Adults aged 55 and older click on online ads more when compared to other age groups, according to audience research and measurement company Crowd Science.
The study, where 989 respondents were questioned, found 76% of respondents age 55+ clicked on online ads during the preceding six months, compared to just 58% of 15-24 year-olds. Although older and younger generations differed in their click behavior toward online ads, 27% of all respondents said they would accept relevant ads.
Both age group showed irritation to ads that are not relevant to them: 49% for 15-24 years old and 46% for those 55 and over.
Here are some findings from the survey:
Just 6% of respondents would be willing to pay to use their favorite websites in exchange for eliminating ads.
Two in three have clicked or acted on an ad in the past six months.
College graduates (71%) are more likely than those with a high school education or less (59%) to have clicked on an ad in the past six months.
Targeted ads appear to be more effective for males, with more males (30%) accepting of relevant ads as compared with females (22%).
Conversely, among those who don’t click on ads, males are more than twice as likely (22%) than females (10%) to indicate it’s because they don’t want to navigate away from the page.
For respondents who don’t click on ads, 21% say the main reason is because they fear getting a computer virus, and another 17% don’t trust ads to be truthful.
39% of those who clicked on an ad did so because the ad made them consider the item, another 39% because they were already considering the item, while 14% found the ad amusing.
Regardless of ad relevance, 24% arbitrarily ignore online ads.
Try to examine your attitude towards online ads. Does it fit well with the age group where you should belong? Mine does. I do not click online ads as much as those 55 years old and up.
