Have you ever gone to click on a link or a video or some other digital component and then you’re stuck waiting an ungodly amount of time for it to load? You sit there and wait as you grow impatient and your impatience segues into annoyance that can eventually lead to anger if the content doesn’t finally load. If it’s not something you need to view, you’re not as likely to try again, right? And you’ll probably be less inclined to click on something else from the company that created it. Don’t let slow-​loading screens and other technical glitches hamper your clients’ digital ads.

Ross Benes in his article, “Many Users Will Stop Viewing Content That’s Slow to Load,” quotes a December 2017 Adobe survey in which 47% of the 1,011 American adults surveyed said that they’ll give up on viewing content that takes a long time to load. That, or another 31% said they’ll change the device they’re trying to open the content on, but does your client really want to make potential customers do that? Other notable problems with digital content that will get viewers to give up entirely are:

• Lengthy content: 47%
• Trouble with interactive components such as links and buttons: 45%
• Content that won’t load at all: 44%
• Content isn’t formatted for the device the viewer is using: 34%

Obviously, digital video is more likely to fall into these categories than other digital ads since it has more code and bigger file sizes. If your client’s video is formatted for desktop alone, they’re setting mobile viewers up for disappointment. Adaptive streaming is one solution for the problem.

Your clients’ websites can be another trouble spot. If the sites take too long to load, consumers will move on. If you use a tool like Digital Audit from SalesFuel, you’ll get a reading on website performance details like desktop and mobile speed scores. Using this information, you can show clients how to optimize their images and minify JavaScript to speed load times.

Don’t let loading trouble for your client’s digital ads leave potential viewers with a negative experience. Talk with your client about potential solutions to this hurtful problem and stop it before it happens.