Tag archives: advertising.com

Behavioral targeting: less clicks more conversions

A new study by Advertising.com found that behavioral targeted ads produce lower response rates than run-of-network placements, but deliver higher conversion rates. The study examined three advertiser campaigns targeted to Advertising.com’s personal finance, automotive and education behavioral populations. For each advertiser, identical creative messages were sent to both a run-of-network audience and the behaviorally segmented audience. In each study, conversion rates increased markedly for targeted impressions vs. run-of-network impressions. However, click-through rates experienced the opposite effect — with the number of clicks decreasing for targeted impressions. These findings suggest that behavioral targeting actually increases the value of each click, as consumers who click on a targeted ad are more motivated to convert.