One of the main goals of an advertisement is to get people’s attention. Ads need to do two distinct things: get people to stop what they’re doing and take in all that the ad has to offer, and convince the consumer that clicking on the ad can solve their problems, whether that problem is the need for a particular service or the desire to purchase a particular product. This is why it’s always important to target your prime audience with well-designed display ads for the highest possible sales and the best possible results.
Why Ads Fail
Retargeted advertisements have been proven to work - if the ads themselves meet a few basic criteria. If a particular ad is considered to be too flashy, it isn’t very likely to garner a click-through. The opposite is also true - the chances of people clicking on an ad that they perceive to be too simple (and therefore “amateurish”) are pretty low. The location of a particular advertisement is also very important. If your ads are showing up on a site that isn’t at least contextually connected to the product that you’re selling, people aren’t likely to be interested in those ads enough to click on them.
Why Ads Succeed
Successful retargeted ads are capable of accomplishing a few different things. For starters, they’re able to strike a balance between “simple” and “flashy.” You want an advertisement to provide information, but not too much. Your goal is to intrigue the consumer, not overwhelm them. Additionally, ads need to be aesthetically pleasing in some way. Focus on the layout and color scheme of your ads. Make sure that the ad both looks good on its own and makes the product look good at the same time.
Targeted Ads
Ads also need to be targeted in a variety of ways to be successful. You need to take into consideration both the sites that people will see the ads on and the people who will be seeing them. In regards to the destination sites, make sure your ads are going on sites that service a similar goal. If you sell high-end electronics equipment, for example, there wouldn’t be much use in placing all of your ads on home and garden websites. For the best results, you’d want to place your ads on sites that offer similar services or sell similar products. People browsing them are likely already interested in what you’re capable of providing them. This is also known as targeting your audience.
Additionally, you want to target the people themselves. The more specific you can get your display ads, the better your click-through results are going to be. If you sold electronics equipment, for example, you would want different ads that each targeted different types of products. Specific ads are likely to have a higher click-through rate than a single ad that’s much more general in nature and doesn’t provide the kind of information that the consumer is actually looking for.
The fact of the matter is that retargeted ads are potentially your best opportunity to get your message across to the widest possible audience. The ads themselves are the key for getting people to return to your site, but only if they’re interesting enough on their own. You only have so much space to work with, so you need to take your topic and your audience into consideration to best utilize that space.
Felicia Baratz is a freelance writer, graphic designer and social media addict living in Indianapolis, IN. As a contributor to Technected.com, Felicia discusses new, innovative technology and its relation to the business world and social media marketing.
Photo: scott swigart on Flickr
