Web Display Ads Often Not Visible

The old adage in advertising—that half the money is wasted but no one knows which half—turns out to be as true for the digital world as it ever was for traditional media. An astounding 54% of online display ads shown in "thousands" of campaigns measured by comScore between May of 2012 and February of this year weren't seen by anyone, according to a study completed last month.

Don't confuse "weren't seen" with "ignored." These ads simply weren't seen, the result of technical glitches, user habits and fraud. The finding implies that billions of marketing dollars are being poured down a digital drain. Last year, $14 billion was spent on online display advertising, estimates eMarketer, 40% of all online ad spending. Advertisers can blame both technical snafus and more nefarious factors for ads going nowhere. Technical issues include ads being displayed on part of a browser not open on a computer screen—such as when an ad appears at the bottom of the screen and surfers don't scroll down. Another problem: Some ads load so slowly that the Web surfer switches off before the ad comes up, says comScore.