We’ve all experienced them… you are scrolling through the home feed of a website when you find a post that interests you, so you click on the link to read more. Immediately another tab opens in your browser and you’ve been unwillingly directed to another site – one you never intended to visit. These troublesome instances are known as pop-under redirects, and Sovrn is taking a firm stance against them.
How do we define the term “pop-under redirect”?
A pop-under redirect is either an unwanted advertisement that pops under the website a reader is viewing in a new browser tab, or a second website that loads behind the intended page. In order to escape from the ad or second window, the reader must physically click on the tab to close it.
These types of redirects have recently become popular because unlike pop-ups, they do not redirect the reader entirely from their current page, causing less overall intrusion.
So why are they a problem?
Redirects and pop-ups are not related to regular banner ads; the publisher is intentionally working with a company to redirect their readers when they interact with the content. When our publishers use partners that purposefully serve pop-under redirects to increase their revenue, they weaken their relationship with their readers. As a result, visitors of the site may choose to install ad blockers.
As publisher advocates, we want to limit ad blocking and promote positive user experiences. This is why Sovrn forbids pop-under redirects. By automatically opening new tabs in the reader’s browser, pop-under ads are sending real traffic to sites that the reader would not have otherwise visited or chosen to engage with, generating ad revenue for the pop-under site or allowing the site to install malware on the device of the unsuspecting reader.
Readers do not like being directed to advertisements and domains they don’t choose to visit, especially if they are malicious – so make sure your site is free of pop-under redirects before working with sovrn.
Have you experienced pop-under redirects? Do they bother you as a reader?
