pop-ups

Something that has perplexed me is what the point of pop-up advertisements are. I know that I am at least more put off by them than anything else, so I cannot imagine that many legitimate companies would be successful in using pop-ups. Also, most browsers block a large percentage of pop-ups, so even if they would have been successful many of those advertisements are not seen by most users. My assessments about this must somehow be wrong because pop-ups still exist in large quantities.

I can understand that some websites that do not have to maintain a highly professional reputation might be able to use pop-ups because they do not have an image to tarnish with the type of advertising that they accept. Websites that bank on professionalism of some sort or on reputation have too much to lose, in my opinion, to play that game.

One website that confounds me in its use of pop-up advertising is Snopes. Psychologically, if I get a pop-up when I go to a website, my trust of what I find on that website takes a hit. Since Snopes is founded on its audience's trust and since it probably has a more technically experienced audience that is less likely to click on a pop-up, I don't know for the life of me why the website has so many pop-ups. Do they really get more advertising dollars by popping up a couple of windows every time someone visits the site than they would by avoiding the practice? If it were not for the fact that the website has very compelling content that I cannot reliably get elsewhere I probably would have decided to stop going to the site long ago. I know at least one person who has sworn off the site for the same reason.

So, if you happen to be reading this and you are considering building a website and making money on advertising, please consider forgoing the pop-ups and pop-under ads.