The effectiveness of web ads: rectangle vs contextual banners

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to analyse the relationship between click‐through rate (CTR) and the traditional measurements of advertising effectiveness and to measure the advertising effectiveness of two less common formats of online advertising in blogs: rectangle and contextual, as well as to explore which factors influence that effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was used to gather data. Advertising effectiveness was determined using the traditional measurements employed for conventional media at cognitive, affective and conative levels and analysing the CTR.

Findings

The results reflect a direct relation between measurements of effectiveness and CTR, differences in the effectiveness of the two advertising formats, and that the factors influencing that effectiveness are attitude toward the web site, involvement with the product and duration of web site visit.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the study is that the experimental design is focused on two types of formats inserted into two types of blog and about only one product. A further limitation is the need to analyse other factors that may influence the effectiveness.

Practical implications

The principal conclusion of the study is that managers should not evaluate the effectiveness of their online campaigns by using only the CTR.

Originality/value

Despite the increase in their use, blogs have not received attention in the field of advertising research.

Citation

Martín‐Santana, J.D. and Beerli‐Palacio, A. (2012), "The effectiveness of web ads: rectangle vs contextual banners", Online Information Review, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 420-441. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521211241431