Many sites are now implementing ads that appear as intermediate pages that appear before a user can view content. Sometimes users need to wait for the content to appear, and sometimes they are given a link they can click to skip the ad. This is generally a very effective advertising technique since the ad content is not a distraction, but the page focus. However, it can also be frustrating to users who want to view content. Here are a few suggestions for making these work.
- Limit Takeover to 5-6 Seconds.
The page takeover should last no more than 5 or 6 seconds. Anything more than that and you’ll find users abandoning your site. And from an advertiser’s perspective, most users will quit paying attention after a few seconds anyway. - Tell users what is happening.
Users are likely to be confused the first few times they see a full page ad instead of the content they requested. You can reduce the confusion by either directly stating that they need to view the ad before the content, or by including messaging saying that the requested content is in the process of loading. - Include a Skip this Ad link.
This will give users the chance to jump to the content. It also reinforces the idea that the content they expected to see is close at hand. - Follow-Up the Takeover Ad.
On the content page, include a follow-up to the main ad. If users are interested in the full page ad they just viewed, they may not have a chance to click, or may prefer to follow-up after they’ve looked at content itself.