Let’s face it, display ads have been around since the beginning of time—because the launch of the internet constitutes the beginning of time, right?
By Chad Recchia
Let’s face it, display ads have been around since the beginning of time—because the launch of the internet constitutes the beginning of time, right?
However, according to a study conducted by SmartInsights, display ads often experience abysmal click-through rates and even lesser conversion rates. Now, you may ask yourself: what is their poor performance attributed to? As noted by WordStream, it’s a matter of inbound vs. outbound marketing.
According to our in-house Senior Campaign Manager and Strategist James Williams:
“Effective display creative is vital for campaign success. We’ve found ads that are relevant to their audience and follow the fundamentals perform 2x greater than other display ads.”
While, “get creative with your creative” is something we’ve all heard before— what does it really mean? Similar to just about any marketing campaign, the success of a display ad campaign boils down to creative quality. That said, we’re here to give you a few pointers on how to show your consumers just what they’re missing out on.
#1 Acknowledge Audience Psychographics:
One of the very first things you’ll have to ask yourself is: Who’re you trying to reach? What’re their online habits? By acknowledging where your audience is likely to be and when, you can then put that golden-ticket to use and capitalize on the fun part: creating an eye-grabbing and expertly crafted display ad custom-tailored to your consumer.
#2 Know Your Color Scheme:
As if convincing consumers to stray from their beloved cat videos isn’t enough of a challenge, you’re also up against other image-based ads— making for a pretty cluttered space.
According to Think With Google, the most attention-grabbing display ads are: boldly colored (green, yellow, red, blue), and include a clear and relevant image that is applicable to both your company and target audience.
#3 Catchy Copy & Clear USP:
According to a recent study conducted by Microsoft, the human attention span lasts a whopping 8 seconds—landing us just on par with those beloved 25¢ goldfish from the pet store.
Due to his, setting up a clear USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that expresses “why do I care enough to click” will directly correlate to higher conversion rates.
Essentially, your viewer’s attention span shouldn’t be viewed as an impediment, but rather a short-struck opportunity to optimize your copy. Remember you have a tiny amount of time to capture your audience’s attention— “FLASH SALE” or “30% OFF TODAY”, which one would get your click?
#4 Clear CTA:
Boom. Your ad is seen. Now what?
According to SEMRUSH, your ‘call-to-action’ must clearly state what you are looking for the viewer to do. Being, whichever action you believe will bring about a successful conversion.
#5 Q/A Landing Page:
Now friends, this may be one of the only facets of life in which the act of “lingering” is highly sought after. Here comes the real challenge: turning that click into a conversion.
According to Think With Google, the best ways to quickly grab people’s attention is by giving your clickers a clear expectation on where they’ll be redirected.
For example, AdWords will lower your quality score if you have an ad about burritos and send clickers to a landing page about how to care for your koala— so make sure that product and platform relevance fall seamlessly in suit.
#6 Test, Test and A/B Test Again:
Now this one just speaks for itself. Testing is a key way to gain insight on the performance of your creative and improve user experience.
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What’s the secret to effective display you ask? Spoiler alert: understanding your audience, seamless platform pairing, some spicy color choices and just a few thin mints to sprinkle on top (just kidding, save those thin mints for your client call later.)
