Let’s face it. Even advertisers don’t enjoy all ads all the time.
Now imagine how online users must feel when your brand’s promotional content interrupts their favorite YouTube video, or even their casual TikTok “doomswipe.”
Not good, probably.
But how annoying are ads actually? What do users think about them and what can you do to improve this experience? Well, that’s what we’ll try to find out using data.
📊 Disclaimer: The charts below represent a number of different studies with ample sample sizes inlcuding:
- YouGov’s global audience dataset that encapsulates 48 markets
- Statista’s extensive Consumer Insight’s Global Survey
- Intellas survey of 1000+ consumers
…and more.
The respondents heterogenous nature should help provide a diverse and accurate answers about consumers’ overall attitude towards online ads.
What does everyone think of online ads?
🖱️📈 Clicking on each individual chart will take you to its interactive board.
It doesn’t matter how great your ad is—some people just won’t be happy to see it.
It’s the harsh reality of advertising. However…
…It’s not as bad as we thought it would be.
It appears that less than half of respondents are often annoyed by online ads. Knowing that, we can assume that 60% aren’t. Now that’s a good start.
Moreover, 31% don’t mind seeing or hearing ads for free content—which is proven by successful businesses relying on this model. Including our newsletter, for example.
There’s also 21% of respondents saying they’ve bought what they’ve seen advertised by their favorite content creators.
On the other spectrum, 27% of respondents say they use ad blockers—which will talk about more later. While 35% are annoyed by targeted ads based on history and behavior.
The Crew’s verdict: This one report may tell us that ads aren’t as annoying as we think. Especially if you advertise them on platforms that provide free, engaging content in return—think TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Spotify, or even newsletters.
Also, it seems that UGC and influencer content works better than targeted content. Or at least, annoys fewer online users. Something to think about…
🔢Did you know: According to reports, we’re seeing more than 10k ads every day. They’re everywhere. On your smartphone, on the TV, on the street. That’s annoying in itself, isn’t it?
How do online users see different marketing channels?
Not all ads are equal. Neither are the platforms on which we serve them.
This chart illustrates it:
Looking at this, print medium seems to not ruffle anyone’s feathers. Most are indifferent about them or don’t hate them at all—possibly because they aren’t intrusive and are easy to ignore.
But they are also less engaging and not measurable. And we don’t care about print media that much.
When it comes to online ads, audio streaming channels seem to be the most annoying. It’s a pretty even balance between love, indifference, and annoyance. It’s best to tread lightly.
Video streaming ads and website ads seem to be the most enjoyable and also least unlikeable—and judging by the indifference bar, they’re also quite engaging.
Most importantly, social media ads aren’t as annoying as you might think.
While 33% said they’re annoying—which seems to be an overall average, there’s still 40% that enjoys them. The most important part is how you’ll handle the ad creative part.
🎧 Judging by surveys podcast ads seem to be the most difficult to make appealing. So if you want some data-driven advice on how to approach them, read our podcast Data Story.
User’s outlook on retail media ads versus marketplace ads
While on the subject of different channels:
It looks like shoppers are twice as likely to convert from ads on retailers websites compared to marketplace ads.
We could guess it is because audiences on retail media websites are already “hot,” And that, in combination with “trust” in a particular retailer, makes for a converting combo.
What you can do: With retail media networks on the rise, you could leverage the opportunity to promote your products on retail websites along relevant products.
Users’ outlook on website ads versus social media ads
Is there a difference in how users perceive social media ads versus website ads?
Let’s check:
Notice something interesting here?
Most negative descriptions are the same for both ad channels—however, social media ads are considered funnier and more entertaining.
Makes sense, as the social media’s “attention competition” is fierce.
This is also a good lesson for you. If you’re advertising on social media, you’ll have to bring your creative A-game.
Online user behavior towards ads
Looks like ads might be less annoying than, say, finding out you’re out of coffee on a Monday morning.
But that’s in theory. What’s it like in practice? Let’s check:
Not bad. While more people skipped an online video ad, almost 42% watched it ‘till the end in the past seven days at the time of asking.
What’s more, a third of all respondents further researched something they’ve seen in an ad.
25% clicked on an ad on a website, and a little less did the same for social media.
However, only 11.6% say they’ve actually bought something seen in an ad, which confirms the discrepancy between seeing an ad, clicking on it, and actually converting.
It’s still a long journey through the funnel…
Are users blocking your ads?
We’ve mentioned earlier that a chunk of users use ad blockers.
And we care about it because it is software that disables ad tracking completely—and often removes all advertising material from your online browser.
Put simply, people who use ad blockers are near-impossible to serve ads to.
Let’s take a look at the percentages:
Apparently, 41% of surveyed US users don’t use ad blockers, while 13% don’t know what it is. This also means that almost half of all respondents in the US use ad blockers in some form.
However, while almost a quarter of all users block ads on their web browsers, only 9% of respondents in the US have ad blockers installed on smartphones—or both devices.
The Crew’s Tip: Make sure your ads are mobile–friendly. There’s a bigger chance your targets will see them.
Fun fact: One of the most avid ad blockers are Reddit users (63%).
How do we know? We’ve researched it in our Reddit Ads Data Story.
How can you reduce ad annoyance as a brand?
If you can’t make everyone love ads, at least you can make them hate ads less, right?
We’ll call that “reducing ad annoyance.”
As a brand, you’ll have to look at what ad efforts make your potential customers pull their hair out—and try to do as little of that as possible.
Here’s a chart that could help:
Most of the respondents have a negative view of brands that advertise too much.
Also, more than 40% say that they’re annoyed by ads that block their content, while a bit less say they don’t like irrelevant ads.
There’s also a bit of negativity towards ads next to inappropriate content (28%) and ads that seem to be overly-targeted (almost 20%).
The Crew’s opinion: First, the above tells us that you should keep ad fatigue in mind. Don’t overload your potential customers with too many ads—as it might be counterintuitive.
Also, if you want to advertise, try to make your ads as least annoying as possible. Pop–ups, intrusive, and interruptive ads seem to be high on the annoyance list.
⚠️ Pay attention to where you’ll serve your ads. Users care about that.
In fact, that’s one of the reasons why X ads took a huge hit from big advertisers concerned that their ads may be served alongside politically sensitive, or downright inappropriate content.
The “aditude” is improving
Pardon the pun, but it seems like people are not as annoyed by ads as we think so.
By understanding user preferences and avoiding overly intrusive methods, you can craft ads that resonate better.
So, keep your creative game strong and your audience in mind to make the ad experience as enjoyable as possible.
At least that’s what we can conclude from this report.
But let us know if you disagree, we’d be happy to hear!
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