In-text advertising is a controversial form of advertising that appears within the text of a web page. It differs from standard types of advertisements, such as banner ads and pop-ups, as it is set up with links within the text of the site content. In-text advertising is indicated by a double underline and can be inadvertently triggered, potentially annoying the reader. Some web usability experts believe that in-text advertising is harmful and blurs the line between editorial content and advertising content.
Advertising on web pages takes many forms. It can appear on a page dedicated solely to advertisements, or it can be integrated into a page that also contains informative text, articles, images, or other material that doesn’t sell anything. In-text advertising is advertising that appears within the text of material that is not otherwise devoted to advertising. It is controversial because it blurs the line between Internet content and Internet advertising for the site visitor.
There are some standard types of advertisements that appear on content-oriented web pages and are separate from the content. These include banner ads, wallpaper ads, sidebar ads, pop-up and pop-under ads, interstitial ads and video ads. The first three types are displayed on the same page with content, but in separate adjacent areas that are clearly delineated. Pop-up and pop-under ads appear in separate windows, while interstitial ads and video ads are usually arranged so that the user has to wait through them before getting to the content. In-text advertising differs from all of these.
In-text advertising is set up with links within the text of the site content. While in-text links of content traditionally link to other content, such as articles about the specific thing being mentioned or definitions of words, in-text advertising works differently. It connects users to advertisements, rather than content, and if the user clicks on the ad, the website owner can earn a pay-per-click payment. In Text Advertising Bestsellers Info Links, Vibrant Media, Kontera, Embedded Text, Sin Text, Be Context, Triggit and Miva.
In-text advertising is indicated by a double underline rather than a single underline for a standard content link. When the user hovers over the link, the pop-up ad is displayed. May or may not start a video immediately. The need for a hover is stated by in-text advertising companies, such as Vibrant, to give the user control. In practice, however, pop-ups can be inadvertently triggered when the mouse is moved over the page, causing the content to appear interrupted which could potentially be annoying to the reader, since pop-ups do not necessarily disappear when the mouse is moved and you may need to fire it individually.
Some web usability experts believe that in-text advertising is harmful in a broader way as the bad experiences it causes will make users less likely to use legitimate and useful web browsing. Additionally, reporters working for newspapers with an online edition have expressed concern that if words to a story are sold, the line between editorial content and advertising content becomes blurred. Although some reports say that objections to advertising have subsided, there are still web pundits who don’t believe they belong on professional websites.
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