Holding consumers captive
This is hardly the first idea aimed at keeping visitors on a site. But programs such as those used by PassThisOn and JobsOnline take online marketing to an aggressive new level for mainstream, heavily trafficked Web sites. When viewers type in a new address to leave JobsOnline, for example, another Web browser interrupts the attempt with a job registration page that includes a "Stop" sign and a message that reads: "One minute could change your life." After clicking this window away, the viewer gets yet another registration page for a site such as The Motley Fool.
Although this may be one of the more extreme examples, other popular sites are increasing their efforts to retain visitors. Ask Jeeves, LookSmart and others use frames to hold consumers captive as they surf the Web. Another tactic used with increasing frequency is "mousetrapping," which renders a browser's forward and back buttons useless so visitors are forced to stay on the sites.
Promotions known as pop-up and "interstitial" ads
Advertisers find these promotions more appealing because they are larger than the usual banners and are thought to encourage consumers to click through them more often.
"Pop-up promotions are slipping into the mainstream because banner ad rates have dropped through the floor and people are migrating to a number of techniques to get the consumer's attention," said Craig Nathan, chief technology officer for privacy start-up MEconomy.
The practice of corralling people with browsers was raised to an art form in the porn industry years ago, said Jay Kopita, a spokesman for Flying Crocodile, which operates an Internet audience tracker for porn sites. Sites began using software scripts that essentially take control of the visitor's browser by continually launching another page when visitors try to leave the site.
