by Paul Rance

Created on: January 22, 2012   Last Updated: January 26, 2012

The types of online advertising that will most likely alienate customers is, of course, subjective, but there will be types of ads that will generally have a negative impact. There is a fine line between which type of advertisement works and which doesn't. 

Distracting Ads 

If a website consists of outstanding content but is surrounded by too much advertising, then visitors to that site will often not stay long. Flash animations can be an infuriating distraction for a visitor to a website, particularly if an ad of this type is placed too close to text. In this instance, any ad will be resented - whether it is of interest to the surfer or not. 

Pop-up ads are even more unpopular for this reason. 

Advertisements that make outrageous claims will often be viewed by customers as insulting their intelligence. A hard sell will not impress customers when it is overdone. Get rich quick ads are commonplace on the net, and they don't help a website's image. So, any money gained through ad revenue then has to be balanced against the harm done to a company's image. It can give the impression that a website has no ethical policy on the type of ads that it allows. 

Silly and Sexy Ads 

Humorous advertisements can engage potential customers, but if they are too silly or puerile then the advertisement will have the opposite effect. Any humorous ad also needs to reflect well on the product advertised.

Sexy ads are always likely to alienate some visitors to a website. If an attractive woman or man is featured in an advertisement, then that can have a polarizing effect. Some will be drawn to the ad and watch it all the way through, whereas others will instantly look away and ignore it.

Any advertisement that is too slick, and looks brilliant in an artistic sense, shouldn't obscure the product or products that are advertised. If a potential customer just remembers the advertisement itself, but not what was advertised, then the ad has failed to do its job.

Risk of Lasting Damage 

Online customers notoriously have a short attention span. Any ad normally only has a few seconds to grab the attention of a visitor to a website. If a potential customer finds an advertisement irritating, then the ad may harm the company's chances of making an impact with its future ads. If surfers see an advertisement, that they find irritating, over and over again, then any future ads by that company may just be ignored.

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