Websites moving to place ads in your click path, intentional?

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Websites moving to place ads in your click path, intentional?

Shepherd

12:17 pm on Jun 19, 2015 (gmt 0)

As an advertiser and an interwebz user I'm noticing something very disturbing in how some websites are opening advertisements in a user's click path.

For example, over the years I've grown accustom to a series of clicks to navigate Yahoo mail. Over the last couple of weeks I have inadvertently clicked on several ads because the website moves/shifts/opens an ad right where I normally click to accomplish a task.

Now I don't know if they are doing this on purpose but it seems to be a bit more than a coincidence to me. As an advertiser I would be pissed if my ads were being clicked on like this.

toidi

12:41 pm on Jun 20, 2015 (gmt 0)

It is happening on lots of websites. This is probably another reason why ad blockers are gaining in popularity.

engine

11:40 am on Jun 22, 2015 (gmt 0)

I've seen the ads suddenly expanding when mousing over, and these ads expand where i've been moving to click. Not good. Some sites just make it harder to digest the editorial content, which is worse, imho.
From an advertiser point of view, it may generate false clicks, and in the longer term, that's not good for the site doing it.

Shepherd

12:19 pm on Jun 22, 2015 (gmt 0)

it may generate false clicks

It does, I've done it and as an advertiser I hate it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind advertising, I fully understand that the free services I use are supported by advertising (yahoo mail, weather channel, etc.) but expanding an ad into where I am clicking to navigate a site seems to be bordering on criminal.

lawman

12:39 pm on Jun 22, 2015 (gmt 0)

As I get older, my patience for such shenanigans grows thinner. I usually just close the page and move on.

tangor

5:33 pm on Jun 22, 2015 (gmt 0)

Advertisers are one side of the equation. Publishers are the other... and some have the mistaken idea that any click is better than NO CLICKS. This type of layout is a sign of desperation.

toidi

11:50 am on Jun 23, 2015 (gmt 0)

This type of layout is a sign of desperation.

Or greed

engine

2:16 pm on Jun 26, 2015 (gmt 0)

Not too dissimilar are the video ads that start playing audio without even mousing over them. I had one start up today and it nearly made me jump out of my skin as the sound was a little louder than it normal would be.
Do you think that would be counted in the stats as a play of the ad? Actually, I didn't even look at the ad as i was busy turning off the sound!

lucy24

6:15 pm on Jun 26, 2015 (gmt 0)

... and speaking of video, how 'bout the ads that suddenly pop up after the video has been playing for a while? They have no way of knowing whether the ad is covering-up the specific content area that's currently holding your interest.

The current version of YouTube doesn't start playing until its tab is at the front. Good for them. I have to assume it's YouTube and not Safari, because some sites-- news and advertising both-- will happily start yapping at me in the background.

Rhetorical question: What does a site gain by adopting a behavior that makes visitors more likely to close the window instantly?