Last updated on November 2nd, 2015 at 04:08 pm
Facebook still holds the throne in click-through rates (CTR) for ads, as revealed by Adobe Digital Index’s “Q3 Digital Advertising & Social Intelligence Report.”
According to the report, the numbers for Facebook ads are enough to leave Google in the dust: Facebook’s click-throughs rates posted a 35 percent rise in Q3 2015 from a year ago as opposed to Google’s 25 percent.
Facebook does not disclose its average ad CTRs, but in their study of 900 billion ad impressions and 23 billion referred visits, Adobe Digital Index’s findings partially attributes Facebook’s success to their stellar ad personalization.
Facebook uses its wealth of user data to allow advertisers to choose from a combination of targeting options that suit their objectives. From location to interests to user behavior, Facebook’s ad targeting options are undoubtedly unmatched in digital advertising today.
Now, Google is playing catch-up with their recent release of Customer Match, a tool that uses search histories to help advertisers personalize display ads. According to Google’s Sridhar Ramaswamy, senior vice president for ads and commerce, “Customer Match allows you to upload a list of email addresses, which can be matched to signed-in users on Google in a secure and privacy-safe way. From there, you can build campaigns and ads specifically designed to reach your audience.”
Google needed the new tool, as ADI revealed that users found Facebook display ads more relevant at 51 percent, than Google display ads at 17 percent, primarily shown on YouTube videos.
ADI also reported a rise in Facebook ad impressions at 10 percent in Q3 2015, compared to Q2 2015. As more people are using the social media platform and seeing ads, revenue per visit has risen for Facebook. They are getting $1.24 more per visit from its users.
Of course, not all impressions turn into conversions—but Facebook’s ability to show ads to an audience most likely to be interested in advertised products make Facebook the top choice for advertisers, not only for social media but for all online advertising platforms.
It should be noted that Facebook’s success can also be attributed to the rise in smartphone traffic from social networks which has doubled year-over-year. Desktop and tablet traffic only rose 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively, over the same time period.
Only 3% of Facebook’s News Feed is ads (FB) https://t.co/6Onw2hBmnc
— Hans Ebert (@HEbertKONLABS) October 20, 2015
In ADI’s Q1 2014 study, “Social Intelligence Report,” it was reported that Facebook ads continued to post a 160 percent jump in CTR year over year, and 20 percent quarter over quarter. This has resulted to better traffic for Facebook’s advertisers. The social media site produced 75 percent of traffic to retail sites and 52 percent of social traffic to B2B high tech sites, up 34 percent year over year.
A emarketer report earlier this year found that “when it comes to ROI [for social ads], Facebook and Pinterest received the highest grades, with Facebook earning a B+ and Pinterest earning a B.
Photo via fashfind.com
