Forty-seven percent of mobile app users say that they click/tap on mobile ads more often by mistake than they do on purpose, reports a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Pontiflex in December 2010. Pontilflex offers the alternative to mobile banner ads that are easy to click by mistake - in-app "singup" ads.
In fact, 71 percent of mobile app users stated that they prefer ads that keep them within the app they are using, instead of ads that take them out of the app to a mobile web browser.
According to the Pontiflex survey, 95 percent of mobile app users use free apps and 41 percent use paid apps. This trend is prevalent even among more affluent demographics. 96 percent of mobile apps users with HHI $75K plus said they use free apps.
Additional findings of the survey include:
- 61 percent of mobile apps users ages 18-34 click/tap on mobile ads by accident more often than on purpose.
- Almost two-thirds of mobile app users selected ads that contain coupons, deals or newsletters as their preferred in-app mobile ad type.
- Mobile apps are popular across all age groups, but usage is highest among users 18-34 years old.
Pontiflex contends that with the high incidence of accidental clicks, advertisers cannot continue to use traditional online ad units and measurement models - namely banners and click-through rates - as a way to deploy and measure the success of mobile campaigns.
The results of the survey, they claim, also suggests that advertisers should deploy in-app advertising models to engage consumers in a way that is consistent with their preferences.
Signup ads enable people to opt-in to advertisements without having to click out of the app. Signup ads are served at non-disruptive points in app usage, such as when the user opens the app between game levels or during a ringtone download. They are never displayed during active app usage, thereby eliminating the possibility of accidental clicks. With Pontiflex AppLeads, advertisers pay only for qualified signups. They never have to pay for wasted clicks or impressions.
Harris Interactive conducted two online surveys in the United States on behalf of Pontiflex in December 2010. The first was conducted from Dec. 14-16, 2010 among 2,052 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, and the second was conducted from Dec. 27-29, 2010 among 2,118 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. These online surveys are not based on a probability sample. Therefore, no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.