Stunning Results from Internet-Ad Study Calls for Innovation

 

However, banner ads are the most effective of all Internet ads, if they are accompanied by paid search.

A 2009 ComScore-Starcom study may cause marketers to rethink their approach – only 16 percent of Internet users are clicking on display advertisements. That represents a 50 percent decrease in 24 months.  

After reading the study entitled, “Natural Born Clickers,” and published by Advertising Age (www.adage.com), my sense is there are two obvious red flags:

1. The click-through model is becoming increasingly undesirable.
2. Advertisers who depend too-heavily on Internet advertising are not likely to get their desired returns on investments.

What’s worse about the rock-bottom click-through rates, only eight percent of Internet users account for 85 percent of the ad-clicking.

That follows disappointing news from a study that was released in 2008. It revealed lower-income young adults account for 50 percent of all the click-throughs.

However, the study reveals some good news:

Banner ads are the most effective of all Internet ads, if they are accompanied by paid search. It appears that Internet users who see a display ad are 65 percent more inclined to check out an advertiser’s Web site within seven days.

Furthermore, Internet users are 45 percent more likely to visit the advertiser’s site even up to 30 days later.

Meantime, while advertisers try to find an alternative to click, here are five marketing conclusions:

1. Clicks, as a direct-response measurement, are still easier to source than ads in most other mediums.
2. Display ads still provide value when used in search – if the ad is cost-effective in terms of attracting prospects.
3. Creative must be strong and are more effective when enhanced with rich media.
4. Outstanding sales and customer-service people are vital.
5. Sales are the bottom-line – the cash register has to ring.

For the big picture, of course, this also underscores the need for a strategic mix in marketing investments to attract visitors to Web sites and to make purchases. That means radio, TV, Internet, public relations, cause-related strategies, community service, social networking and print.

ComScore, www.comscore.com, is an Internet marketing research company. Starcom, www.starcomworldwide.com, is a media agency.

From the Coach’s Corner, here is the key to sourcing your Internet advertising investments:

Analyze your Web site visitors’ data to see how they landed on the site.

It is also a good idea to continually evaluate the effectiveness of your Web site and its promotion, including:

• Research of the referring search engines
• Referring sites
• Hosts’ IP addresses
• Which of your pages are entered and exited
• Visitors’ search keywords and key search phrases