Enjoyed this article “10 ways to boost falling click-through rates” on iMedia today as had some very interesting points, but still feel that a concept in point 3 nailed it on the head; “a user driving by a billboard at 65 mph” – why would you measure such display activity by clicks/interactivity at all?!

The only way I could measure a TV advert by such as response, for example, is if the ad specifically said “call this number now”… everything else in display in ALL media is measured on after effect of activity elsewhere – generally after some time. Online display needs to wake up to this too, i.e. cross-channel analysis.

All data research is pointing to consumers clicking less / the wrong audience / not converting / etc, etc. post impression v post-click activity – which is the greater volume and/or more important?

If it is brand campaign – It is visually alerting people to a brand concept / re-enforcing messages… clicks are not a relevant in measurability of intent – what percentage of people click immediate, vs. remember something then search in their own time – clicks are relevant in search, not display here. The only thing we can measure is reach / frequency of exposure and then any interaction of the (>10% users) on page that re-enforces that engagement in situation.

Branding is focussed on the initial aspect of did they see – then what happened next, so we need to break it down into two. Clicks fall into the latter and miss the majority 99.5%+ of what is truly happening.

Did they see – is about reach / frequency / time ad was on page / unique viewers..

  • Leading to interaction and type of interaction and also length of interaction (Dwell Time)
  • Could be expansion, video play duration, and whole host of collectable interactive metrics.

Then we must look at what happens next?

  • Do they click? (0.x%)
  • Do they search? (>20%)
  • Do they go to client website at all – and if so how – via click or via search or via memory?
  • Do they talk about it on social networks – i.e. buzz metrics? Or send to friend in banner or tear-and-share activity via widget integration?

Branding is measured really on recall and purchase intent – clicks are nothing to do with this, as only what they did after clicks anyway that give indication of intent…

If it is a Direct Response campaign, you are more likely to fill-in a data-capture component in a banner then click thru to a site anyway (8x). Therefore you must bring the response functionality into the advert to drive better ROI.

The whole system of driving greater clicks is floored and based historically in an agency mindset of justification that pre-dates research into modern online consumer behaviour.