Forum Moderators: skibum
Since this particular advertisement program is CPM (Cost per thousand impressions) it is vital that I make a great image for this advertisement.
My questions are:
What is it about some ad's that make them almost irresistable to click?
Is it better to try to make the design of the image match the design of the site being advertised on, or to make the ad kind of "blend in" with the background rather than looking like a blatant ad?
I remember hearing somewhere that people are more likely to click on images that say "Click Here" on them, is there any truth to that?
Looking for any tips to get the most out of my CPM advertising campaign.
Thanks!
[edited by: PFOnline at 5:58 am (utc) on Dec. 3, 2002]
Blending in will only frustrate the user - if they do get "tricked to click" by the time they end up on your site they will more than likely back button off the site.
Just my 2 cents :)
Blending in will only frustrate the user - if they do get "tricked to click" by the time they end up on your site they will more than likely back button off the site.
I entirely disagree and have reams of relevant click-through and conversion stats that suggest quite the opposite.
The only time you risk a breach of trust is when you "trick" the user with a design that does not deliver what they are clicking for.
Provided the call to action on your ad provides *exactly* the solution that is being promised, you'll have a satisfied, and highly targeted visitor.
The benefit of "blending" is not to trick the surfer into thinking that they are staying on the same site... but taking advantage of the fact that the link has more of an editorial feel than a garish ad.
I remember hearing somewhere that people are more likely to click on images that say "Click Here" on them, is there any truth to that?
Click here. [w3.org]
'Click here' is relevant, no matter what text books say. We work under the impression that a sufer has no more than 2 or 3 seconds available to spot something of interest.
In that context, a 'click here' provides a rapid route where to go next. In addition, qualifies leads in that those NOT interest in your offering will NOT click. It is essential to filter traffic in any campaign.
Best to forget how nice or not it looks. It does work. It works for us in the 'adult market'. You'd be surprised how many people will click just because of the 'imperative' nature of the command, if the offer suits their wants.
Question: why are you spending a 'decent' amount of money in a banner/console? Is it the design that is costing you money?
My best banners, popups, ads have been nothing but link text! People are curious, in my view. Text gets into their mind. Visual elements sometimes may do the trick, but not always.
Text ads are just as effective as graphic ads, sometimes more so.
It is relatively easy to get a text ad to fit in with the format of your site (or even get it to stand out a bit).
Doing a good graphical ad is a lot harder.
Also, if your graphic ad is using SSI, you can easily change the content on a regular basis. And! It provides nice juicy keywords for the spiders to munch! ;)
JOAT
I've switched to banners on some sites because they draw in much more clicks than the text links ever did. Guess it depends on how much stuff is on a page and on some sites you just need a good banner to catch their eye.
I will always put the site/domain name on the graphic. If they aren't going to click, at least you are doing some branding.
