The Science of Creating Successful Display Ads: Research-Backed Tips
Display ads are a great way to get your product or message in front of potential customers. But if they’re not effective, they can end up being more of a distraction than anything else. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some tips for creating effective display ads, as well as give you a little bit of information about eye direction and its impact on ad effectiveness.
On average, users only spend one-third of a second looking at online advertisements (Nielsen and Pernice, 2009). Therefore as advertisers, creating ads that will catch the user’s attention and convey our message is necessary for a successful display campaign. Successful display ads are eye-catching but not so bright or flashy that they’re overwhelming. The colors you use should be complementary to your brand and easy to read. And the copy should be clear and concise – people should be able to understand what you’re trying to say without having to think too hard about it.
Some other important factors to keep in mind when creating your ad include the size and shape of the ad, as well as where it will be placed. These factors can impact both the effectiveness and the cost of your ad. So, it’s important to do some research and figure out what works best for you and your business.
In terms of the text layout, studies have shown that people tend to look at ads and websites in an “F” pattern (Moran, 2020). That is, they’ll look at the top of the ad first, then move down the left side before scanning across the right side. So, putting your most important information at the top and on the left-hand side of the ad is important.
Research studies have indicated that people are more likely to pay attention to ads that feature faces (Hutton & Nolte, 2011). So, if you have a product or service that would benefit from having a person’s face in the ad (such as a dating site or a baby food company), then it’s worth considering. If you are a service business, have the owner or someone on your team feature in your ad. It will likely perform much better and have better recognition and recall than just using your logo (Hutton & Nolte, 2011).
Furthermore, research has indicated that the gaze of the model featured in the ad also matters. If the person in the ad is looking at the product or messaging, the viewer’s gaze will follow, and they will pay more attention to the messaging or product in your ad (Hutton & Nolte, 2011). This can also be applied to the website pages and other online and print media. Therefore when possible, make sure that your ad image is looking at your message and not staring at the audience.
Pro tip: if you already have a photo you want to use in your ad copy that is not looking at your message, this can be quickly fixed with photoshop. Photoshop has an amazing feature called Natural filters that will make you look like a photoshop pro!
Here are the steps to change the direction of someone’s gaze in Photoshop.
- Step 1: Open the image and select the correct layer.
- Step 2: Open Neural Filters.
- Step 3: Adjust the Gaze.
- Step 4: Adjust the person’s head.
Finally, one last thing to keep in mind is that people are more likely to remember ads that they see multiple times. So, if you’re planning on running a display ad campaign, make sure to budget for it accordingly.
What tips do you have for creating effective display ads? Share them with us in the comments below!
References:
Hutton, & Nolte, S. (2011). The effect of gaze cues on attention to print advertisements. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(6), 887–892. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1763
Moran, Kate (2020) How people read online: New and old findings. Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-people-read-online/
Nielsen, & Pernice, K. (2009). Eyetracking Web Usability. New Riders.