A few years ago, pop-up windows were all the rage in Internet
marketing. It seemed that every time one opened a web page they
would be bombarded with offers for this or that. It had gotten to
the point where surfing the Internet was almost like playing a
video game; when the ads would pop-up one would try and close
them out before another one came. This is precisely why we have
seen the decline in the use of pop-up windows on the Internet
today; surfers simply do not even look at the pop-ups anymore.
They close the windows out before even reading the ad. Very
often, a surfer will even leave your site if there are too many
pop-up ads. They simply do not want the hassle of closing those
windows while trying to obtain the information that your site has
to offer. This information, while valuable, is not as valuable as
the surfers time. Studies have shown however, that even with
these set backs, pop-up windows are still an effective method
of Internet marketing.

Is there some way that pop-up windows can be less irritating and
still be effective? Yes! What if the pop ad were seen upon
exiting your site instead of entering? This would allow the
surfer to obtain the information that they need from your site,
feeling that they were able to come and go quickly without being
hassled by other ads and offers all the while making the surfer
happy. You have left the surfer with a positive attitude and
therefore are more likely to respond to the pop advertisement.
This is being accomplished more and more by using what is being
called pop-under windows. When the surfer comes to your site, the
ad is opened discretely behind the your web page. Then, upon
leaving your site, after obtaining all the information that they
need , will see the ad and therefore be more likely to respond.
Since the surfer has the information, he has achieved his
objective and is now open to do other things; ideally respond to
the pop under advertisement.

Not all pop-windows are created equally. There are some things
that you can do to make your pop-windows, whether pop-up or pop-
under more effective. The pop-window should be easy to “escape”
from. If the surfer does not want to see the add, but has a hard
time closing it out, they will likely become frustrated and could
leave your site all together. You should either use a button to
that will allow the surfer to close the window or be sure that
the “x” is easily visible. Another good idea is to use a script
that utilizes cookies. Cookie will prevent pop-windows from
overloading the surfer since you can decide the frequency of the
pop-windows, rather than each time a page is opened. Also be sure
that there is no more than one pop-window per page.

When creating a pop-window, you will be asked to fill out a short
information form, select the length of cookies, and choose the
layout of the pop-window. When choosing the design of the pop-
window, you can increase the effectiveness by creating a large
headline that includes benefits that will be most appealing to
the customer. You should also consider using incentives and
lastly do not ask the customer to read a long and drawn out
advertisement. Keep the message simple yet powerful and your
pop-ads will be sure to generate profits for your site.