Which Ad form is best to use?

pop-up, pop-down, banner the list goes on. Which do you like?

[lazerzubb]

Read the These new pop out ads are annoying [webmasterworld.com] Thread.

And since a lot of the people of this forum works with SEO/Advertising things i wondered, which one is the best one to use, and which one does i accept as a visitor?

I Think it deppends a little bit also on what kind of website it is but in general which one is most respectable?

The most common one is probably usual banners 468*60 (hope that's right)
The things with banners is that you've just learned not to care for them, you have a inbuilt program in the brain saying ignore them, it's like with speed signs on highways ;)

After that it is probably Pop-ups.
I wonder how many have learn to close them down before they even load, or have installed some tool to prevent pop-ups to show.

Pop-Under (Pop-down), it similar with Pop-ups, you close them down quicker than they load.

The new type of ads that was discussed in the thread above.
It's often based on CSS, and it appears in all sizes in front of the page (Almost always a flash movie), and prevents you from reading and viewing the page as it should be viewed, it often has a little X in the top, which you see 1 out of 10 times.
(P.S there is a link in the thread above, which had examples of this kind of ads)

And there is the ad type which i feel quite comfortable with, it's the ad which appears between the content, like a banner but in all different kind of sizes, Forbes uses this type of banners a lot (they use a lot of other ad forms to), i have mostly seen this on newspaper sites.
You look quickly at it, and if it's interesting you click otherwise you just scroll down, and continue reading.

And does everybody like FLASH ads, how many people can view them, and how much longer time does it take to load them?

My question is which one do you use mostly, which one converts the best, which one as a surfer do you think is most respectable, and which one do you think the "Joe Blog" finds good?

[Mike_Mackin]

I'm currently testing a 150 x 60 light green background ad.
First line of text is Headline (maximum 25 characters) BLUE and underlined.
Next in black is Description line 1 (maximum 35 characters)
Then Description line 2 (maximum 35 characters)
Display URL in green (maximum 35 characters)
Then a rating from 1 to 10 with a dark GREEN bar.

Ad built in Photoshop :) no alt text

[vibgyor79]

As a surfer, I kind of prefer Flash banner ads, especially the big ones (skyscrapers - 120 x 600). However, I find it irritating when the ad does NOT open in a new window, and there is no way I can force it to open in a new window (since it is based on flash).

Hate popup ads (and all its cousins and variants) - speaking again from surfer's point of view.

[sem4u]

Personally I hate all pop-ups, -unders, etc. as their easily interrupt surfing sessions.

If I see one I immediately shut it down.

Ask Jeeves has just announced that it will stop using pop-ups and banners. They have probably just got around to thinking that the majority of web users find them irritating - and I thought that their butler knew everything! :)

[Grumpus]

Any ad that gets in the way of the experience is bad from a surfing perspective, I think. Anything that is inline and incorporated into the content is much better. The web designer designs with that as an expected element on the page so the content can work around it very nicely.

Things that are exceptions, though - Bulky java ads which hang your browser for a bit while the java loads. SOUND - very bad. Yahoo had them for a while (and still do, but now you've got to click a "Sound" button to make the sound play - guess too many people got fired...).

I agree on opening on new windows, too. If there is ever one where the surfer can't right click and open it in a new window themselves, it should ALWAYS open in a new window by default. I'm more than happy to "share" my traffic to make an advertiser some money, but I'm not very happy about "giving away" my traffic for a penny.

G.

[lazerzubb]

sem4u, MSN and AOL also said they stop using it.

[edit_g]

If it is on a site where I really apprechiate the content then I think a full page ad when you hit the homepage which refreshes to the homepage after 5 seconds (or a little link saying "go on to the www.site.com homepage") is fine. I think ads like these are ok because its a bit like tv advert- you don't watch tv for the adverts but you accept them because you want to get the quality programes. These full screen ads are also sometimes used between headline/story page.

Otherwise I think little 120x60's are fine- as long as they arent stupidly flashing or too many of them (a well placed 120x60 can get great clickthroughs).

[rcjordan]

The tired ol' 468x60 top banner still has a lot of play left in it for many sites, but is probably best suited when the ad relates to the theme of the site. I still use them quite a bit for both clients and house ads.

Personally, pop-ups and exit consoles are out, though I have used one very well-written, effective "won't-you-reconsider" exit pop-up developed by a merchant. It was superbly executed and didn't raise my hackles in the least, and conversion was extraordinary, so there are times when a pop-up definitely has a place.

I've developed a highlighted (background color changes on mouseover) boxed text ad which includes very small, icon-like graphics. These are easy on the eye, fast loading, and all-in-all my best performing ad format (I do not yet offer skyscrapers), though part of that is due to the fact that I reserve them for high-traffic hub pages.

Though I haven't yet tried selling/serving skyscrapers, based on my own reaction to them I do feel that they could be excellent performers, particularly if used judiciously.

I do not like the larger inset formats, particularly those using flash. My reaction is about the same as with a pop-up. Scrolling the page rather than closing the pop-up tends to decrease the impact/imprint opportunity the ad has. Of all the formats, I'd say this type is the least effective with me.

[jackofalltrades]

Text based ads with a small graphic to set them apart.

Im trial running some Amazon affiliate text ads on a new site, which will be placed with article text.

Double horizontal rule (with "Advertisment" inbetween).
Book title (affiliate link)
Picture of book on left (affiliate link)
3/4 lines of text on right
Amazon search affiliate link (search for more of this genre)
Double HR at bottom

This way has the benefits of the text being indexable, has several link options for the user, is subtle enough to blend in with the page, but obvious enough to be noticed as an advert.

Ive developed a range of adverts (hand picked and highly targetted books), all as SSI's. This way i can alternate the adverts on each article on a whim (fresh content anyone?).

Only just setup the site tho so very few click thrus...

JOAT

[zeus]

My best ads are 468x60 and the worst are 125x125

As a surfer I dont mind a single pop under on maybe 2 out of 10-15 pages you surf in that domain if it is a free site or information site because they have to make a living of ads, but on retail pages I will only accept on pop under/up on the first page beccause it could bring you some kind of news about the page.

The absolute worst sh.. is the new css which goes infront of the text and you can not click them away, then I never visit that site again.

zeus