Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
3.8 Disadvantages of Online Advertising
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
- Understand the disadvantages of online advertising and the challenges involved.
Technical Obstacles
The nature of a lot of display advertising is intrusive, so pop-up blockers can often prevent ads from being
served as they were intended by the advertisers. Most browsers now block pop-ups. There are also
extensions available for the Firefox browser, such as Adblock Plus, that will block advertising on Web
pages. Technologically savvy consumers are increasingly using these methods to limit the advertising that
they see.
Connection Speed
Bandwidth can also be an issue, although this is a shrinking problem. However, campaigns should be
planned around demographics in determining the richness (and investment) of interaction. For example,
heart disease medication is likely to appeal to an older community with less money and slower connection
speeds.
Advertising Fatigue
Consumers are suffering from advertising fatigue, so while new technologies can provide great results, as
soon as the market moves mainstream, it can get saturated. Consumers are increasingly ignoring
advertisements.
KEY TAKEAWAY
- Despite all the benefits of online advertising, there are definitely some disadvantages, which include
technical obstacles, connection speed, and advertising fatigue.