If you're going to get into advertising on your Web site, either for your Web site or on it, you'll need to know a little about various "intrusive" ad types and the pros and cons of them. Once you have this information, you can make clear decisions about what types of ads you'll support on your site (if any) and what types of ads would be best for your own marketing.
Current Status
Ad Styles
There are many different types of ads for your Web site.
- banner ad
This is the old standard of the Web ads. They are generally displayed at the top and bottom of Web sites. - skyscraper ad
Skyscrapers are similar to banners, only instead of being horizontal, these ads are vertical. They are generally displayed on the sides of Web pages. - square ads
These ads are encroaching on the content of Web pages. They are a big square ad in the middle of the page. - pop-ups
You probably know what a pop-up is. But in case you don't, it's an ad that opens in a new window, usually with JavaScript. - pop-under
The difference between a pop-up and a pop-under is that the pop-under opens beneath the current Web page. - interstitial
An interstitial ad loads when you click on a link. It loads between the page you were on and the page you're going to. - rich media
Rich media ads can fit into any of the above formats. They are, essentially, any ad that goes beyond straight images and text - from forms to Macromedia Flash. - eyeblasters, shoshkeles, and overlays
Overlay type ads are built by various companies, generally using Macromedia Flash, but rather than playing in a specific space, they generally take over the entire page, overwriting the page, replacing the background or just fluttering around.
What's All the Fuss About?
Nearly everyone on the Internet has experienced some form of intrusive ad, especially if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer. What this really means is that these advertising methods have impacted anyone who uses the Internet at least once or twice. And they have been noticed by nearly everyone.
