If you ask most advertisers, display advertising simply does not work. As reported by a recent Infolinks study, only 14 percent of web users can recall the last banner ad they saw. Furthermore, DoubleClick (Google’s own display advertising arm), claims the average CTR, or click through rate, on their own network holds at only .06 percent, or less than one in 1000 impressions!
Yes, it is true: display PPC doesn’t work if you treat it like any other mass media advertising, and this is the reason why most people have already decided to ignore these lazy marketers’ ads.
If you want to avoid being like everyone else who doesn’t make any money with display PPC, simply develop a more compelling offer than anyone else and make sure the right people see it.
You see, display advertising networks charge their advertisers on a per ad impression basis and not per click basis, so if your ads actually get clicked a lot, the price you pay to generate a lead is far lower.
Because of this fact, it is not hard to realize how you can end up paying 10x less per customer engagement than what others pay when you actually understand how to craft and put together a highly compelling offer.
How does $.15 a click for desktop traffic sound? How about $5-10 leads? Stay tuned for the way to do it …
If you are like most, there is nothing at all compelling about clicking on a purely un-personalized, non-time specific banner ad. Anyone can go directly to Google to look for anything they need, information or otherwise, at any time, so why should anyone click your ads?
What exactly is in it for them?
What type of offer would really get their attention?
Here is only a short list of offer types you can likely use for your own business, many of which I use every day:
- End of Month Sales
- Holiday Sales
- End of Year Sales
- Limited Time Stock Offers
- Special Open Enrollment Signup Forms
- Special Access Programs
- Profile Review Processes
- Clearance Offers
- Contest Signups
- Database Access Offers
- Free Service Sample
- Free Product Samples
- Hyper Relevant Case Studies
- Guaranteed Lowest Pricing
- Rewards for Switching Providers
- Competing Item Buybacks
Scarcity
To maximize your display advertising strategy, you always also have to set a clear time limit on whatever is being offered so the user who sees your ad knows for sure they have to act right then and there to get what you are offering. This is the one thing that will skyrocket your click through rates and get your campaign to work inexpensively.
One of my favorite ways to build in scarcity to an offer is to have a landing page with a countdown timer attached and combine that element with a form the user has to fill out to redeem the offer in question.
Example Display Ad to Use
Example Landing Page to Use
While I break even or near on the front end, I make lots of money on the back end using the highly targeted list of people I created in the process.
Why You Need to Target “Buyers” Instead of “Users”
It is a requirement of success on any display campaign strategy to target people who likely buy from you; otherwise, all you’re doing is generating a huge list of tire kickers and get nowhere with your campaign.
To avoid this, simply focus on advertising on web pages where you can identify someone looking for reviews on a competitor’s company or products, or where potential prospects are looking for tips on how to use something they already purchased in a similar category as you. You want people who already do or would likely do business with the competitors to grab more of the real market’s money.
Example Display Placement 1
Example Display Ad Placement 2
Going for the Kill
Once you have gotten “buyers” to take advantage of your initial teaser offer, it is time to start making money from your display campaign.
Using an email autoresponder sequence, build up the value of the product or service offered in question so your “buyers” will convince themselves they either need to buy more of what is being offered or more stuff that complements it. Tell a story, one that entertains the reader and explains the importance of what you sell without having to twist their arm to understand it.
Search Retargeting
We will also remarket to our “buyers” via search engine advertising, so when these same prospects are in the mood to buy something else in the same class of what we are selling, we get that sale as well.
Set Up Audience in Analytics for Converted Display Traffic
Import That Audience in AdWords for Search Based Retargeting
Make Sure Your Ad Shows Up for Competitive Searches
And Enjoy Insane Conversion Rates on Google Search
The conversion rates associated with this type of advertising is astronomical if handled correctly.
Calculating Campaign ROI
To calculate your display campaign ROI, use a user behavior tracking tool such as KissMetrics to track the user’s journey from opt-in to infinity.
One you have these tracking systems set up, you will be shocked to see how much someone will actually spend with you once you have earned their trust.
How Much Should My Media Cost Be If I Set Up My Funnel Correctly?
With an ad CTR of 2 percent (which is certainly possible with the right offer), you result in paying as little as $.05 per click and $1 per lead/opt-in for your business. What you do from there is totally up to the copywriter to figure out.
You Probably Didn’t Realize CPCs Could Be This Low
How to Increase My Campaign’s Profitability If It Is Not Initially Profitable?
Once you are breaking even on the back end, focus exclusively on your ad placement targeting efforts to increase your campaign’s profitability. It is by far the easiest way to turn an okay running campaign to one that runs fantastically well.
Bid More on the Placements That Convert Well to Amply Your Results
Summary:
Combining irresistible, time-sensitive offers with hyper-relevant display ad placements is the winning combination needed to build a huge list of people who will trust and will spend big money with you long-term.
By setting up your marketing in this way, you will have built an eventual end game for your company that does not require ongoing paid clicks to grow your business, and greatly strengthens the real value of the company as a result.