We like studies here at Download Squad. There's a certain mystique about them. Such cold, hard data. So official-sounding, yet prone to error, prone to being misused as a weapon rather than as a learning tool.
Here's a new study to chew on. According to this study, a meager 6% of people online are contributing 50% of the clicks to display advertisements. Yes, you read that right.
This 6% are a unique bunch. In the study, they are described as "Internet users between the ages of 25-44 and households with an income under $40,000, who are relatively more likely to visit auctions, gambling, and career services sites."
These so-called heavy clickers are turning the online advertising world upside down. A successful online advertising campaign was previously measured by the amount of clicks; according to this data, however, clicks can no longer be used as the ideal measure. The study also found that ad-clicking was no guarantee of brand awareness or brand loyalty.
So what does this mean for the online advertisers? Here's a list of potential reactions:
- Overreact: A study like this often causes a knee-jerk reaction. Could a new pay-per-click scheme arise from the ashes? What would something like that look like?
- Stay the course: This has a high chance of being followed, simply because moving advertisers to action is like steering a humongous barge. You turn the wheel, but it might be a long time before the ship starts to turn.
- Discount the study: Here's what we'd say: "studies of this magnitude are prone to error, human or otherwise, and no study is without its bias. Therefore, we choose to ignore the study and its results completely."
[via ReadWriteWeb]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-14-2008 @ 10:47PM
kevjohn said...
Wait, you're supposed to CLICK on ads??
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2-15-2008 @ 2:36PM
seattleAdGuy said...
The other disclaimer that should have been added is that this study was based on comScore data, which is fundamentally (and drastically) flawed, based on out-of-date gathering mechanisms and a counting methodology that is more secret than Google's PageRank and without any promise to not "be evil."
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