ups: a window automatically opens in front of the main window without the user having requested or authorized it. Pop-ups should be used in moderation so as not to give users a bad impression and encourage them to leave your website.
- Interstitial ads: this is an advertising format that appears across the entire screen of a page being viewed or between two pages.
- Ads that cover more than 30% of the screen: generally speaking, the more space your ad takes up, the more likely it is to annoy mobile users.
- Flashing digital ads: the background, text or color of this type of ad changes rapidly and distracts the user.
- Countdown ads: the ad cannot be closed until the countdown has finished. Even though we may eventually get used to this format on Youtube, it remains intrusive and tests our patience.
- Full-screen scrolling ads: these float above the page and prevent users from viewing its content.
- Large sticky ads: fixed in place, they occupy more than 30% of the screen, hide part of the website and can negatively affect the user experience. This advertising format distracts your potential customer and prevents them from accessing the content they are interested in.
- Autoplay videos with sound: particularly intrusive, they can push mobile users to leave a web page. Have you ever been browsing a website when suddenly music starts playing or you hear people talking without knowing where the sound is coming from? This type of ad has a particular tendency to annoy users, so be careful not to overuse it.
Which digital advertising formats do users dislike most on desktop?
Even though the smartphone market is rapidly expanding, or even exploding, French Internet users, and users worldwide more generally, still use their computers to browse the web: they make purchases, look for information, browse social networks… But which digital advertising formats annoy them the most on desktop?
- Pop-ups.
- Autoplay videos with sound.
- Countdown ads.
- Large sticky ads.
As you may have noticed, whether on mobile or desktop, the types of ads ranked among the digital advertising formats most disliked by users are the same. It is therefore essential to carefully select your ad formats if you do not want to lose the user’s attention or, worse, force them to leave your page. Keep in mind that your ads should provide value to users and should not be overly intrusive: otherwise, they will quickly turn to your competitors. Long, narrow ads placed on the right-hand side or at the top of the screen, for example, are much better tolerated.
Would you like to improve your customers’ experience? In that case, feel free to contact our professionals to benefit from their extensive experience in the industry.
