According to a new study from comScore and Pretarget, ad viewability and hover time are more strongly correlated with conversions (defined as purchases and requests for information) than clicks or total impressions. Pretarget Founder Keith Pieper opines “Your ad being seen matters more than your ad being clicked… what good is an ad that can’t be seen… It’s intuitive that… someone hovering and engaging with an ad might convert, even absent a click… “ The study analyzed 263 million impressions over nine months across 18 advertisers in numerous verticals. The study used used:

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We already know that click-through rates on online display ads are abysmal. Now a study from the startup Pretarget and ComScore revealed that even when a user clicks on an ad, the correlation between that click and a conversion is virtually nonexistent.

Over nine months, Pretarget analyzed more than 260 million ad impressions across the campaigns of 18 advertisers, the company said, and tracked conversions ranging from filling out an online form to downloading software. In the analysis, Pretarget found that the Pearson correlation (a common correlation methodology) between clicks and a conversion was 0.01, the lowest correlation rate among metrics tracked in the study (a 0 result would mean there is absolutely no correlation, while 1.0 would signify the strongest possible correlation.)

The supply of online advertising inventory available in the so-called “real-time bidding” or RTB marketplace continues to expand as advertisers, agencies and publishers embrace programmatic trading as part of their online advertising strategies. During the first quarter of 2012, the supply of RTB impressions expanded 120% over the same quarter in 2011, according to results from a new quarterly tracking report being published by independent agency trading desk Accordant Media.

The report estimates that the supply of RTB impressions soared 213% during 2011 versus 2010, and that the expansion is being driven by blue-chip advertisers and agencies, which is attracting premium publishers to participate in the marketplace.

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How can marketers appeal to the growing number of buying team members? IDG Connect’s Bob Johnson says marketers need to both understand their audiences and develop appropriate content. Johnson spoke with IDG Strategic Marketing Services Director Howard Sholkin….

In 2009, comScore and Starcom produced a joint study of clickers that concluded 8 percent of the Internet audience is responsible for 85 percent of the clicks.

This report elicits an examination of your frequent clickers and whether they are the audience your brand is looking to reach. This is fundamentally important to consider before selecting click-through rate (CTR) as a campaign metric.

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Our friends at Inside View created this awesome infographic that gathers together many statistics, ideas and examples about using social media to help drive leads and sales for B2B companies. You can look through the stats yourself, but here are some to consider:

• 61% of US Marketers Use Social Media to Increase Lead Gen
• IBM saw an Increase of 400% in Sales in a Social Selling Pilot Program
• 55% of Buyers Search for Information on Social Media
• 75% of Buyers Likely to Use Social Media in the Purchase Process

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B2B salespeople spend roughly two-thirds of their time selling in virtual environments—via the Web and telephone—yet most companies haven’t adapted their sales skills or content marketing tools to deal with this new reality, according to a new report by Corporate Visions.

Sales and marketing teams are not prepared to sell in virtual environments: 58% of surveyed B2B sales and marketing professionals say they have insufficient (27%), little (10%), or no training (21%) in how to deliver compelling messages in virtual environments.

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According to recent research from Maxifier among senior decision makers in digital marketing agencies, 68% viewed conversion rates as either extremely or very important when optimizing online display campaigns focused on brand awareness, compared with 59% who cited brand engagement.

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IDG Connect Research

There are more cooks in the kitchen during the buying process than ever before. IDG Connect research has found that on average 10 people contribute to a purchase decision ranging from IT to finance and business leader. In the “rule of three,” IDG Connect’s Bob Johnson recommends that marketers focus on the top three functional areas and pick the three most important value propositions for them.

IDG Connect,
Technology marketers and sales teams need high-quality leads delivered quickly.   While some marketers focus on BANT (Budget, Authority, Need and Timing) in order to determine if leads are sales-ready, IDG Connect says BANT may be a mistake.  IDG Market Fusion research shows the focus should be on Best Asset Next Time.   During the lead qualification process, the prospect should be asked about what content is needed in the purchase process.  Be a consultant and realize that prospects may not be in as much of a rush as the sales and marketing team.  To learn more about Bob Johnson’s research and recommendations, download this white paper…