Do Pop-Up Ads Still Work?

A few years ago, pop-up windows was the rage in Internet marketing. It seemed like every time you opened a web page you got bombarded with offers for this or that. It got to the point where surfing the Internet was almost like playing a video game, that is, for every pop-up you tried to close, one or two more would open. This is precisely why we have seen the decline in the use of pop-up windows on the Internet today. Surfers simply won't even look at the pop-ups anymore, as they're conditioned to close the pop-up before ever reading the ad. Very often, a surfer will even leave your site if there are too many pop-up ads. They simply do not want the hassle of closing those windows while trying to obtain the information that your site has to offer. This information, while valuable, is not as valuable as the surfer's time. Recent studies have shown however, that even with these set backs, pop-up windows are still an effective method of Internet marketing.

Is there some way that pop-up windows can be less irritating and still be effective? Yes! What if the pop-ad was seen upon exiting your site instead of entering? This would allow the surfer to obtain the information needed from your site, thus feeling that they were able to come and go quickly without being hassled by other ads and offers all the while making the surfer happy. You have left the surfer with a positive attitude and therefore more likely to respond to the pop-advertisement. This is being accomplished more and more by using what is being called pop- under windows. When the surfer comes to your site, the ad is opened discretely behind your web page. Then, upon leaving your site, after obtaining all the information that they need, will see the ad and therefore be more likely to respond. Since the surfer has the information, he has achieved his objective and is now open to do other things; ideally respond to the pop-under advertisement.

Not all pop-windows are created equally. There are some things that you can do to make your pop-windows, whether pop-up or pop- under, more effective. The pop-window should be easy to "escape" from. If the surfer does not want to see the ad, but has a hard time closing it out, they will likely become frustrated and may leave your site all together. You should either use a button that will allow the surfer to close the window or be sure that the "x" is easily visible. Another good idea is to use a script that utilizes cookies. Cookies will prevent pop-windows from overloading the surfer since you can decide the frequency of the pop-windows, rather than each time a page is opened. Also be sure that there is not more than one pop-window per page.

When creating a pop-window, you will be asked to fill out a short information form, select the length of cookies, and choose the layout of the pop-window. When choosing the design of your pop- window, you can increase the effectiveness by creating a large headline that includes benefits that will be most appealing to the customer. You should also consider using incentives, and lastly, do not ask the customer to read a long and drawn out advertisement. Keep the message simple yet powerful and your pop- ads will be sure to generate profits for your site.