Clicks are not a relevant measure of the impact of display advertising. Lets review the evidence put forward by Comscore:

• Two-thirds of users do not click on any display ads
• 16% of Internet users account for 80% of all clicks
• The demographics of clickers are skewed towards users aged 25 to 44 earning less than $40,000 a year
• Even search ads, are only clicked in average on 4% of the time on Google and 2% on MSN

So are low click rates evidence that a display ad or search query has not had any impact on consumer behaviour? Display ads do impact and influence consumer behaviour, in fact there is latency and branding effects even when click rates are minimal. Furthermore, the combination of display and search delivers considerable synergy as the combined elements are greater than the sum of the individual components.

Let review the evidence put forward by Comscore:

• Display ads lift visitation to an advertiser’s site by at least 46% over a four week period
• Display drives a lift in brand searches of at least 38% over a four week period
• Display lifts the likelihood of purchase on the advertiser’s retail store by 17% over a four week period

The problem is that if clicks are not the appropriate metric, what’s the alternative? Clicks are easy to measure, so it’s a good default. In reality the question is not about effectiveness but attribution. The current “last click wins” reporting model is flawed as it ignores all prior interactions the consumer has with a marketer’s message. Have a read of  “Why the click is the wrong metric for online ads” for a view on the current “last click” attribution model.

Lets’ consider alternatives to measuring the effectiveness of advertising based on clicks. After all, if you know most users that are exposed to your media will not click though – clicks provide a very limited view on the impact of your advertising. On the other hand, post impression metrics can also be challenging due to conversion latency.   

Unfortunately it is not as simple as replacing clicks with another metric, it is a fundamental change in the way media is tracked and evaluated – based on the cumulative impact of multiple media on consumer behavior. Some recommendations to consider:

• Measure the value of clicks and media relative to site visitation; specifically the value of new visitors and returning visitors
• Build an attribution model that assigns value based on the ability of media to 1) trigger a transaction, 2) assist a transaction and 3) complete a transaction
• Begin to consider “time spent” as an engagement metric – the growth of video advertising will force brands and agencies to look at media consumption metrics 
• Evaluate a first party ad-serving solution such as TruEffect which provides cookie ownership and a much richer set of engagement and conversion data than third party ad-servers

Alain Portmann, author of  ”Clicks as measurement” is Web Liquid’s Founding Partner, Head of Strategy. Visit www.webliquidgroup.com for more thought pieces.

About Alain Portmann

My job is simple. To inspire staff, clients and consumers.

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