How to optimize your banner ad
performance while complying
with new privacy regulations
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Introductions
Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content
MECLABS
@DanielBurstein
Spencer Whiting, Research Analyst
MECLABS
@SpencerWhiting
Bob Bahramipour, Vice President of Business Development,
TRUSTe
@TRUSTe
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Who is TRUSTe?
• Founded in 1997
• Headquartered in San Francisco
• 3,000+ clients
We offer privacy certifications, seals and solutions for:
Websites
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Advertising
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Index
•
Key terminology
•
Introduction
•
Banner and Landing Page Goal Distinction
•
Banner Analysis
•
•
Placement analysis
•
Traffic funnel analysis
•
Message continuity analysis
MECLABS Online Ad Sequence
•
Methods to capture attention
•
Methods to build interest
•
Methods to ask for a click
•
Overview of Ad Targeting and Emerging Online Privacy Regulations
•
Summary
•
Banner check list
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Key Terminology
•
Web banner: “web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the internet. This form of
online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to
attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser” (Wikipedia)
•
Impressions: number of times banner is displayed
•
Clicks: number of times banner is clicked
•
Click-through-rate: clicks / impressions
•
Conversion rate: sales (completed applications) / impressions
•
Call to action (CTA): action we want visitors to take
•
Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA): Per the DAA, the collection or use of information
gathered about a user’s visits (over time and across non-affiliated websites) in order to help
predict their preferences and show them more relevant ads
•
DAA (Digital Advertising Alliance): Independent association of advertising bodies formed in
2010 to help formulate a set of OBA self-regulatory guidelines
•
DAA Self-Regulatory Program for OBA: A program launched in 2010 requiring advertisers
and publishers who use behavioral advertising to provide consumers with notice and choice
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Introduction
•
A web banner or banner ad is intended to attract traffic to a specific landing page.
•
The banner is constructed from an image (GIF, JPEG, PNG), JavaScript program or multimedia
object employing technologies such as Java, Shockwave or Flash, often employing animation,
sound, or video to maximize presence.
•
Banners are tagged to track impressions, clicks and final sale. Data collected from this tracking
can tell how many of those visitors that clicked on the banner really converted. Also, this data
can tell whether the banner is attracting the right type of traffic (qualified traffic) or not.
Banner
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Landing page
Application pages
Banner and Landing Page Goal Distinction
Purpose of the Banner
Purpose of the Landing Page
1. Gain a visitors attention
Any landing page must answer the following
questions:
2. Get a visitors interest
1. Where am I?
3. Ask for and get a click
2. What they can do here?
3. Why should I spend my money with you?
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Banner Analysis
Before jumping to design a new banner, you need to understand how
your current banner is performing in terms of location, generating
traffic and supporting the value proposition message. Three types of
analysis are recommended:
1. Banner placement analysis: assess banner location, relevance on
the page and competing elements.
2. Traffic funnel analysis: evaluate how much of traffic generated is
converting into final sales.
3. Message continuity analysis: determine if there is a consistent
message carried through banner, landing page, and application
pages.
Let’s look at each of these analysis in more detail…
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Banner Placement Analysis
Goals:
• Identify opportunities to make banner standout
• Get information that can help the banner be more relevant to
content around it
What to Consider?
• Competing banners: What other banners are present on the
page? Is there a way to make your banner stand out?
• Page content: What is the primary purpose of the page?
Is banner message relevant to content on the page?
• Location: Prime position – The image from Google shows the
best banner placements in dark orange, 2nd best in orange, 3rd
best in yellow and 4th best in white. Banners in the body text get
the best click performance
• Banner design: Does the banner become part of the page or
does it fight for attention?
• Movement: How many elements on the page have movement?
Too many elements with movement will decrease attention to
the banner
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Best Banner Placement per Google
Media Planning Analysis
MarketingExperiments Conversion Sequence
C = 4m + 3v + 2(i-f) - 2a ©
This empirically derived framework brings structure and clarity to analysis of the conversion
process and directs the focus and prioritization for optimization energy.
An Interactive Advertising
Bureau survey of ad agencies
earlier this year found that 80%
or more of digital advertising
campaigns were touched by
behavioral targeting.
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Poll Question #1
What percentage of your ads utilize behavioral targeting?
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Online Behavioral Advertising
Some examples
What OBA is…
Retargeting Users Across
Unaffiliated Websites
Tracking Users With
Cookies Across Unaffiliated
Websites
Demographic Targeting
Across Unaffiliated Websites
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What OBA is not…
Contextual Advertising
Demographic Targeting
Within a Single Site
Ad Reporting
Statistical Analysis
Performance Tracking
Traffic Funnel Analysis
• What to Consider?
• Collect following data from tracking system (i.e. Coremetrics,
Google Analytics, SiteCatalyst, etc):
• Banner Impressions
• Banner Clicks (note: the latest eMarketer statistics show that
