RE: ONLINE ADS>> ClickThrough Rate-Indication of sites quality?

From: Muhammad Lee <lee_at_adgconsulting.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 11:04:21 -0500 (CDT)

KEVIN FRAZIER WROTE:
>Poor content might get a higher clickthrough rate, but that
>does not mean it is adding value to the advertiser. Quality
>content will draw a quality viewer, which usually means the
>site is well organized and easy to navigate. Sites that
>have "sticky", quality content, tend to also offer
>advertisers a more targeted audience.

I only partially agree with the above statement. Mostly
because there are several factors to think about when trying
to figure out what affect a site's content will have on the
click through rate of the ads on the site. Just because a
site has poor content does not mean that it doesn't have a
targeted audience. A site could focus on consumer
information for those interested in purchasing cars, and
could get a tremendous amount of traffic, however because
the site is poorly organized and has few information
resources a banner ad for a car manufacturer could do quite
well. Will the banner get a high click through rate? Yes.
Will the banner attract a targeted audience? Yes. Is it a
direct result of poor content? Yes?

OTOH, a well organized site regarding consumer information
on cars could have the same effect. Someone could browse
through the site and find plenty of information on several
cars and develop a "short list" of the cars he/she is
interested in buying. That person then see's an ad for one
of the car manufacturers on his/her short list and clicks
through because that ad is exactly what that person is
looking for.

In the previous examples, both high and low quality content
had a positive effect on click through ratio. However, the
poor quality site will probably have a higher click through
rate, and the higher quality site will probably have a lower
CTR but deliver more visitors that are ready to buy. So it
would appear that the edge would go to the high quality
site, BUT if the site that was clicked to from the poor
quality site does a good job of SELLING the product the
"less targeted" "less qualified" can be converted into
paying customers anyway.

What does all this mean? Nothing really. While you can
establish general rules of content vs. CTR, media planners
should evaluate the dynamics of the web site and determine
the affect the content will have on the CTR and conversion
rate before placing ads on that site.


In some cases you may want poor content, in some cases you
may want high quality, somewhere in between, etc. However,
to make blanket statements that a high quality site or a
poor quality site is the best solution is a bad idea IMO.
I've sold advertising for a client on site that has no
CONTENT, that's right NO content. Just ads, nothing but ads.
However the ads get a high CTR, the advertisers are getting
good results and everyone is happy. Now is this site the
best place for everyone to advertise? No, but for some
advertisers it is. (BTW, my client has almost no inventory
available at the moment, how many publishers can say that?!)
It's just a question of effective media planning, placing
your ads where they can be effective.

Best Regards,


Muhammad Lee
President/CEO
Advanced Design Group, LLC
"Web Development Specialists"
http://www.adgconsulting.com

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Received on Fri Jul 23 1999 - 11:25:27 CDT