Banner blindness is a learned behavior: after years of ignoring web ads, visitors unconsciously skip any element that looks like a banner, promotion, or advertisement — even when it's your most important content.
Research by Jakob Nielsen documented this as early as 1997, and it's only gotten stronger. Modern visitors are trained to ignore: rectangular elements in standard ad sizes (728x90, 300x250), anything that uses bright "promotional" colors detached from the page's design system, elements that look like they were inserted into the content rather than being part of it, and content in the right sidebar (where ads traditionally live).
How this affects landing pages
If your trust badges, special offer, or key CTA is styled like an ad — bright colors, isolated container, promotional language ("LIMITED TIME!") — visitors will unconsciously skip it. If your testimonials are in a standard "ad-sized" box in the right column, they might never be seen.
The fix: Integrate your key elements into the page's natural content flow. Make trust badges part of the design, not bolted on. Style CTAs as part of the page, not as floating promotional elements. Keep offers in-line with content rather than in sidebars. The more an element looks like native content, the more likely it is to be seen and processed.