annual average click-through-rate (CTR) is about 0.09%. This
highlights the need for quality banners).
• Landing page clicks
• Applications completed
• Need to identify not only if banner is generating enough traffic,
but qualified traffic (traffic that converts). If you see a large drop
out at the landing page, this usually signals a disconnection
between banner and landing page and the opportunity to test
new banner designs
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Progression of
Visitors
• Goal: Measure traffic and number of sales generated from the
banner
Page Views/
Impressions
Banner Clicks
Landing
Page Clicks
Conversions
Message Continuity Analysis
• Goal:
• Making certain that each step of the sale process either states or supports the value
proposition.
• What to consider?
• Consistent message communicated to visitors throughout the sales process.
• Banner: copy and call to action
• Landing page: headline, copy and call to action
• Application page: header message and call to action
•
Let’s see an actual example
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Message Continuity Analysis
Example
• In analyzing the path for visitors to Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Optimization, continuity
and value proposition is maintained and the perceived value is increased through the addition of
supporting messaging.
• Messaging is consistent through banner, landing page and application pages. For example,
banner mentions “Apply the Science of Optimization..”, “limited – Time Offer”, etc.
Banner
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Landing page
Application pages
Principles of Online Ad sequence
MECLABS Online Ad Sequence
ea = 2at + I + as
The ad development sequence is a heuristic that identifies key variables of an effective ad (ea). It
is a function of attracting visitors’ attention (at), creating interest (i), and asking (as) for the click.
Objectives of the ad
• Gain visitors’ attention
• Create enough interest
• Ask for the click – a successful outcome for the banner
Every ad has it’s own value proposition and should address a specific need
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Methods to Capture Attention
Banner Design
• Need to consider creatives that use design elements effectively
• Design elements: color, size, shape, motion, and text (copy)
• Consider appropriate banner size. As reference, charts below indicate the relative
performance of differing banner sizes.
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Methods to Capture Attention
Banner Location
• Consider visitor’s eye path on the page. Usually, visitors’ attention tend to concentrate
most on top-left side of the page.
• Position – placing the ad where it will be more visible
• Avoid typical banner locations as much as possible. Banner blindness occurs because
visitors have learned to disregard content where ads will most likely be displayed. Over
time they have realized that ads generally do not address their needs.
• The three heat maps below represent three sequential visits to the same page. As you
can see, visitors quickly learned to disregard the banner on the left side.
1st visit
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2nd visit
3rd visit
Methods to Capture Attention - Exercise
How many ad tactics can you identify on the Boston Globes’ home page?
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Methods to Capture Attention - Exercise
On the Boston.com homepage there are at least 9 tactics:
1. Takeover strategy (1, 2, 3, 5) - JetBlue with 4 ads running across the page and in the largest
formats dominate the real estate.
2. Blend in (4) - Monster.com ad resembles rest of the content on the page. It can decrease the
chance of banner blindness, but content needs to be very relevant to be effective.
3. Sponsorship (6) - Herb Chambers.com joint venture with Boston Globe to deliver specific
content sections like video in this case.
4. Typical ads (9, 8) – (189 x 35 px)
1
2
3
4
9
8
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6
5
Methods to Build Interest
• Once you have a visitors attention, let them know as quickly and easily as possible what you
want them to do. Need to match visitors’ need
• Every ad has its own value proposition. Use copy effectively to present a solution to their
need:
• I want my email campaigns to be effective
• I want to save money on my lunch
• If you don’t demonstrate value – you may get a click, but you will probably not get a sale
This banners Identify a need and a way to
satisfy that need.
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This banner Identifies an interesting
fact, but does not address a need. It is
not clear where the learn more link
will take visitor to.
This banner has no message at
all. Visitors will know it’s an ad, but
will not know what it’s for.
Methods to Build Interest
• Consider message from other marketing activities like email, newsletter, direct mail, social
media, and others.
• Maintaining continuity in your banners from other marketing activities can increase results
for your banners.
Example of MarketingSherpa Marketing Activities (Source: MarketingSherpa, 2010)
• Notice how many and
different types of
campaigns need to be
run to maintain high
and consistent traffic
levels
• Banner is just one of
the many different
marketing activities
• Matching banner
message to other
marketing activities can
be a way to increase
interest
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Methods to Ask for a Click
• Every banner should have a clear and simple call to
action.
• Having a button that states exactly what you want the
visitor to do and they know where they are going is
most effective
Clear calls to action
• Buttons with “creative” calls to action tend to decrease
clarity and cause confusion. A confused visitor spends
time trying to figure out whether they should click or
not.
Creative call to action,
but may not be clear to
all visitors
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Methods to Ask for a Click
•
Another way to increase chances of getting a click is to increase credibility
•
Internet users are constantly exposed to lots of banners, most of them not very trustworthy,
