All digital campaigns measure clicks, as in how many people “clicked” on your ad. However, the Click-Through-Rate (CTR) is just the beginning of the story. CTRs allow you to gauge the results of your digital campaign in a very simple way and these metrics are important but they do not provide the complete engagement picture.
The national average CTR is .07%. That means consumers are more likely to reach the summit of Mount Everest than they are to click on a digital ad. However, CTR averages have a lot of variances … geographic location, size of ad, type of ad, category of business and they even “accidental” clicks. A research study by retail.com found that about 60% of clicks on mobile phones could be accidental due to small screen size or “fat fingers”. Is this 60% number shocking, accurate, or even important? Not if you are measuring a more complete engagement picture. Keep in mind, if someone is clicking a mobile ad by accident on their phone, the consumer still saw the ad.
There are ways to construct mobile ads without getting the “false positives” of accidental clicks. With Mobile Conquesting expandable ads that open and close within the app or website the person is using is one of these ways. If it was an intentional click, it allows the user to convert within the expandable ad. Because the conversion (i.e. call now, send message, get directions, download coupon, etc.) happens within the expandable ad, the user doesn’t have to wait for the advertiser’s website to load to take action. However, if it is an accidental click they can close the ad without having been redirected to the advertiser’s website.
Other ways to determine if your ad is working is to examine Total Engagement Rate and Conversions.
Total Engagement Rate includes clicks and view through tracking. A view through measures how many people are coming to your website after seeing your digital ad even though they didn’t click on the ad itself but instead returned to view the website on their own at another time. Combining both clicks and view throughs give a much clearer picture of engagement.
Here is a visual example:
Conversions are yet another way to measure how your ad is working. By tracking the actions you want a potential consumer to take when they come to your website see a more complete engagement picture. Here are just a few of the types of conversions you could track:
- Making a purchase
- Downloading information or discount offer
- Filling out a “contact us” form
- Registering for a newsletter or other offer
- Signing up for VIP or loyalty club membership
Manning Media’s digital marketing specialists can create a digital campaign that reaches your ideal target and can help you navigate the reporting so you know the answer to the question, “Is My Digital Ad Working”. To contact us in Frederick, call 301-620-7700 or in Hagerstown, call 301-733-4500. You can also fill out our online request form by clicking HERE!