Scoring a good click through rate (CTR) is dependent on a host of factors. However, it’s ultimately at the liberty of the stylistic and strategic decisions you make.
Marketers are seeking to monitor CTR metrics on an increasingly frequent basis, pouring more time and money in to getting better click through. But what makes the difference, what increases that all important click through rate and how can you ensure your efforts are effective?
Here are 7 easy ways to increase your banner click-through-rate.
Make Sure Your Branding Is On Point
Clear branding is one of the most significant features of a successful banner advertisement. Familiarity is something that users look out for as established brands are considered to be more trustworthy and credible. Therefore, any adverts that you design, should be consistent with your branding, using the right colours, logo and font family.
By keeping the look, feel and messaging inline with your other brand material, be it brochures, your website or posters, you will allow users to automatically have confidence and trust in your advert; a vital factor in securing a click.
Amazon for example used three colours for their popular banner ad campaign when they advertised their Prime service. Take a look below:
Amazon’s Ad is striking because it shows the value of, and explains the benefits of trialling their service. They also use their brand colours and logo to add credibility and allow them to take advantage of their reputation. Amazon follow all the key features of what makes a brilliant banner ad.
‘Free’ is Click Through Bait
‘Free’ is the most valuable word in banner advertising but must be used effectively. If something is genuinely free then absolutely use it. If this isn’t the case, then there are many other words and phrases that catch the eye and that should be used instead.
Claiming that something is free when it simply isn’t true will tarnish your relationship with potential customers right at the start. Instead, try ‘how to’, ‘[10] Top Tips’ or ‘exclusive’ for example.
FOMO
Evoking a sense of urgency or FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) with an enticing opener can inspire action. People are naturally drawn to words like ‘exclusivity’ and ‘secret’ and will want to get involved with something ‘unmissable’.
Incorporating something similar to a countdown clock or by stating how many weeks, day or hours someone has left can be a great way to increase your CTR.
Make Your Ad Fit With Your Placement Site
With the ability to choose where your banner ads appear, you have an opportunity to tailor-make your ads to fit specific websites. You may not have time to do this for all of the placement sites your target but knowing the context in which your banner ad is placed can help you to get the best results.
Another key to a good banner ad is not to go over the top. Keep it simple, keep it readable. High-quality images, less information and GIFs or transitioning images can really make an ad stand out on a page. Colours and small chunks of digestible text can be essential in terms of informing and enticing clicks. Keep the fonts and colours consistent and don’t chockablock the Ad.
Choose the Right Targeting Option for You
Finding the right third-party websites for your campaign is vital to your click-through success but a tricky task to master. To ensure you find the perfect spot to place your ad, there are a number of elements to consider and a number of ways to do it. You can target specific demographics or people with certain interests using the data that networks have on users.
● Topic targeting: Allows you to appear on websites that sit under a set of themes that you wish to be related to.
● Keyword targeting: Will target websites affiliated with your keywords
● Placement targeting: Allows you to select the exact websites that you want your ads to appear on. If you have done the research and know you are a great fit for a certain website, this can be a really cost-effective way of getting a consistent click through rate.
● Interests: Similar to topic targeting but targeting using interests means appearing when users visit sites similar to the topic you are advertising.
● Re-targeting: As we touched upon earlier, familiarity is popular with users. Presenting an opportunity to reconnect with user who have previously visited your website re-targeted ads have up to 10x the click-through rate than regular display ads!
Focus on Your Audience’s Goal
Simply putting yourself in your user’s shoes can bring sweeping change to your click-through rate. By trying to understanding exactly what they are looking for you can create highly-targeted ads that fulfil their needs.
Once you understand what it is they need, you can use the right words and visuals to entice their eye and persuade them to click through to your website.
Let Your USP Sell Itself
Understanding your USP allows you to unlock new opportunities. If you know exactly what makes your products or services different from everyone else in your market, you can elevate your ad to the top of the pile.
One brand that has excelled in doing this in recent years is Spotify. The music streaming platform has continued to make their USP as clear as day in their adverts.
In the above ad, they outline the benefits of Spotify Premium to user’s assumed to be familiar with Spotify already, immediately outlining their USPs in concise bullet points.
Always Include a Call to Action
The role of your call to action is to simply link users to another landing page you have created. Therefore it should always be clear and easy to see, but so prominent it takes away from the main message you’re trying to deliver.
A strong call-to-action is short, simple and written in an active tone. Some common examples include:
● Learn more
● Buy / order Now
● Download (Now)
● Sign Up
● Shop Now
● Browse
Get Your Ad Size Right
Making your advert adaptable to various shapes and sizes allows your banner ad to be shown on a wider range of websites.
Not all websites have all the same dimensions available to display your ads. Fitting your Ads around the domains you wish to target will mean you are appearing on all the site’s you plan to appear on.
The Google Display Network offers a useful tool called responsive Ads which will optimise your Ad according to predictions from your performance history and essentially generate one-size-fits-all Ads. This will ensure a broader reach, can be used for re-marketing and will save time and money.
However, with Google assembling your Ads using the images, headlines, logos and descriptions that you upload – responsive display Ads are designed for optimal performance not enticing aesthetics.
For smarter designs by professional designers, dimensions should be considered. This allows more creative freedom. Usually bigger is better. Take up a good chunk of the page if you can, and for the best positioning- however there are lots of options available to ensure you can get your ad placed in different places.
The best click-through is achieved through good planning, preparation and experimentation. Only so much is written in stone, the rest you must figure out by testing different designs, messaging and forms of delivery. However,. Remember, keep it short, sharp and engaging.
If you’re looking for help with your PPC campaign, we suggest you reach out to a PPC Agency like Champions Digital; who offer a wide range of PPC management services to help businesses generate leads and improve their online visibility.
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