How many clicks did my ad get and how does it compare with other ads? How can I increase clicks? Those are just a few questions clients ask when they are presented with their campaign performance report. However, these fail to address the true KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) when it comes to a display ad.
Certain advertising formats place emphasis on CPC (Cost Per Click) pricing models, which is an important metric for measuring the effectiveness of search advertising. However, when investing in a display campaign, another measure of ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment) is CPM (Cost Per Mile), not CPC. Let’s break this down.
Cost Per Mile (CPM) vs CPC (Cost Per Click)
Let’s say you spend $750 to advertise on an industry website with regular visitors in your target audience, at the end of the campaign you receive 14 clicks and 48,397 impressions. You spent $0.015 per impression, giving you a CPM of $15.50 and your CPC was $53.57. Pretty decent results, especially if you value brand awareness.
Which of the two are most important? Technically, both are important, but when it comes to display advertising, we measure success based on the CPM. While clicks are the envy of any advertising campaign, your ultimate goal should be visibility when developing a display ad. We’ll talk more below on how you can improve your chances on getting that coveted click.
How can I better my chances of getting a click?
Search ads are served with a clear Call-to-Action (CTA), so the audience has a clear understanding of the intended purpose of the ad and what it asks of the audience. The goal is to provide the target audience with a clear message that triggers a direct response based on the search terms used by your potential customer. Display ads, on the other hand, are disruptive in nature. Display ads are disseminated across multiple websites and/or website pages and they are designed to distract the visitor from the original reason they visited the site.
With that in mind, consider your target audience. Ask yourself; Does the site I’m advertising on have website visitors that would be interested in my offer? Is the content on that website related to my industry? If so, then your opportunity to get noticed by your potential customer has increased dramatically.
Ok, let’s talk about increasing the chance of getting a click. When designing a display ad, think disruption, remember the website visitor didn’t come to see you. With that in mind, your message needs to stop the reader in their tracks, forcing them to abandon what they are doing and click your ad. Here’s a pro tip, DO NOT send them to your homepage. Create a stunning landing page that matches the offer in the ad, unless of course you enjoy burning money.
So, how do I measure success?
Since impressions cannot be tracked as visitors to your website, you need to consider other metrics to measure the overall success of your campaign. Did your company see an increase in revenue during the time you advertised? Did you receive more phone calls? Even though, you didn’t get many clicks from your ad, did your website traffic increase?
On many occasions, especially the savvier website visitors, or the ones that enable “Do Not Track” tools, will “Google” your business and find out more about your company by searching for your brand name. Pro tip: Check your website analytics for an increase in traffic based on branded search terms or direct website traffic.
Another way to measure success would be to calculate your Cost Per New Website Visitor, which is calculated by dividing your total campaign cost by the number of NEW website visitors.
In Conclusion
While not everybody is convinced by impressions and views, these are important metrics that allow your business to reach your target audience.
Does the content on the website support your company’s message? Are the visitors your target audience? If the answers are “Yes”, you have an ideal platform to raise brand awareness and get your message in front of the right audience.