they have learned to be very careful with banners they click on
•
The case below shows how by simply adding companies’ logo on the banners significantly
increased brand recognition.
First banner
The Volvo logo was added on the top-right
corner and just that little change resulted in an
86% increase in brand recognition among people
who saw those ads versus control group.
Second banner
Kept the Mitsubishi logo in every other frame,
along with the name, and then interspersed it in
between the other sort of creative messaging, so
that it was really obvious who did the ad. With
that one change the ad saw a 219% increase in
brand recognition.
Source: InsightExpress, March 2008
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Methods to Ask for a Click – Overcoming Anxiety
MarketingExperiments Conversion Sequence
C = 4m + 3v + 2(i-f) - 2a ©
A USA Today/Gallup poll in December found that 67% of U.S. Internet users say
advertisers should not be allowed to match ads to their browsing history.
Strive for transparency and clarity in your marketing. Today’s consumer expects it;
tomorrow’s consumers will demand it. To make credibility indicators more
powerful, you must:
• Use them in proximity to the sources of anxiety.
• Increase their specificity.
• Consider the intensity — is it strong enough to over-correct for anxiety and
address both the substance and perception?
• Strive for authority by using the most reputable brands or names and as much
detail as possible with attribution.
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Optimizing Ad Performance
The impact of emerging privacy regulations
Ad Targeting is another way to optimize your ad
performance
Ad targeting can improve performance up to 2x, per a recent NAI
study.
But, Ad Targeting has Consumers and Regulators
are Concerned
46% of consumers are uncomfortable with behavioral
advertising without notice and choice. The government has
proposed various “Do Not Track” laws.
The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) has created
a new OBA self-regulatory program
The DAA program calls for companies to provide consumers
with notice and choice around behavioral advertising.
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Poll Question #2
How familiar are you with Digital Advertising Alliance
(DAA) Regulations and Online Behavioral Advertising
(OBA) Compliance?
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Privacy In the News – Are you prepared?
2009: Industry self-regulatory principles issued
2010: Congressional hearings held; privacy bills
introduced
2010: Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) forms
OBA self-regulatory program
2010: Investigative journalism drives public
awareness
2010: FTC issues privacy report; proposes “Do
Not Track”
2011: Microsoft ads tracking protection & DNT to
IE9; Mozilla DNT to FF3,4
2011: DAA begins self-regulatory enforcement
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What does the DAA self-regulatory program require?
Basic DAA Compliance:
Using the Advertising Option Icon to serve privacy notice
and choice on or near behavioral ads or tracking
activities.
Specific compliance obligations can include:
 Providing notice of OBA activities in your privacy policy
 Providing notice of OBA activities on or near behavioral ads
 Provide an opt-out choice on or near behavioral ads
 Maintaining data security for OBA data that is collected or used
 Refraining from using sensitive personal information for OBA
Learn more at www.aboutads.info
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What are your DAA Compliance Options?
Do Nothing
•
•
•
Build Your
Own Solution
•
Partner with a
DAA-approved
solution provider
•
•
•
•
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Expose your company to possible lawsuits
and regulatory intervention.
Risk losing business to compliant
competitors.
Invest significant capital and resources to
build custom compliance technology from
scratch.
Run the risk of not meeting DAA
requirements.
Leverage End-to-End DAA Approved Solution
Cost Effective
Readily Scalable and Flexible
Full Customer Support & Guidance
A DAA-Approved Compliance Solution Example
1. Serves icon
2. Generates notice
3. Offers opt-outs
ABC Bank cares about your privacy.
Advertising.com delivered this
personalized ad for ABC Bank based on
your interests.
•
Who is it for?
–
–
–
–
Advertisers
Ad Networks
Publishers
Ad Agencies
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•
Features
– Serve accurate ad privacy notice and choice per DAA
requirements
– Scale to billions of ad impressions
– Generate custom compliance reports
– Monitor and mange consumer opt-outs
– Protect brands with confidential privacy dispute resolution
services
And what about the browsers?
Browser
Cookie Mgt
P3P
Ext.
✔
Browser
Ext.
✔
Browser
Ext.
✔
Browser
Ext.
✔
IE6+
Cookie
Persistence
Abine
Abine
Privacy Choice
TRUSTe
Keep My
Opt-outs
Priv. Choice
Abine
Domain
Blocking
IE9
(TPL)
Script
Blocking
DNT Header
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AdBlock+
NoScript
Ghostery
IE9
AdBlock+
NoScript
Ghostery
FF3+
AdBlock+*
NoScript*
NoScript
Ghostery
NoScript
Ghostery
Tracking Protection for IE9
• Allows users to
download Tracking
Protection Lists
• Lists can BLOCK or
ALLOW tracking
companies
• ALLOWs override
BLOCKs
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TRUSTe IE9 Tracking Protection List
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Summary
• Objectives of the ad is to get a click
• An effective ad needs to attract attention and create interest by
addressing a need
• Don’t jump to create a new banner without considering how current
banner is performing
• Also, it is always good to have someone else look at your banner
• Can they find the banner? (eye path/placement)
• Do they have to squint to read the banner (design)
• Will they actually click? (appeal/value prop)
MECLABS Online Ad Sequence
ea = 2at + I + as
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Summary
1.
Identify your point person for OBA self-regulation
2.
Get DAA Compliant
3.
Address browser-based Do Not Track features
4.
Continue to monitor evolving regulatory news
5.
Call TRUSTe if you need help

