According to a research recently released in Spain, 61 percent of surfers actually look at online ads. Alt64 Digital carried out a study to understand what users look at while reading online newspapers such as ABC, El Periodico, El Mundo and La Vanguardia. Among the findings, the study points out less is better when it comes to the quantity of ads to be displayed on a page. Skyscrapers on the side of the page and leaderboards usually get most of the users' attention.

The study has been carried out on account of Eyetracking Media España and can be downloaded for free here (opens .pdf, in Spanish).

While online ads are an effective mode of communication in their own way...what is irritating and making them more and more hard to believe is the spam ads that seem to be taking over the web. It's really bad that somebody else's gain translates into a loss somewhere else.

Posted by: SANDEEP MAKAM at November 22, 2005 11:00 AM

People seem forget the majority of ads on TV are crap spam ads for Beltparkway rip-off college, exercise machines, diet drugs, or just lame products like "The Clapper". The internet is no different.

Posted by: Greg at November 22, 2005 09:30 PM

I'm willing to look at and read an ad if it doesn't contain an animated gif or annoying animation, and if it relates to my interests. Few ads on the
web at present meet these criteria.

Posted by: Andrew Gribble at November 23, 2005 02:33 AM