How Pop Up Advertising is a Failure?

Pop Up ads are irritating and there is no doubt about that. However even today I see big brands using pop ups that makes me even more irked. I totally understand a small brand trying to catch the eye of the audience via tricky means but when the same is done by big known brands, it leaves me bewildered.

For those who don’t understand what Pop Up Ads are, here is a quick run:

What are Pop Up Ads?

Pop-Up Ads is a form of online advertising used by advertisers to grab internet users’ attention. When a user visits a landing page or does anything on the page, an advertisement pops out over the content on the same page or on a new tab. These ads can be of any format – text, image or rich media.

There are 3 variants of pop up ads

Pop Under Ads When a user visits a website with pop-under advertisements, the pop-under will open up in a new browser window hidden under the user's current

browser. When the user closes the current browser then s/he notices the pop-under advertisement.

Interstitial AdsAn advertising page that is inserted in the normal flow of editorial content structure on a website.

Intext AdsInline text links are ads that appear on mouse hover as a brief text description in boxes with clear call-to-actions.

So why pop up advertising is a disaster for both publisher and advertiser?

1. Annoying Distraction from useful contentWhen a viewer visits a landing page, s/he has certain things in mind and certain expectations from that landing page. Pop Up ads are majorly non contextual and hence act as distractions. Especially for people who are looking for some useful content on the website, the pop ups just are a major put-off.

2. Credibility of the website is CompromisedWhen a user finds pop up ads on a portal, s/he starts doubting the credibility of the portal. Many visitors associate pop ups with virus and start believing that visiting a website with ads will result in something harmful.

3. Credibility of the advertiser is dilutedGenerally people look down upon the websites that open up without their understanding. That way they start thinking that the website that popped up out of nowhere is trying to steal their personal information. Hence, the website that appeared via pop up advertising is actually doing harm for itself!

With such disastrous consequences, why would an advertiser want to spend the crucial marketing budget on such a deleterious thing? Now that I am working on my own fashion startup- www.Fashionove.co , and the task in hand is to increase the visibility of the website, I am strictly against such form of advertising. I personally believe that people will embrace you only if you will be of some use to people or will be bringing delight to them. That way, they will find you themselves, you just have to be there for what they might need. Any thoughts?