Pop-up VS Pop-under – which one should you use?

Posted: 2022-12-29

Pop ads are offered by almost every ad network in existence. The reason is simple – it’s still one of the most effective, engaging ad formats, and it’s very much alive and well in 2023, despite the fact that it’s been around since the 90s. On average, the CTR for pop ads is 6 times higher than that of display banners. Pop ads also offer much better conversion than other ad types, sometimes boosting the ROI by as much as 250%. It’s no wonder pop ads are popular among publishers and advertisers. 

The term “pop advertising” covers a few different pop ads. The two most important ones are pop-ups and pop-unders. As the names suggest, there’s a significant difference between these two – pop-ups are displayed on top of the website, often covering part of the content, or all of it. Pop-under ads open in the background, usually in a new tab or a new window. The user doesn’t see the pop under until they close the browser.

Pop unders are a less invasive form of pop ads, which makes them useful in case you’re worried about interrupting or annoying your users with a pop up ad. There are many instances in which you don’t want to stop the flow of a user’s engagement. For example, if a user is in the middle of selecting a product, reading the description of an event or clicking on a CTA button that’s important to you. In these cases, you shouldn’t disrupt the continuity of an interested, engaged user. Pop-unders are more subtle, and the user will see them after he’s finished with his current flow. Pop unders offer a better user experience, and a more subtle way to advertise.

Still, sometimes you want to grab the attention of the user, and pop unders can be missed or closed without receiving the user’s attention. Pop ups, on the other hand, are much harder to miss or to ignore. Pop ads may help you make more sales, turn leads into paying customers, sign up new users etc. 

Pop-unders are a type of advertising that can be effective even with a limited budget because they have a high click-through rate (CTR) of up to 7% and a relatively low cost-per-click. These ads are shown only once a day to unique users, which helps to minimize non-target traffic and save money. Additionally, popunders are separate from the publisher’s content, so they won’t interfere with or alter the design of your website.

Pop-unders may be less effective or visible for mobile users, so if most of your traffic is from smartphones, you might need to use pop ups instead. 

As always, the key to success in digital advertising is knowing your audience and what kind of ad works better for them. 


Ad Types, Advertising Tips, Blog

Popunder Ads – Are They Effective?

Posted: 2022-09-19
Pop under ad

Pop ads are nothing new. They’ve been there ever since the starting days of the internet, around the late 90s. Popup ads were invented by a guy that worked in tripod.com, back in the day. The reason popups were invented wasn’t to annoy users, but to separate the content from the ads. Advertisers were worried that their ad will be associated with the content created by the publishers. Specifically, there was a car company that bought a banner placement, and that banner appeared on a page with adult content. Pop up windows seemed like a good solution for this kind of “conflict” – the ad appears on a separate window and it’s unrelated to the content, thus preserving the advertiser’s image.

Pop ads have established themselves as an industry standard, and are considered one of the most effective ways to advertise. They catch the attention of the user, who sometimes ignores regular banners, and they have high CTR.

Every decent ad network offers publishers some sort of pop ads, and with good reason. Pop ads have quite a few advantages:

  • Pop ads grab the attention of the user.
  • In order to close the pop-up, a user has to find the X or the “close” link. The few seconds that are required to do that also make him consider the ad. The user actually has to decide if they are interested in what the ad has to offer. Those few seconds make all the difference.
  • Pop ads improve conversion rate, especially if they offer a discount or a specific product that is related to the content of the website.

Specifically, pop-ups have a disadvantage – they tend to annoy the user because they are slightly more intrusive than other types of ads. This is where popunder and New Tab Ads come in. We’ll tell you more about New Tab Ads in future posts. For the time being, you should know that New Tab ads are great, because they get the user’s attention, but not utilizing a new window, just a new browser tab. The tab can be closed easily and is considered to be more compliant with Google’s policies.

New Tab ads deliver similar results in terms of conversion rate and can also be sent to the back of the tab in focus.

What’s a popunder ad?

Popunder is the lesser known variation of pop ads. Most people know about pop-ups, but pop-under isn’t as established, although they are as effective as pop-ups.

The functionality of popunder is basically the same as a pop-up ad, except it shows beneath the tab the user is looking at. Unlike a popup, which covers the content (or parts of it), a popunder appears behind the content in a separate tab or window. On mobile, the ad shows more of itself as the user scrolls.

Is popunder a good ad format?

The fact that popunders are noninvasive, makes them a great choice of ad for publishers and advertisers alike. Since popunders appear as a new browser window, they don’t hassle the user or hide the content from him. When the user has finished reading the content, and wants to close the tabs, he will see the popunder and consider it. This is a sophisticated, gentle way of advertising that tends to generate top tier traffic. The fact that the user gets a CHOICE whether to look at the ad or not, is a great advantage, and makes this sort of ad a great addition to any advertising portfolio.

More Popunder Advantages

A popunder CTR can be as high as 7% and they are relatively low cost-per-click – so they are a good option if your budget is limited at this point.

Popunder ads appear once a day and for unique users only. They help you save money and minimize non-target traffic.

Popunders are also separate from the publisher’s content, so they won’t change or mess up your website design.

Ad Types, Blog