Is AdWords Losing Its Efficacy?
January 18, 2011
Updated results have been released for the “Natural Born Clickers” study first conducted in 2007 by comScore and Starcom USA that in theory should not leave a smile on advertiser’s faces. The number of internet users who click on display ads in a month dropped from 32% to 16% in just two years. Look out, AdWords.
What this tells marketers is that focusing advertising efforts into coaxing a click out of the internet user is a near waste of time and money. In fact, according to the SVP/Director, Research & Analytics John Lowell of Starcom USA, “A click means nothing, earns no revenue and creates no brand equity. Your online advertising has some goal – and it’s certainly not to generate clicks. You want people to visit your website, seek more information, purchase a product, become a lead, keep your brand top of mind, learn something new, feel differently – the list goes on. Regardless of whether the consumer clicked on an ad or not, the key is to determine how that ad unit influenced them to think, feel or do something they wouldn’t have done otherwise.”
So at the end of the day, even poor results such as these seem to leave the advertising department undeterred at trying to get into your wallet. Click or no click, they will always seek to lure you in no matter the means.
One question: How will search change if AdWords becomes associated with less customer impact? Is a return to the Dialog and LexisNexis approach to search going to come roaring back?
Sarah Rogers, January 18, 2011
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