Here’s something for everybody to think about – go online for a full day and do what you do. Browse for things on Google, go to your favorite sites, watch some YouTube videos. Just take your time and have some fun.
Now, throughout that day, how many ads do you think you’ve seen? 30? 40? Did you know that on average, you are exposed to 362 online display ads a day. That’s pretty crazy that we are bombarded with that many ads online, and we probably don’t even realize it. When you see these ads, how close are you, really, to actually buying anything from those ads? Probably not even close.
Ads in online form have been around for two decades. During that time, the way that we see and use ads have evolved quite a lot to stay in stride with the marketing game.
When the the first banner ad appeared in 1994, click-through rate was at 44%. According to Doubleclick, in 2012, we saw CTRs sitting around 0.1% for standard display ads (video and rich media excluded). At that point, Advertisers had to find a way to make sure that their ads were not only seen, but engaged with. They had to be sure that ads weren’t annoying to deal with, they had to be a useful resource.
Although online display ads were typically something that advertisers would lean on fairly heavily, advertisers are understanding that it’s important that they reach the right person, with the right mindset. Even if the ad itself doesn’t get clicked on, they’ll remember your name, your business, or your brand. These days, instead of opting to pay for clicks and/or impressions, they are more willing to pay for ad performance, instead. The purpose of ads these days is to drive action that leads to purchase, and that action doesn’t always have to be the result of a click.
There was a research study done by Mediative that looks at how display ads can actually drive purchase behavior. For the study, Mediative wanted to find out how indicative of purchase behavior a click on an ad was, and if display ad clicks even matter anymore these days when it comes to purchase behavior and measure your campaign success.
In a post written up by Rebecca Maynes, you’ll find the results of the study in the form of 8 different ways that you can improve your online display ads. To find out what these ways are, you can follow the link provided below to improve your display ad game!
Moz Blog: Click-Through Rate Isn’t Everything: 8 Ways to Improve Your Online Display Ads