Date First Published: 17th September 2022
Topic: Web Design & Development
Subtopic: Web Advertising
Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions
Difficulty: MediumDifficulty Level: 5/10
Learn more about what a popup ad is in this article.
A popup ad is a type of online ad that generates ads in a new browser window or covers parts of the webpage with JavaScript to generate an action from a visitor. They are similar to interstitial ads since they cover the content and require users to click on the 'x' button to continue browsing a website, but they do not fully cover the screen.
Some may open in a separate window that displays the ad, although most web browsers block popups that open in a new window by default, so this type of ad is not very common. Instead, most popup ads only display in the current window as a graphical overlay on top of the content as a promotional offer. Popups ads have no standard size or shape and their size varies based on the screen size and the type of ad that is displayed in the popup.
Popup ads are much more visible and deliver higher conversion rates for advertisers and higher chances of revenue for publishers than banner ads, since users don't always notice small banner ads. However, too many unexpected popup ads can irritate visitors and make websites look spammy, so it is recommended to avoid excessive popups and not display another one after a user closes one.
Popunder ads are a variant of popup ads that open a new browser window under the active window and are designed to be less intrusive as they do not interrupt the user straight away. However, they are still blocked by the built-in popup blockers in web browsers that are turned on by default and popunder ads make it harder to tell which website generated them.
Popup ads came from the Tripod.com webpage hosting site in the late 1990s. JavaScript provided the functionality for a webpage to open another window. Ethan Zuckerman claimed that he used that functionality to generate ads in separate windows in response to complaints from advertisers about their ads appearing on pages with sexually explicit content. He later apologised for the unpredicted annoyance that popup ads have caused.
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