More than 75% of Respondents Pay less Attention to Ads on “Cluttered Sites”
BURLINGTON, Mass. – Burst Media (www.BurstMedia.com) released the results from a survey on the topic of ad clutter. The survey was administered to over 4,000 web users with the purpose of better understanding how ad clutter impacts a web users’ Internet experience, as well as its impact on the perception of advertisers who place ads on cluttered sites. Overwhelmingly, the findings reveal that websites cluttered with advertisements do a disservice to the publisher, the advertiser and the visitor.
According to the survey results, ad clutter not only annoys the audience but it also diminishes ad effectiveness. An astonishing three-quarters (75.5%) of the respondents who remain on a site they perceive to be cluttered say they pay less attention to advertisements appearing on its pages.
Additionally, although respondents accept that advertising will appear on a web page, for a majority (52.6%), there is low tolerance for more than two advertising units per web page. More than one-quarter (29.9%) of survey respondents immediately leave a site if they perceive it to be cluttered. Women are more likely than men to abandon a site that appears cluttered – 32.1% versus 27.5%.
A resounding survey finding is the negative impact advertising clutter has on a consumer’s perception of an advertiser’s products and services. One out of two (52.4%) respondents has a less favorable opinion of an advertiser when their advertising appears on a web page they perceive as cluttered. One-half (56.4%) of women claim clutter negatively impacts their opinion of an advertiser, versus 48.3% of men.
The survey also found that ad clutter’s negative impact on respondents’ opinions increases with age. Less than half (46.8%) of respondents 18-24 years were impacted negatively by clutter whereas nearly two-thirds (63.2%) of respondents 55 years and older were unfavorably impacted.
“One of the main obstacles to getting consumers’ attention online is ad clutter,” said Chuck Moran, VP of Marketing for Burst Media. “It is critical for advertisers to ensure their messages are being placed in a high quality content environment to receive the maximum exposure they deserve, and to preserve their brand’s reputation.”
About Burst Media
An online media and technology company founded in 1995, Burst Media (www.BurstMedia.com) is a leading provider of advertising representation, services and technology to independent Web Publishers. Burst Media enables advertisers to reach finely segmented, engaged consumers as they visit Burst’s extensive number of interest-based sub-channels. Through its Burst Network and Burst Direct units, the company represents one of the broadest and deepest offerings of interest-based websites online. Burst also markets its ad management platform, adConductor™, which empowers content websites, online ad networks, and web portals to manage the complete process of ad sales and service. Burst Media is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices throughout the United States and in London, UK. For more information, visit www.BurstMedia.com or call 781.272.5544.
