What Are the Disadvantages of Online Advertising?

Having an online presence is a necessity for many businesses, but marketing that online presence has certain disadvantages and downfalls that may persuade the business to use its advertising budget on other marketing methods. One of the disadvantages of online advertising is that many advertisements are seen as spam, and there are blockers to protect against the ads. In addition, many websites have ads, so customers experience advertising fatigue or blindness and may not see the ad. Websites lack the first-hand experience that a store offers, which can lead to high returns on sales stemming from online advertising. Disadvantages of online advertising also spring up from the expense, and often low return, of online ads.

Most users consider many of the online advertising vehicles, especially pop-up and pop-under ads, to be spam. This causes several problems for the business. With the ads being seen as spam, many users refuse to connect with them and, instead, just think of them as irritating. Another problem is that there are programs, often built into the Internet browser, that block these ads, so the business may be paying for ads that customers never even see. These disadvantages of online advertising may spill over into the business’s physical presence because, if the ads are irritating enough, customers may associate that irritation with the business.

Website owners want to make money and, if they are not selling a product, they are most likely displaying ads. This widespread ad placement has led to advertisement fatigue or blindness. With this condition, though ads are on the website, the customer does not consciously see or acknowledge them; this is especially true of seasoned Internet users and customers who are only interested in reading specific information on the website. This again results in businesses paying for ads that may never be seen.

With TV, radio and print advertising, advertisements lead the customer into a store so he or she can try on clothes or look more closely at a product. When someone clicks on an online advertisement, they are brought to a website where images of products are displayed, but the customer cannot get the same first-hand experience. The website may lead customers to make a purchase, but it also can lead to high return rates, because clothes may not fit properly or the product may not be as good as it seemed, among other reasons.

Expense and low visibility despite widespread deployment are disadvantages of online advertising. Businesses often pay for ads that customers do not see, and the click-through rate — the rate at which users click an ad for more information &dmash; is only around 1 percent or 2 percent. Even if the business is only using cost-per-click (CPC) ads that allow the business to pay only when someone clicks the ad, there is no guarantee that the customer will buy from the website after clicking.