Online users have low tolerance for more than two ads per Web page and have a less favorable opinion of a marketer's product or service when the ads appear cluttered, a study has found.
BURST! Media surveyed more than 3,100 Web users to better understand how clutter affects users. The study found that while Web users accept advertisements on Web sites, 60.9 percent have a low tolerance for more than two ad units per page, 34.2 percent say they will tolerate one ad per page and 26.7 percent will tolerate two ads per page. Men are a bit more tolerant of multiple ads (29.3 percent) compared with women (23.2 percent).
Clutter affects consumers' perception of advertisers' products and services, the study found, citing 51.2 percent of respondents saying they have a less favorable opinion of an advertiser's product when the ads on the Web page appear cluttered. Women were more likely to say that clutter garners negativity toward advertisers (53.6 percent vs. 48.8 percent). More than one-third (36.8 percent) of respondents say they leave a site if it appears cluttered, a factor that is the same for men and women of all income brackets.
"Advertisers should choose Web sites that have a reasonable number of creative units per page and avoid sites where messages will have to battle for consumers' attention," says Chuck Morgan, market research manager of BURST! Media.
The message's effectiveness drops when there is a lot of clutter, the study found, citing 73.4 percent of respondents who remain on a site they think is cluttered pay less attention to ads.
"Clutter diminishes the effectiveness of advertising messages and can negatively impact consumers' brand perception," Morgan says. "As clients and agencies plan media, they must recognize that clutter is a hidden cost that will impact not only the effectiveness, but also the return on the dollars spent."
