Re: Acceptable Click Thru Rate

From: Kim Brooks <kbrooks_at_bardo-brooks.com>
Date: Tue 25 Jan 2000 09:26:26 -0800

DENNIS BALL WROTE:
> My company is considering banner advertising with one
> of the big networks. I'm seriously considering Double
> Click. Are they as good as they claim to be? Can anyone
> please tell me what click-thru rate I should expect
> initially? After a month's worth of banners on their
> network, I plan to limit the banners to the best
> performing sites. What click-thru rate should I expect
> then? Assume my company's services have a broad range
> of appeal. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I once presented at a WSA meeting that included a UW
MBA professor of marketing, specializing in Direct
Mail. She said she always asked her students on the
final: what response rate should you expect from a
direct mail campaign? If anyone answered "6%" (the
average), she killed them. Why? Because expecting the
average is pretty pessimistic, and you are bound to get
below-average. If you are doing your job well, you
will blow away averages. I always think of her
comments in the context of the sad, low-response world
of banner ads...

So philosophy aside, average click-through rates are
generally quoted at, say, 3%. You should expect more
than that. Rates vary TREMENDOUSLY by targeting,
location, repetition, and creative work. Creative is
particularly important, more so than in other forms of
marketing, like direct mail. If you are going to spend
a thousands on exposure, spend the money to get a good
banner designer involved. I've seen too many people
use in-house talent so that the banners will match
look-n-feel of print & web collateral; but even the
best graphic designer on staff may not get the
pecularities of web ads. If your budget doesn't allow
for outside expertise, at least spend a day researching
the rules of banner ads & response rates.

It's also worth it to negotiate some tests. If you're
buying enough, sometimes they'll even give you a few
thousand impressions before the campaign begins to test
different creative and response rates. If you don't
have time to do that, make sure you diligently monitor
the results of each banner and placement, then quickly
prune the ads & sites that aren't producing. Any good
agency should provide accurate, real-time monitoring
and control, and the ability to change the creative at
will. I haven't used them, but Avenue A
(http://www.avenuea.com) has staked their reputation on
this premise.

Good luck!

Kim Brooks
Bardo-Brooks Marketing
http://www.bardo-brooks.com




Received on Tue Jan 25 2000 - 11:26:26 CST