What's an average Click-through-rate for an in-domain or trusted partner link?
I'm currently building a new business model for a consumer-based website providing a security service. The site will (hopefully) be linked to by several web properties and we'll obviously be generating our own traffic through PR, advertising (limited), and good old word-of-mouth.
I'm interested in your thoughts on the following:
1. The industry average for 'general' web advertising seems to hover around .05% CTR (click through rate). Should I expect better for a sponsored link in a partner page? For example, does a bank get better click-through rates for the additional 'in-house' or partner services they advertise on their home page? These are not 'banners' or 'side-bar' ads, they're integrated into the homepage as part of the overall value-proposition of the institution, though clearly not the 'core' offering. What should I expect is the resulting traffic?
2. Without disclosing the concept, what would an average conversion rate be for such a service (advertised as an 'in-house' or 'trusted partner' offering), presuming the service is valuable and FREE for a Beta period.
3. Assuming an eventual $29.95 price, solid value proposition, limited (if any) market competitors, and good performance during the FREE period, what conversion rate would be reasonable? Obviously this is a 'stab in the dark' without a lot more information, but I'm sure everyone has a notion for the 'average' performance of an offer.
4. Is Cost-per-Click advertising still a viable model? Our goal is to serve ads and sponsored links on the service; many of which are targeted to a BUYING customer when he already has his wallet/credit card in hand. CPC rates seem to range between $0.50 and $6.00 per click depending upon how targeted and precise the ad-to-customer formula is. Can I trust these figures in building my projected revenue?
Answers (1)
CTR's and Conversions Rates vary greatly between companies and there are far too many variables to hang your hat on industry averages
1. The targeting/content of the media that a user is visiting prior to clicking
2. Is the media property sticky: deep content provides better targeting but tend to be really sticky, hence click thru rates are low.
3. What about the offer that the advertiser is making
These are just a few variables effecting CTRs, as far as conversion rates are concerned
1. Is the offier a "high priced" offer or "low priced offer"
2. What about the advertisers landing page and reqs
IE Conversion rates for Mortgage Providers are different then Mortgage Lead Aggregators.
Find out what your averages are as opposed to what everyone elses are.
