Know-How Exchange : Research/Metrics

Dear Jlblue,

These might help:

www.developers.evrsoft.com/articles/p_10_effective_ways_to_boost_banner_cli...

www.essortment.com/all/bannerimpressio_rava.htm

www.websitetips.com/articles/marketing/banneradsctr/

www.webreference.com/dev/banners/

www.clickz.com/831411

www.useit.mondosearch.com/cgi-bin/MsmFind.exe?MEDIA_TYPE=0&AGE_WGT=0&AND_ON...

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Hi Gary, thanks for links. A couple did not work as displayed, not sure if it's a Marketing Profs post issue of they are just bad link. Below are my comments on these. John

https://www.developers.evrsoft.com/articles/p_10_effective_ways_to_boost_ba...
* Mostly tips on how to manage banners and tricks to get people to do something to banners. One tip that I disagree with is "Try Trick Banners": these are the kind of gimmick that annoy people more than engage them. Other tips helpful intro. Minimal benchmark info.

www.essortment.com/all/bannerimpressio_rava.htm
* Quick intro on click vs impression. No benchmark info

www.websitetips.com/articles/marketing/banneradsctr/
* bad link

www.webreference.com/dev/banners/
* This has a link to some studies comparing banner click throughs on a specific campaign, though very dated: published 1997
** https://www.webreference.com/dev/banners/side.html

www.clickz.com/831411
* Good post on understanding brand impression value. Implied reference to benchmark info.

www.useit.mondosearch.com/cgi-bin/MsmFind.exe?MEDIA_TYPE=0&AGE_WGT=0&AND_ON....
* bad link

John:

Would not get hung up on click-though rates/averages – even by industry: These will vary significantly based upon the breadth and nature of the consumer or business target, the type and quality of the creative, the appropriateness of the sites, they’re posted on, where on the sites they’re posted, the size of the ad and type of creative (rich media, etc.), the frequency of exposure, the strength of the messaging/offer, etc., etc,., etc. In other words – they’re very individualized and basically useless in assessing ad effectiveness or ROI.

Ultimately clicks don’t translate to business either – there are drop-off/bounces due to the ISPs/technology issues, “fly-bys”/browsers that came to the site thinking they were going to get something else, who immediately leave, and so on. Clicks are a precursor to, and even worse than, hits (widely derided in the analytic community as “How Idiots Track Success”). Better off to focus on the back-end metrics that each ad size/type and site delivers in measuring effectiveness and efficiency. Be glad to help more in that regard if necessary.
-Steve

@Jay Hamilton-Roth
This post and associated second post helped provide some info on what I was looking for; rules of thumb / guides on what people believe click through trends are.
* Data Driven: Video 8 :1 over Banner Ads
** https://prosperity-research.blogspot.com/2009/03/data-driven-video-8-1-over...

* The Latest Ad Click Count
** https://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006969

@Gary Bloomer
This post was good for that deeper research approach to web marketing / measure.
* Banner advertisement pricing, measurement, and pretesting practices: perspectives from interactive agencies.
** https://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/advertising-internet-adve...

And this site has some interesting articles in general to review.
* useit.com: Jakob Nielsen's Website
** https://www.useit.com/

@BizConsult
While I agree with your initial point of view (rates vary by industry, creativity, etc) and with the statement of "basically useless in assessing ad effectiveness or ROI.", many agencies/people expect to compare their work to something, like an industry standard/average. Purchasing decisions are made on those comparisons so knowing those trends is important when developing a campaign.

Thanks all, I appreciate the time/input.
John Blue