There is a simple fact that every marketer should know if they do not already which can make a huge difference in a marketing campaign. That fact is that an ad has to be in view in order for it to see any engagement or conversion. How is an ad that is out of view supposed to be clicked or generate any conversions? Somehow, these out of view ads are generating results, but in order for the real substantial results to occur, an ad must be in view for the consumer. According to a recent article by eMarketer, the difference is pretty substantial, even though it is something that many marketers think will make little difference.
Using results from a study by MediaMind, a digital advertising solutions provider, eMarketer shows that overall, rich media ads generate a clickthrough rate of about 0.22%. However, the clickthrough rate for viewable rich media ads boasts an average of 0.34%. With a bit of simple math one can determine that that is a 54.5% increase from the overall CTR. These are ads that are categorized as viewable by literally being in view, or at least 50% in view, for at least one second.
The viewability of ads also had a big impact on conversions, according to eMarketer.
The significance of viewability rose further when measuring conversions. Post-click conversions rose in tandem with clickthrough rates. And once ads reached 60% viewability, and kept rising, clicks—and post-click conversions—rose alongside.
So, what can be done if your ads are not exactly viewable? Well, the only real solution is to make them viewable, of course, and to do that more money needs to be spent. It just goes to show that the more expensive an ad placement is, the better the results will be, as is the way of the world. Quality costs more these days, and finding ways around spending the extra change is not as possible as it once was.
Since viewability may not be in the cards, eMarketer has a few suggestions to avoid the subject all together.
“Marketers can also look beyond viewability in the hopes that ads placed alongside engaging content, in front of an appropriate audience, will be seen whether they are further down the page or not.”
Some marketers are worried that if they start spending money for the larger, more expensive placements of their ads, they will be losing much more if the ad does not succeed. However, with the average CTRs and conversion rates attributed to the more viewable rich media ads in eMarketer’s article, it is starting to seem that taking that risk may very well be the best answer, if not the only answer to better rich media ad success. After all, marketers cannot expect the consumer to do all the work to generate results on ads. It is the marketer’s job to do all that they can to generate results and if that means spending a bit more money on placement to increase CTR that may be necessary. If all else fails, it seems one must take the bigger risk.
