Viewability is key to clicks

Digital advertising solutions provider MediaMind reported that overall, rich media ads boasted a 0.22% clickthrough rate. However, for ads that were actually viewable—defined as 50% viewable for at least one second—clickthrough rates averaged 0.34%, a 54.5% lift.



The significance of viewability rose further when measuring conversions. Post-click conversions rose in tandem with clickthrough rates. And once ads reached 60% viewability, and kept rising, clicks—and post-click conversions—rose alongside.



What’s the solution for marketers? Ensuring ads appear above the fold is, of course, ideal, but not always possible—and it costs money to do so. Perhaps one lesson here is that more expensive placements simply get better results.

Marketers can also look beyond viewability in the hopes that ads placed alongside engaging content, in front of an appropriate audience, will be seen whether they are further down the page or not.
Ad size can also make a difference: AdSafe Media found select ad unit sizes were more visible than others. The most vertical ad units, wide skyscrapers (160 x 600), saw the greatest number of in-view impressions, followed by the common medium rectangle (250 x 300) and finally, leaderboards (728 x 90).

Source:  http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009510&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4#lGwwPG51KPOsqhHU.99