The majority of surfers surveyed said that popup ads were most unwelcome to their online experience, followed by the need to register and log-on before viewing content. Coming in third was the requirement to download additional software.
According to a February report from Advertising.com, online publishers expected to receive at least 16 percent of their revenue from popup ads, second only to income generated by text links. This indicates that despite the widespread use of popup blockers, the java-enabled ads will not be going away any time soon.
Style issues were comparatively less annoying, according to the survey, probably due to site designers’ increased aesthetic sensibilities. Still, moving text, poor colors and slow-loading pages together made up ten percent of what most bugged web users.
In the case of adult sites, 45 percent of respondents said they would vote with their feet on any site that had annoying characteristics — not visiting the site again regardless of content. Far fewer said they would register a complaint with the adult company.
While adult site visitors were almost as likely to unsubscribe to promotional material as not visit an annoying site again, 40 percent of those interviewed said they would only be left with a “negative view” of the company that produced the website in question, even as they continued to bookmark it.
