Online Advertising
Click rates of 0.05 per cent, ad blockers on every third device, questionable placements. And yet three cases remain where display is the cheapest answer.
Display has the worst reputation in online marketing, and deservedly so when it is run the way it usually is: switched on, never reviewed, judged on clicks.
Three structural problems compound. First, attention: people have learned to ignore rectangles at the edges of a page, a phenomenon described since the late nineties and since strengthened. Second, placement: accept the defaults and a substantial share of budget goes to gaming apps where accidental taps are the business model. Third, measurement: display is rarely the last contact before a purchase, so anyone settling on last click systematically fails to see its contribution.
Before spending a pound, exclude: all mobile applications, unless you are advertising an app, which alone saves 20 to 40 per cent in typical accounts; all placements with children's content; all placements without editorial content, meaning pure redirect pages; sensitive content categories, at minimum tragedy, conflict and adult material; and countries you do not serve, including by language version.
Then review the placement report weekly and add exclusions by hand. In the first four weeks 200 to 400 domains typically fall out.
| Format | Size | Viewability | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half page | 300 × 600 | high | expensive but effective |
| Medium rectangle | 300 × 250 | high | the standard, available everywhere |
| Billboard | 970 × 250 | very high | desktop only |
| Leaderboard | 728 × 90 | low | above the fold in name only |
| Mobile banner | 320 × 50 | very low | main source of mis-taps |
Serve at least half page and medium rectangle. Skip the small mobile banner if you steer on conversions.
The best evidence is a switch-off test. Remove the channel entirely for four weeks and watch total enquiries, not the attribution in the ad account.
If total demand falls measurably, the channel was working. If it stays flat, the budget was better placed elsewhere. That test costs four weeks and answers a question people otherwise argue about for years.
Because most banner clicks are mis-taps on phones. A rate of 0.08 per cent with clean placement is realistic and not a defect.
Only after a switch-off test. Turn the channel off for four weeks and watch total demand. If nothing happens, it was not working.
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