Sep 19, 2024 20:00:00

It is pointed out that annoying advertisements on the Internet are increasing year by year

When surfing the web, unpleasant or uninteresting advertisements are displayed repeatedly, significantly increasing the amount of data traffic, and some advertisements are said to

promote harmful illegal drugs . In recent years, experts have pointed out that contrary to the general expectation that technological advances will improve users' online experience, online advertising has been increasing year by year.

Why is the internet overflowing with rubbish ads – and what can we do about it?
https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-internet-overflowing-with-rubbish-ads-and-what-can-we-do-about-it-237980

Research has shown that if online ads are relevant to you, you are more likely to be interested in them. In contrast, research has shown that people tend to find general advertising and inappropriate pop-up ads annoying.

'When users see these inappropriate ads, they are often annoyed and will leave the site,' said Steve D'Alessandro, a professor at Edith Cowan University. Inappropriate ads not only negatively impact people's online experience, they also have a negative impact on businesses.

However, irrelevant ads are rampant on the internet, and a 2022 study found that roughly one-third of ads displayed on Facebook were not personalized to users and were irrelevant.

On the other hand, if ads are too personalized, they can be seen as a violation of privacy. It has been pointed out that users tend to dislike personalized ads, find them invasive, and find banner ads intrusive.

Research is being conducted into how to opt in or out of the display of advertisements, and

previous studies have shown that personalized advertisements are effective when there is an opt-in or opt-out feature, but many social media sites do not provide an opt-out clause.

Professor D'Alessandro points out that the main reason for the proliferation of these annoying ads is that 'almost all online advertising is automated. In fact, it has been revealed that about 90% of banner ads, pop-up ads, and other digital display ads in the United States are automated.

These ads are called 'programmatic ads' and are automatically placed on websites and social media feeds without human intervention. The total amount of spending on these ads has been increasing year by year, from $4.99 billion in 2013 to $156.8 billion in 2023.

In addition, the amount of online advertising in Australia is expected to increase by 9.3% in 2024 alone, and the online advertising market is expected to grow to 3.7 billion Australian dollars (approximately 35.9 billion yen).

According to Professor D'Alessandro, programmatic advertising is rampant because there are no legal limits on the number of ads users can see.

Professor D'Alessandro urged companies like Google to offer ad formats that allow users to interact with the ad more easily, such as carousel ads , because previous research has shown that more interactive ads lead to greater user engagement.

'Creating compelling, relevant online ads will take time and money to create, but they will be more effective and much less repulsive to users,' D'Alessandro said.