From a personal point of view, I like the internet experience to be easy and convenient. One of my pet peeves in navigating a website are ads which hijack control of the browser and which momentarily interfere with your viewing experience.

Examples of irritating ads are:

• Pop-up’s -> an ad that opens on top of your target window blocking your view
• Pop-under’s -> an ad which is open on your computer but under the target window
• Floaters -> an ad box which dances across the PC screen blocking your view
• Drop-down’s -> large video or text ads which open when you scroll over them
• Auto-Play -> a video ad that plays automatically when you arrive on the page
• Blinking -> The old neon green strobe ad which screams “Over here, look now!”

These ads are annoying and interfere with your visitor’s experience. Patrons typically come to websites looking for specific content. Bombarding them with advertisements actually discourages repeat visits and can undermine user loyalty by wasting users’ time.

Many of the information sites I enjoy display their ads to the left or right of the main content. This allows users to focus on the content they were seeking without being hammered with intrusive advertising.

Another important consideration for domain developers is designing a logical & intuitive layout to the site. Content sections benefit from substantial empty space between sections as well as visual prompts (simple graphics or color coded text) to help users distinguish different topics and site areas.

Many of the geodomain and local newspaper sites are switching to the Wordpress format. These sites usually organize and display content sections in a clean manner avoiding clutter and thereby increasing viewer satisfaction.

Google for some time now has allowed Adsense partners to customize the appearance of Google ads. I recommend avoiding the placement of Google ads at the top of a page or in the middle of a content section unless the ad is out-of-the-way and inconspicuous.

In closing, do your quality domain name some justice. Even if it is only a parked page. Disable pop-up and pop-under ads, and keep advertising subtly blended into the background or on the sidebar. As has been said many times before … “There is only one chance to make a good first impression”.

Site Development advertising