Study: 38% Of Online Ads Not Seen

Across all types of sites, some 38% of ads were never in view to a user, and nearly half are in view for less than 0.5 seconds in 2011, according to data from ad verification firm AdSafe. Ads served in what are considered premium, above-the-fold placements weren't necessarily seen by a user because of the type of device or browser settings they’re using.

Conversely, below-the-fold ads might be viewed in a more contextually relevant way depending on a specific page's content and layout, as well as how far down a page a user scrolls. On a major portal, for instance, ads are only in-view on page load 52% of the time, but are likely to be viewed up to 82% of the time upon the user scrolling.

AdSafe says its study took into account factors including Web browsers, monitor sizes, screen resolutions, ad size, the placement on the page the ad is being served to, the amount of time a user spends on a page, and the likelihood a user will scroll until the ad is in view.

The full-year data confirms and adds to findings the company released in early November in connection with the ad:tech conference in New York.

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