Delaying Content Loading

highlighting the ads?

[FourDegreez]

The idea is pretty simple. Have your page load in such a way that the top ad loads quickly but there is a several second delay before the content loads, forcing the visitor to stare at the ad while waiting. I've seen sites that I'm convinced do this, though not necessarily with AdSense. Do you think doing this constitutes "calling undue attention" to the ad and thus violates the TOS?

[Jean]

It may or may not constitute calling undue attention but it will certainly mean that a percentage of your viewers will move on to other sites PDQ. People don't generally wait for things to load.

[incrediBILL]

Often AdSense takes so long to load it calls attention to itself by leaving 2-3 big gaping holes on a page for a few seconds. People tend to look and see what just popped into the page so technically AdSense with slow response times is already calling undue attention to itself.

As a visitor waiting on your purposely delayed content, I'd be annoyed and just move on.

[larryhatch]

I would never leave a visitor waiting if I can help it.

If I had a large graphic for example, I would shoot up some text first.
This give the people something to read while the image loads. -Larry

[europeforvisitors]

Do you think doing this constitutes "calling undue attention" to the ad and thus violates the TOS?

Yes.

I'd certainly ask Google before trying it.

[celgins]

I think it's borderling in reference to calling undue attention to ads.

Either way, I would NEVER add extra seconds to page load time.

[leadegroot]

Given how long adsense quite often takes to load, your visitor would be sitting there with a blank page for a while.
I think the blank hole that adsense leaves while waiting for the load is attention-drawing enough, I wouldn't try this for fear my visitors would hit the back button and be gone from the blank page.

[edited by: leadegroot at 11:26 pm (utc) on April 23, 2006]

[jomaxx]

I agree that it would be a disastrous thing for a legit website to do.

As for MFAs who don't give a damn about repeat traffic, if done in order to draw attention to the ads then it would clearly be "undue" attention anyway. Use at your own risk.