Website Adverts Feedback

[Smitters]

PH chaps, I know there have been numerous threads on this, but just to ad my own 2p, I am now at a point where I'm finding the advertising is putting me off browsing on PH at all. The ads that auto-resize and cause what I'm reading to move are infuriating, and personally, I'm not encouraged to use the advertised product as it's electronically akin to someone coming up and tugging my arm to get my attention.

I know I can install ad blockers, but only a small percentage will do this, so the experience I'm having will be what the majority get too, including casual users who presumably you're trying to convert into long-term regular users, not drive away.

I'm a fan on PH and want it to survive and be viable, but as my source for car news, I'm looking elsewhere currently.

[Smitters]

I think this screenshot probably sums my experience up. I click to PH, decide I quite fancy the Hillclimb article over lunch and hey presto! My mouse pointer is now somewhere close to the word "rule" hovering where the article was...

This all happens in the first five seconds of navigating to the website. I have no choice, no control, it's forced on me and makes the PH content hard to access.

Cheers.

[Smitters]

This has been a generally on-topic topic chaps - can we keep it that way please?

Lee - may thanks for the feedback - it's good to know we're listened to. Obviously we're not going to be advert free, and as has been pointed out, you can block adverts, but finding a useable balance between generating revenue and keeping PH going, and ensuring it's an accessible site for the user is key.

Looking forward to seeing the changes.

[Smitters]

I'm sad to resurrect this, but I guess feedback can only be good. I've noticed in the last few weeks that the larger ads are starting to creep back in. I have always found the most annoying to be ads that manipulate the screen position of PH content. The response above suggested these would be limited to occasional car ads, but I see I now have a Vodafone ad on the main page that shifts things around.

As I've said before, it's obviously a balance of income versus users, but if I review my news reading, I probably have used PH less than half as much as last year for journalism, a significant part of which is because of distracting/annoying adverts.

[Smitters]

Smitters said:

I'm sad to resurrect this, ...

...again.

I was pleased when told the large ads would be few and car based. ASDA just took over my screen. I've got to a point where I don't actually browse the main page any more - I just go straight to the forums. It's a shame as the website has essentially forced me out, incrementally. At this rate, I may actually start buying a car magazine again!

[Smitters]

Jubal said:

Regardless of advert size, would it be possible to format the page including advert before it is served up so the content doesn't jump around? On an iPad it's hugely annoying going to click on a link and having it jump around in front of you.

Actually, this is probably one of the most irritating things, so a great point.

Cynical me thinks that the whole point is you're about to click on a link and an advert drops under your finger/pointer, and you accidentally click the advert. The hope is you're one of the 0.1% who isn't enraged, and buys product x...