Measuring the almighty click isn't enough to quantify user engagement; the answer lies in more measurements and premium content
Click rates have been one of the easiest and most popular ways for mobile advertisers to quantify engagement. But according to the latest research from Trademob, marketers might as well chop 40% off the top of their figures, because 40% of click-throughs are fakes or mistakes.
Here's what we mean: In an analysis of 6 million clicks across the top 10 advertising networks, researchers found:
- 22% of mobile ad clicks are the result of user mistakes
- 18% are overtly fraudulent
- Erroneous clicks generate a collective conversion rate of less than 0.1%
These numbers may not be totally shocking to marketers, according to eConsultancy, because most have begun to realize the almighty click can't be the sole barometer for campaign effectiveness. This survey is a reminder that advertisers need to dig a little deeper and ensure they're accounting for actions that actually tie to a valid measure of ROI."Mobile app marketers are demanding a greater level of accountability when it comes to ad spend," explained Ravi Kamran, Trademob founder and CEO. "There's a problem when only 60 cents of every dollar are actually being put to work."
The solution likely requires two things:
- leveraging a more elaborate array of measurement techniques, and
- boosting the relevancy of click rates by advertising alongside premium content, which can reduce the likelihood of erroneous and fraudulent clicks.
The Yahoo! Mobile Modes study found that mobile advertising around content is more effective in terms of viewer engagement and recall than ads run on social networks and search engines:
- mobile content advertising: 59% recall; 42% engage
- mobile social advertising: 45% recall; 29% engage
- mobile search engine marketing: 34% recall; 24% engage
The study concludes that mobile ads running alongside premium content work better because viewers are more engaged with the content and have a "sense of discovery" that makes them more receptive to advertisers' messages.
We know mobile content---more than 70 million mobile and tablet users connect with Yahoo! properties each month, and our mobile sites have the highest average time spent per visitor of any premium content site on mobile. See how we can help you boost the performance of your mobile campaigns.
