• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 6, 2005

Online readers remember ads better when they appear in the middle of articles than in the beginning, but give more credibility to ads that appear at the start of an article--below the masthead and before the byline--according to a study by researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

For the study, "Ad Placement in E-Newspapers Affects Memory, Attitude," which recently appeared in the Newspaper Research Journal, the authors questioned 114 undergraduates who were shown news stories containing ads that appeared at the beginning, middle, or end of the article.

"When brand awareness is the goal, advertisers should select the middle location. When image enhancement is a goal, the beginning location may be the best choice," states the report.

The report's authors found cause for concern about whether ads appearing at the beginning of a story would lessen readers' trust in the publication; the authors speculated that readers might confuse ads appearing before a byline with editorial content.