Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world today and list ways to explore these trends. This week, we’re looking at how companies can devise an unobtrusive advertising strategy.
Let’s face it, the state of online advertising today is a travesty. Intrusive advertising is everywhere. The last thing anyone wants is to be bombarded by infuriating advertisements that keep getting in their way when they’re simply trying to surf the internet. For me personally (and I’m certain I’m not the only one), intrusive advertisements are a surefire way to guarantee that I never want anything to do with you, your product, or your service.
The entire point of advertising is to create awareness and goodwill around your brand. If your advertisements are perceived as annoying or intrusive, it defeats the entire purpose of your campaign. Do you really want prospective customers associating your brand with negative feelings of frustration and resentment? Because this is exactly what happens when you’re guilty of forcing invasive and disruptive advertisements onto people’s browsing sessions. It’s a lose-lose situation where you’re spending money to essentially make people hate you, so here are four ways you can create an organic and non-intrusive ad campaign to make sure you’re not ticking off any potential customers.
1. Choose the right websites for your advertisements
It’s difficult to overstate just how important this step is when you’re devising an online advertising strategy. Make sure you’re advertising your brand on reputed websites. The last thing you need is for one of your advertisements to appear on a, let’s say, tabloid website that’s known for sensationalist and clickbait articles.
Such sites tend to have plenty of pop-up advertisements and other invasive ads that take up most of the screen. These invasive ads paired with the second-rate content on such sites tends to leave a negative impression on the user, which could unfortunately also spill over onto their impression of your products and services. Most advertising is now automated, so make sure you’re on top of where your advertisements are displayed.
2. Say no to pop-ups
We’ve already touched on pop-ups in the previous point. This kind of advertising is universally reviled, with Ethan Zuckerman, the inventor of pop-up advertisements, even going as far as to write an entire article apologizing for his role in introducing this form of advertising to the world.
Pop-ups as a concept are intrinsically designed to be obtrusive. They cover all, if not most, of the page you’re trying to view. While it’s true that pop-up ads are mostly just a mild inconvenience, too many can derail the user’s browsing experience and are a major reason why this form of advertising is so unpopular among regular internet users. There’s also no denying pop-up ads can be effective so long as you know when and how to use them, which is why they are very popular with advertisers. However, if you’re looking to be unobtrusive, they certainly aren’t the way to go.
3. Say yes to contextual advertising
Contextual advertising refers to displaying advertisements based on the content of the page being viewed. This form of advertising enables you to promote your brand organically in a way that perfectly fits in with the rest of the page and doesn’t feel out of place.
Contextual advertising offers a way to display relevant advertisements without any privacy concerns. If someone is viewing a particular page, the chances are they’re doing it out of interest, meaning you already have that box checked and don’t need to know their browsing habits. Let’s assume someone is looking at a list of the best guitars they can buy for under $500. This is a perfect opportunity to advertise guitars on that page and is bound to be effective since the user is already looking for guitars.
4. Invest in pay-per-click advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, also known as paid search ads, is an effective and non-intrusive form of advertising that uses search engines like Google to drive traffic to your website. When doing a Google search, you may have seen a few results right at the top of the results page. These are examples of paid search ads. But that’s not all; even the shopping links that appear on the main search results page are further examples of this kind of advertising.
The main principle behind PPC advertising is very similar to contextual advertising. You’re promoting your products to a user who has already expressed interest through their search. And similarly to contextual advertising, you’re reaching your target audience without having to research their browsing preferences.
Unobtrusive advertisements = happy customers
In an online landscape dominated by intrusive advertising, unobtrusive or native advertising is a great way to stand out from the crowd. A non-intrusive advertising strategy is a great way to build goodwill and loyalty and even increase engagement. Building a reputation as an organization that prioritizes a user’s browsing experience without forcing invasive ads onto their browsing sessions can play a major role in convincing them to give you a shot. People are getting tired of invasive advertising, and it’s up to you to make sure you’re not a part of the problem.
