Maximize Display Ad Conversion Rate - Best Practices for 2024

Display ads are one of the best ways to convert your leads into customers, period. They have repeatedly proven to be successful in generating more sales for brands. But there is a big catch. The ads have to be optimized before serving them to your target audience. Brands that often complain about poor conversion rates for their display ads are most likely not doing this. Optimization does not necessarily mean spending hours and hours fine-tuning your display ads. Thanks to advancements in technology, particularly in the field of AI, optimizing your ads takes hardly any time today. In this article, we will look into some of the popular strategies that can effortlessly increase the ad conversion rate for your brand. 

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Understanding Display Ad Conversion Rate

A display ad conversion rate is the percentage of users who take the desired action after clicking on your display ad. The desired action could be making a purchase, subscribing to your solution, or even filling up a form. It is important to measure and analyze your display ad conversion rate because it shows whether a particular campaign is effectively reaching and engaging your target audience. It also serves as a benchmark to compare the performance of different display ads, helping you identify what works and what doesn't in your campaign. 

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Best Practices for Designing Effective Display Ads

The following best practices for display ads have been categorized based on the three core elements of an ad: visuals, copies, and CTAs.

1) Visuals

Your consumers are constantly bombarded with advertisements. As a result, the visual component of your display ads becomes even more significant as it can influence whether users pause to take a closer look or continue scrolling. Given the limited time you have to make an impression and convert them, it's essential to craft visuals that not only stand out but also convey your message clearly and persuasively. 

If you want to improve your ad conversion rate through visuals, here are some best practices you need to follow:

• Always choose a striking image that is relevant to your brand and related to your offerings. This is even more important when you want to convey your key message without explicitly stating it.  
• It is found that your brain processes images quicker than text. So, give a similar amount (if not more) of space in comparison to text. Here is an example of one such ad:

• Use contrasting colors and ample negative space to enable the user to quickly scan through your ads. 
• Utilize color psychology to evoke the desired emotions. For example, blue can convey trust, while red can create a sense of urgency. Citi, a popular bank, has smartly used the blue color to invoke trust in their ads, a key characteristic expected from banks.

• Ensure all images are high-resolution to avoid pixelation. 
• Use your logo in the ads to maintain brand consistency. It will also help in improving brand recognition and recall. For instance, just by looking at the ’smile’ logo below, most of us can identify the brand behind this ad is Amazon. 

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2) Copies

Writing effective copy for display ads is just as important as creating compelling visuals for maximizing ad conversion rate. The copy needs to be concise, engaging, and persuasive to capture the attention of your audience and encourage them to take action. 

Here are some best practices for creating high-impact copy for your display ads:

1. Create urgency in your copies to entice the users to act quickly. Your copy should highlight that you have a limited supply of the product or you are selling it for a limited time. Try using phrases like ‘offer valid until a certain date,’ ‘on sale while supplies last,’ and ‘prices going up next week’ to achieve this. 
2. Emphasize how your product or service will benefit the user instead of listing down the features. Address a common problem your audience faces and position your product as the solution. Here is an example of an ad where the benefit has been prioritized over the brand/product:

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3. Use numbers in your copies, as they can be very persuasive. You could use data, percentages, or even relevant statistics to back up your claims.
4. Always make sure that your copy aligns with your brand’s voice and tone. Consistency helps build brand recognition and trust.
5. Use emotional triggers to connect with your audience. Happiness, fear, excitement, and curiosity are powerful motivators.
6. Avoid complex words and jargon. Use simple, easy-to-understand language that can be quickly grasped.

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3) CTAs

A strong call to action makes the user click the ad and take the desired action. A well-crafted CTA can be the difference between a missed opportunity and a successful conversion. It’s not just about what you say in it but where you place it and the psychological triggers you use to motivate your audience.

Here are some best practices to follow while creating the CTA for your display ads:

• Start your CTA with a strong command verb that tells users exactly what you want them to do (e.g., “Download,” “Sign Up,” “Get Started”).
• Use secondary words that create a sense of urgency to prompt immediate action (e.g., “Now,” “Today,” “Limited Time”).
• Use positive, persuasive language that makes the action sound appealing and beneficial (e.g., “Discover More,” “Unlock Exclusive Content”).
• Place your CTA in a prominent location where it’s easy to find, such as above the fold or at the end of a key piece of content.
• Use contrasting colors to make your CTA stand out from the rest of the content. Ensure it’s visually distinct and easily noticeable. Here is an example:

• Ensure your CTA is easy to tap on mobile devices. Use larger buttons and touch-friendly spacing.

