In general, how do CTR and Conversion compare between image ads and text ads?
I know it is possible to have both and let Google figure it out, but for a company with a small creative budget, it may be worthwhile to skip the image ads altogether, if after a week Google won't be showing any of them anyway.
Since Google doesn't show images ads in search, this is probably all up to the content network. If I'm thinking, an image would have to have better CTR than four text ads combined in order to be shown.
Thoughts? Numbers?
Many of my clients' image ads get several times the CTR that their text ads do on the content network. Because the CTR is strong, the cost per click is lower.
A good banner can convey a much stronger message than text ads ever could. You can tell much more of a story.... and you also take over the whole ad slot. Fewer eyeballs for your competitors!
Image ads don't have to be slick to be effective. One of our best performing banner series was "home made" by the company CEO dabbling in Photoshop. They have a big fat picture of the product, the company name, and not much else.
A big note of caution:
Be aware that AdWords will accept banners in standard IAB sizes but will resize static images to make room for the "Ads by Google" footer. You'll get better image quality if the images you submit match the "already reduced" dimensions.
See info here:
[adwords.google.com...]
Animated banners don't get resized.
Make sure every banner carries either your company name or your domain name. It doesn't need to be huge, but it needs to big enough to read easily. You want clicks but you also want branding. A good banner will deliver both. Do not allow your graphic artists to create "mystery meat" banners.
Suggestion: Run some text ads for a while before you start creating banners, and test different phrasing variations to see what wording pulls the best response. The knowledge you gain from that can make it easier to come up with productive banner ads.
