The boom in Internet pop-up advertisements may be about to, well, pop.
The big advertisements that flash in separate windows above or below Web pages are among the most intrusive, and to many people, the most obnoxious features on the Internet. Not coincidentally, the pop-up format is also among the most effective for advertisers and the most profitable for Web-site publishers.
But the potential reach of these advertisements is starting to be sharply curtailed as major companies, like Time Warner's AOL unit, Yahoo and Google, distribute software that blocks pop-up ads from opening. This summer, Microsoft will put a pop-up blocking feature in the next release of Internet Explorer, the dominant Web browser.
In its browser, Netscape already provides the ability to block pop-ups.
"There is a consumer revolt as forms of advertising get more intrusive," said Rob Kaiser, vice president for narrowband marketing at EarthLink, the first big Internet service provider to distribute pop-up blocking software.
The reaction to pop-ups, he said, is similar to the rush to join the government's do-not-call list to block telemarketing calls and the increase in the use of video recorders to block TV commercials.
Advertising executives, in television and the Internet market, note that consumers who block the advertisements are undercutting the economic model that provides them with free entertainment and information.
"I haven't spoken to any people who say I love pop-ups, send me more of them," said David Moore, the chief executive of 24/7 Real Media, an online advertising firm.
"But they are part of a quid pro quo. If you want to enjoy the content of a Web site that is free, the pop-ups come with it," he said.
But even companies like Yahoo and Microsoft, which receive significant revenue from advertising, have decided to bow to complaints from Web users.
"We are adding a pop-up blocker based on feedback from customers," said Matthew Pilla, a senior product manger for Windows at Microsoft.
Long a feature of AOL, pop-ups became widespread on the Internet about three years ago, as Web sites sought ways to replace the torrent of advertisement money that dried up after the dot-com boom. And a few advertisers, like X10, selling wireless cameras, and Orbitz, the online travel company, jumped onto the format early.
In December 2001, 1.4 percent of the Web advertisements measured by Nielsen/NetRatings were pop-ups or "pop-under" advertisements, which appear behind the main browser window. That rose to 8.7 percent last July. But it has declined since, to 6.2 percent last month.
AdvertisementBanners.com, which places pop-under advertisements on Web sites, has found that 20 percent to 25 percent of Web users have pop-up blocking enabled on their computers, double the rate of a year ago, said Chris Vanderhook, the company's chief operating officer.
Some advertising companies say that a smaller percentage of people are using blockers, but there is agreement that use of pop-up blocking is increasing.
In the year and half since EarthLink offered blocking software, 1 million of its 5 million customers have installed it. AOL added pop-up blocking to its software in 2002. Google added a blocker to its toolbar, a small program that adds some features to Internet Explorer. Yahoo, more recently, added a similar feature to its toolbar. And Microsoft's MSN just added a pop-up blocker to its most recent software.
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