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Targeting and Placement Strategies

Targeting based on different factors like demographics, geography, and interests ensures that your ads are shown mainly to users who are more likely to be interested in your offerings. In simple words,  targeting improves the relevance of your ad, which has a positive impact on audience engagement and, ultimately, the ad conversion rate. 

While targeting is good for ad conversion rate, hyper-targeting isn’t. In other words, don’t make your ads so specific that they capture only a minuscule segment of your target market. For example, you could create a display ad targeting:

Asian women aged between 18 and 21, living in Austin, and preferring coffee. 

The specificity of this ad is so high that it won’t show up for most of your target audience and you will miss out on opportunities that could come up from outside this segment. While your ad conversion rate may be high, the volume of converted users will be low. 

Also, measure the performance of your ads just to make sure that targeting efforts are bearing fruits. Define important KPIs and regularly measure them to understand where your ads stand. For example, if you want to measure the ROI of your targeted marketing campaign, you could measure the total value of conversions against the cost of the campaign. 

Just like targeting, ad placements are extremely important for improving display ad conversion rates. Placing ads in locations where the target audience is most likely to see them, such as specific websites or apps, maximizes visibility and ensures that your users are most receptive to the message. This will automatically improve the chance of conversion. 

Contextual relevance is another factor you need to consider. You must ensure that your ads are seamlessly integrated into the user’s online experience, making them less intrusive and more engaging. Why? Because these ads add value to the content the user is consuming, which can lead to a more positive perception of your brand, ultimately encouraging them to take an action on your ad. 

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A/B Testing and Performance Analysis

To the unversed, A/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of your display ads and showing them to different segments of your audience. By analyzing the performance of each variant, you can determine which ad is more effective in achieving your objectives. Here are the different steps involved in A/B testing and performance analysis:

Step 1: Determine what you want to achieve with your A/B test. Common objectives include increasing click-through rates (CTR), conversions, or engagement.

Step 2: Choose specific elements of your ad to test, such as the image, CTA, layout, color scheme, or ad copy.

Step 3: You can either manually design the two versions of your display ad or use an AI ad creatives generator like Eacel to automate it. Remember - the difference between the two ad variants should only be the variable you're testing.

Step 4:  Determine the required sample size(audience) to achieve statistical significance. Decide how long the test will run. Typically, it is around a few days to a few weeks.

Step 5: Launch both ad variants simultaneously to ensure that external factors affect both ads equally. 

Step 6: Gather data on key metrics such as impressions, clicks, CTR, conversions, and any other relevant performance indicators.

Step 7: Compare the performance of both variants. Use statistical methods to determine if any differences in performance are significant. 

Step 8: Roll out the winning ad variant to your entire audience. Consider conducting further tests to optimize additional elements.

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Leveraging AI for Display Ad Optimization

Artificial intelligence is enabling modern-day marketers to optimize display ads more efficiently. AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data to understand user behavior, preferences, and interactions with your display ads. Based on this gathered data, these algorithms can accurately predict which creatives, layouts, or copies are most likely to resonate with your audience. This means you can quickly create or modify your display ads so that there is an impact on conversion rates. 

Many AI-driven ad creative generators and ad optimization tools can continuously learn from market conditions and consumer trends. This ensures that your display ads remain relevant and effective over time, even as audience preferences shift. 

For example, with a few clicks, Eacel can generate any unlimited number of ad creatives you need. The in-built AI engine of Eacel learns from the performance of past ad creatives and generates better-performing ones the next time. In other words, it leads to more strategic and impactful advertising efforts.

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Conclusion

Maximizing display ad conversion rates in 2024 is all about adopting advanced AI tools like Eacel, which can take care of ad optimization, personalizing content to target specific audiences, and continually refining the ad elements. Apart from this, follow the highly effective display ad strategies and best practices covered in this post to enhance your campaign effectiveness. Start your journey of display ad optimization in 2024 by creating an account with Eacel.