Our latest summary of ad clickthrough rates statistics in the US, Europe, and Worldwide is designed to help you benchmark your paid digital and social media ads, set marketing budgets, and define your goals

If you're forecasting your digital media spend, you need to compare the ROI of your display ads, paid social, Google Ads, and social media. Depending on your objectives, it's worth reviewing and benchmarking the latest metrics like average click-through rates, average cost per click, and cost per lead. I've put this compilation together to help marketing professionals create direct response conversion models for digital marketing campaigns. By creating budget models using known benchmarks for average CTRs and digital media click-through costs, you can better forecast your return on investment from digital media ads. Our budgeting and forecasting spreadsheets include: Simple digital channel planning spreadsheet Conversion and revenue model spreadsheet Month-by-month customer acquisition spreadsheet …

Apple's iOS 14 platform update has certainly not been without controversy. Increased customer privacy has caused problems for mobile ad providers. What do the platform updates mean for your digital marketing strategy?

Released on 16 September 2020, Apple's iOS 14 constitutes a huge overhaul in mobile customer experience. And the biggest change is yet to come! The delayed new iOS 14 opt-in processes, penned in Forbes as 'Facebook and Google's worst nightmare', have been penciled in for January 2021. This will at least give ad suppliers more time to adjust to the changes - and it looks like they're in for a busy couple of months. We'll be discussing what these changes mean for your business below. Plus, we'll take a whistle-stop tour of some of the platform's new features and how marketers can delight customers on their iPhone.

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Retailers, restaurants and service providers:…

Low confidence in tech companies stopping political influence, LinkedIn testing Stories, Facebook bans coronavirus ads, Pinterest launches Lite app globally, Facebook sues for data misuse

This week has brought with it a lot of social media news, including the fact that most Americans don't trust tech companies like Facebook to stop misuse of platforms in the run-up to the US presidential election. In other social media news, LinkedIn has announced that it is currently testing its own version of Stories. Facebook has made the decision to ban adverts on the platform that seek to profit from coronavirus. Pinterest has launched the Lite version of its app globally and Facebook has lodged a new lawsuit for misuse of data. We've got all the details in this week's news roundup:

Lack of trust in tech companies being able to stop political manipulation

Almost three-quarters…

Google phasing out third-party cookie support, Facebook under fire for political ad refusals, Instagram testing web DMs, Grindr reported for GDPR breach, YouTube "should demonetize climate denier videos"

We're a bit late with our usual Friday news roundup, but the stories we've covered are no less important. First up is the news that Google will be phasing out support for third-party cookies over the next two years - a huge move that will drastically affect the digital marketing industry. Facebook is continuing to come under fire for its refusal to stop allowing micro-targeting when it comes to political ads, with IPA saying that digital advertising has been "weaponized" for political reasons. [si_blog_banner_cta] In some good news, Instagram is testing DMs for its web-based app, meaning its messenger service could be a lot more accessible in the future. Grindr and Twitter have had some issues due to potential GDPR breaches, which were uncovered in an official report. Finally,…

It’s not always easy to tell at a glance which social media platform will offer the most opportunities for your brand

The past decade’s explosion in social media marketing has made it more important than ever to know how to effectively deploy a limited paid social budget. With so many social media platforms around, many small- and medium-sized businesses are focusing on cultivating a strong presence on one platform. It’s a good way for a business to avoid spreading its social budget too thin - but it does require choosing the right platform. The truth is that it’s not always easy to tell at a glance which social media platform will offer the most opportunities for your brand. It takes some research, vision, data-crunching and possibly a little soul searching about what your business is here to accomplish. If that sounds like a tall order, don’t worry. We’ll help you break it…

Facebook admits to location data tracking, digital advertising needs a watchdog says CMA, Facebook advertising price rises, Instagram anti-bullying tools, new Snapchat interactive ad and change to Twitter lists.

2019 is almost over but there's enough time left before we close ready for Christmas for one last news roundup. First up is the news that Facebook has admitted that it tracks user location data even if individuals have opted out of Locations Services. The CMA has said that there is a strong argument for the creation of a digital advertising watchdog to monitor the online ad space. [si_blog_banner_cta] Almost half of marketers are concerned that they could be priced out of Facebook advertising as costs have increased by 90% year-on-year. Instagram has seen some success with its anti-bullying tools and is now rolling out an extension for one of them. Snapchat has launched a new interactive ad type and is currently using it to advertise film trailers. Finally,…

87% of UK public wants stricter political ad regulations, Facebook bug removes political ads ahead of UK election, media prices are on the rise, Twitter announces new team to explore decentralized social media networks and YouTube updates its harassment policy

New research has revealed that the majority of the British public wants stricter rules around political advertising. Facebook's political ad transparency tools saw a failure a few days before the UK general election, removing a large number of political ads. Falling audiences are seeing media prices increases as more brands go digital. Twitter has announced that it is exploring a decentralized social media network model with the creation of a new independent team. YouTube has updated its harassment policy, introducing stricter rules and harsher punishments in a bid to make the platform a safer place. We've looked at all the details in our news roundup.

UK public wants stricter rules on political advertising

Following weeks of political…

Instagram introduces age check, creative professionals more productive 'on-the-go', Facebook suing over malicious ads, YouTube updates on borderline content efforts, Facebook announces new anti-discrimination ad measures

This week has seen Instagram change its policy to bring it in-line with Facebook. The platform will now request the date of birth of those signing up, in a bid to limit younger users from accessing inappropriate content. New research from Vodafone has revealed that the office is not the place for creative individuals, with many saying they are more productive when working flexibly. Facebook is making sure that those who break its rules face real-world consequences, starting with a company and two individuals who are accused of creating malicious adverts on the platform. [si_blog_banner_cta] YouTube has provided an update on its efforts to reduce the spread of misinformation and borderline content, just in time for the 2020 US election campaigns to heat up. Finally, Facebook has introduced two new…

Will smaller ad agencies end up ultimately trampled to death by yottabytes of Facebook and Google data?

Along with being reigning leaders of the tech industry, Google and Facebook run the most prominent advertising networks. The rest of the no-names pale into insignificance compared to the great and terrible Duopoly. Will smaller ad agencies end up ultimately trampled to death by yottabytes of Facebook & Google data? "Who owns the information, he owns the world." This 300-year old quotation is more relevant today than ever. Like it or not, it is personal data and its quality that defines the success of advertising campaigns. Get the right data about the customer and this customer is likely yours. Facebook and Google grew from unicorns into giant datavorous raptors that absorb all info about their users. No wonder they account for a combined 60% share of digital advertising in 2019. While such…

Google's BERT update, Twitter's political ad ban, Snapchat's new 'share to Snapchat' button, $65m of influencer campaigns reaching fake accounts, ACCC sues Google over location data, Facebook updates video ad metrics

The last week has been a fairly busy one in the marketing world and there have been plenty of updates to explore. The biggest of these is arguably Google's new BERT update, which is apparently the biggest update of the last five years. On top of this, Twitter is taking the step to ban all political advertising on the platform from November 22nd, despite Facebook deciding not to do the same. A large portion of the money spent on Instagram influencer campaigns is reportedly being wasted as posts continue to reach fake accounts. Google is being sued by an Australian regulator over claims it misled smartphone users over how their location was being used. Finally, Facebook has updated its video ad metrics to make…