What are desktop pop-under ads

Definition

A pop-under is a type of online advertisement that appears behind a browser window without interrupting content. Pop-unders only become visible once a user has closed the top browser window or tab. Pop-unders can vary in size, but are usually 720 x 300px.

Compared to other ad formats

Pop-unders have a lot of potential due to their size and undivided user attention. They outperform standard banner ads exponentially on click-through rates (CTR), with very high user engagement and/or interaction. However, as online ad blocking software becomes increasingly popular, inventory may be hard to come by.

What makes pop unders special

Designed to be less intrusive than pop-up ads, pop-under advertisements does not interrupt a user’s content experience. Due to the fact that pop-unders open in separate browser windows or tabs, it is often difficult for users to establish which site generated the ad. This reduces potential negative association.

Ad-Pixel Size

Desktop Pops: 720 x 300 (most common)

Optimal File Size

On the web, smaller is always better when it comes to file sizes, even with today’s fast connections and cheap data. For pop-under ads, files should be kept around 40KB, but no larger than 50KB, including HTML based ads.

File types:

GIF: Animation, transparency, size PNG: better transparency, size, newer format JPG: Photo, artwork HTML5: Video content. Alternative to Adobe Flash, which is no longer supported.

What’s important for advertiser

The great potential of pop ads

Pop-under ads benefit from high visibility due to size and user attention, countering what is known as ‘banner blindness’, where many users have become oblivious to banner advertising on sites. These ads have relatively high CPM rates, but should only be served to users once a day, as pop-unders have the potential to cause considerable annoyance for users. In lieu of this, the number of ad networks that accept pop-unders are decreasing, often making inventory hard to come by. The prevalence of ad blocking software may also decrease their effectiveness.

For creatives, the size of pop-unders give a lot of room to design high impact ads. However, the less is more rule still applies and ad should be uncluttered, with the focus on the product.

What’s important for website owners

Increase your ROI with Pop Ads

Pop-under ads have very high CPM rates, making them potentially high earners. This is due to their high visibility and exponentially higher click-through rates compared to standard banner ads. In fact, because pop-under ads take up no current site real-estate, they are essentially ‘bonus’ earners as they require no changes to current on-site advertising. However, site owners should be very careful about what kind of pop-under ads they allow, since they also come with a fair risk of negative association, as they can be very annoying to some users. Ad blocking software may also impede earning potential.