Friesen J.I., Gorbunova E.S. Banner Blindness and User Tasks: When and Why Banners Are Overlooked

Banner blindness – a phenomenon where users ignore banner advertisements on web pages – remains a pressing issue in digital interface design. Our study offers a novel perspective on this issue by examining banner blindness in the context of user tasks specificity. 

The main goal of the study was to investigate the impact of task type on banner blindness: we hypothesized that when users perform tasks with a clearly defined goal, they are more likely to ignore banners, whereas when performing low-goal tasks, users may be more receptive to banners. 

An online experiment was conducted with 140 participants. They were shown web page layouts with advertising banners placed in typical locations, such as the top of the page and the sidebar. Participants completed visual search tasks for products with a clearly defined goal – finding a specific product – or low-goal tasks – finding a product they might like. After completing the tasks, participants underwent a recognition test to assess their awareness of the banners. 

A two-way ANOVA revealed that both banner position and task type significantly influence the occurrence of banner blindness. When searching for a specific product, users were more likely to overlook advertising banners compared to when performing a low-goal task. These findings suggest that tasks with a clearly defined goal narrow the focus of attention for a more efficient search, whereas during low-goal tasks, users are more likely to notice peripheral elements of the page, such as banners, due to a broader distribution of attention.

Key words: Banner blindness, digital interface, visual attention, user tasks

For citation: Friesen, J., Gorbunova, E.S. (2025). Banner Blindness and User Tasks: When and Why Banners Are Overlooked. New Psychological Research, No. 2, 51–66. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_02_03