While this is a debated topic, similar to the question of how beneficial it is to have top organic and PPC rankings alongside each other, the general consensus does seem to be that PPC and banner advertising can work together to drive awareness and conversions. As Emer Lawn at Interactive Return pointed out:
”...according to Microsoft Adcenter’s most recent case study, consumers were 50% more likely to search for branded terms when previously exposed to a display ad that included the branded terms. And a combination of display and search saw a 22% lift in conversions, according the Atlas Institute’s study”.
Integrating both mediums can drive awareness and thus conversions. (Image by certified Su under CC).
How do the two differ?
In order to understand the benefits of running these two types of advertising in conjunction, we need to lay down the goals of each.
PPC
Pay per click marketing is a highly targeted form of advertising. PPC campaigns are used to target users who are actively interested and searching for a particular product or service, and who are likely to purchase or complete a goal on site. The main goal of PPC is to drive sales/services and maximise return on investment (ROI) through strategic PPC methods.
Banner Advertising
This is a more traditional form of advertising, and is intended to build customer consciousness around a product, service or brand. This is more likely to happen with images than with text. This differs from a PPC campaign in that it is targeting a broader market, and the chances of achieving a good ROI is lower when compared to PPC advertising.
Banner advertising’s goal is to embed the “image” of a brand/product in a consumer's mind, in the hope that consumers would act on that awareness in future – thereby driving sales/goals in the long run.
The Integration
The best way to do this is by using a cyclical approach as described by Eric Enge from Search Engine Watch. I have summarised some of his good points and added my knowledge.
You will need to run the banner and PPC ads at the same time. This is a reciprocal action. People often search for products they’ve seen recently in banner ads, but can also be exposed to them when they are actively searching for the products.
The idea behind this is to expose banner adverts when you first launch your campaign (perhaps reducing media spend on your PPC campaign and increasing it for display campaigns). This will allow users to become aware of your product; creating a greater willingness to respond to PPC adverts when the time is right.
After an ample time frame it would be best to slow down the banner advertising and increase media spend on PPC. The PPC campaign will leverage the brand awareness created by the banner adverts increasing click through rate (CTR) and conversions.
The Benefits
With PPC, users are actively searching for something. They can then choose to initiate or continue a relationship with the advertiser. PPC tends to surpass the flight dates of display adverts by several weeks or more. Banner efforts create touch points where users become aware and interested in what you have to offer. Many users go on to search for what they saw in the banner adverts and convert to search in large numbers.
The time between banner exposure and searching for PPC ads can be very long. By combining the data from the two advertising sources you can then establish what the ideal time frame is for your PPC campaign to run. This can be done through looking at clicks on banner ads and clicks and conversions of PPC ads.
Remember to be sure to devote the necessary time to set goals and optimise, as you would do if running either Search or Display campaigns on their own.
Other things to consider that Ema Lawn from Interactive Return mentions are:
- Know your target audience first
- Write your search ads first and then your display ads
- Place your ads in the same location
- Test
Did you enjoy this post? Why not check out:
How much do I charge for every click on my banners?
Posted by Francis Koge on 2010/04/13