#1 Consumer Privacy Brand

Over a decade of regulatory experience

A DAA-approved solution provider
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1. Quarterly TNS study
Checklist

Current banner analysis


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Banner placement analysis

Competing banners: Is there a way to make your banner stand out?

Page content: Is banner message relevant to content on the page?

Banner location: Is banner in a visible location?

Banner design: Does the banner become part of the page or does it fight for attention?

Movement: How many elements on the page have movement?
Traffic funnel analysis

Banner Impressions

Banner clicks

Landing page clicks

Applications completed
Checklist


Message continuity analysis.

Banner: copy and call to action

Landing page: headline, copy and call to action

Application page: header message and call to action
Consider the following when developing a new banner


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Design

Design elements: color, size, shape, motion, and text (copy)

Consider appropriate banner size
Questions to ask

What are the main design elements of the proposed web page placement?

What design elements will be immediately adjacent to the proposed banner?

What are the main design elements of the destination page after the click?
Checklist


Location

Find visible area for your banner (consider eye-path)

Avoid typical banner location as much as possible
Questions to ask

How many visitors visit the proposed web page?

What is the purpose of the page?

Does the purpose support the banner?

Clear value proposition

Question to ask

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Why do you believe your visitors/members would want by your product or service from your
company?
Checklist

Continuity from other marketing activities

Questions to ask

What other marketing activities do you plan on conducting?

What image elements and value proposition will be communicated?

Clear and simple call to action

Questions to ask

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
What is the top value proposition for your visitors?

Which call to action will be the most effective with your visitors?
Credibility indicators
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More than 3,000 companies rely on TRUSTe
Health & Medical
Media & Entertainment
Consumer Products
Technology / Telecom
Financial / Insurance
Travel / Hospitality
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Resources
www.MarketingSherpa.com
www.MarketingExperiments.com
www.truste.com/ads
www.aboutads.info t:
Bob B [email protected]
[email protected]
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