What Is An Interstitial Ad?

Date First Published: 10th September 2022

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Advertising

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 5/10

CONTENTS

When To Use Interstitial Ads?

Learn more about what an interstitial ad is in this article.

An interstitial ad is an interactive, full-screen ad that covers the interface of their app or website. They are similar to popup ads, but their full-screen coverage is what differentiates them from other types. The size of them in pixels varies, since they will automatically resize to the screen size of the device.

Interstitial ads can be displayed in different types, including text, images, and video, which users can navigate past by clicking on the 'x' button in the top-left corner or they can click on the ad, which will take them to the advertiser's website and the publisher will earn a small amount of money for that click. Non-video ads will have an immediate close option, whilst interstitial video ads may have a wait of up to 5 seconds before the 'x' button is visible.

When To Use Interstitial Ads?

Interstitial ads deliver the highest conversion rates for advertisers and the highest chances of revenue for publishers due to their full-screen format. They are best at grabbing the user's attention and are most noticeable, since users don't always notice small banner ads. However, due to their large size, misuse of interstitial ads can create a bad user experience. Best uses for using interstitial ads include:

Times when the user is expecting a break in an app or website, such as when completing a level in a game or waiting a few seconds for a page to redirect. At these times, it is easy to display an interstitial ad without causing disruption to their experience or getting in the way of their enjoyment.
Times when the user is navigating from one article to another on a website.
Apps and websites with natural pauses.

Interstitial ads should not take too long to load, as this can keep users waiting for a long time and make them impatient and in-app activity, such as music should be paused whilst displaying an interstitial ad. In addition, the 'x' button should be easy to find and not be too small on mobile devices.

On the other hand, unsuitable uses for interstitial ads include:

Flooding the website or app with interstitial ads or randomly displaying them when the user is in the middle of a task, giving a bad user experience, leading to accidental clicks, and constantly interrupting the usage of a website or app.
Displaying interstitial ads when opening or closing an app or website.
Displaying multiple interstitial ads at a time (e.g. displaying another interstitial ad after a user closes one, irritating them).

Google penalises publishers that use interstitial ads that they consider to be intrusive because it can lead to lots of accidental clicks. Interstitial ads are considered intrusive if they meet the criteria above in the unsuitable uses.