Thursday, February 23, 2012

Why Blinking Ads Are Bad For Online Marketing

Online Marketing Melbourne



I’m sure everyone has encountered it at some point in their online browsing – you click on a website and wait for it to load, only to have your eyes assaulted with squares of flashing lights and text scattered randomly around the page. How does this make you feel? Frustrated? Annoyed? If so, why would you use blinking or flashing advertisements as a part of your own online marketing campaign?

One of the main reasons that blinking advertisements are so frustrating is that they are a complete distraction. When a visitor is trying to read to text on a web page, their eyes are continuously drawn to the flashing lights or text, making reading a near impossible task. Visitors with slow browsers will become increasingly annoyed when they discover that you have wasted their time by loading flashing online marketing files against their will.

Whilst many online marketers seem to think that people will be drawn to blinking advertisements, the opposite is, in fact, true. Visitors, as soon as they notice the flashing advertisements, are actually more likely to leave the website straightaway – without clicking on or reading anything. The appearance of blinking advertisements is also more likely to deter visitors from bookmarking the website, returning at a later date, linking to it and even recommending it to other people.

Even though it may have once been thought that flashing advertisements are appealing to potential customers, the statistics of today prove otherwise. These days, blinking advertisements cause more annoyance and brand damage then they do click-throughs, making them a highly outdated and useless feature of your online marketing campaign.