Banner Blindness Quantified

Add comment April 30th, 2008

Not all media calculations of Return On Investment (ROI) are created equal. A new study finds that an ad placed above the fold is visible to 100% of site visitors, yet only about 60% of them actually see it. The study also states that, below-the-fold ads are visible to roughly 70% of viewers, but only about 25% of them actually see the ads. The ratios continue to trend downward as the ads move from center placements to columns and spots on the far left side of the page.

Yet when we calculate campaign effectiveness, or ROI, we overlook on-page ad placement. And this is primarily due to delivery reports (whether supplied by the publisher, the ad network or a third party) rarely indicate what percentage of the media buy was served above or below the fold.

“It’s give and take when it comes to ad placement,” said Alexys Ruiz, an account manager at Los Angeles-based Revolution Media. “You can purchase specific, prominent areas on a site like a leaderboard or skyscraper, but your CPM is going to be higher than if you just purchase a blanket run-of-site within a network. But I don’t think you go into it thinking that the trade-off is that people won’t see the lower-priced ads. You’re buying with the goal that your impressions will be viewed.” And that is the key. As informed buyers we have the opportunity to drive change. Not only in the way we purchase ad space but also in the way we pay for it. Whether that shakes out in terms of prime placement CPMs in niche markets or causes run-of-network or remnant prices to come down further remains to be seen.