Audio advertising for websites, yay or nay? And if yes, then what, where and how? In the scapes of ever-evolving advertising, the world wide web has become the best thing for marketers since sliced bread! An all-powerful sorcerer that reaches consumers at all ends of the earth, the internet has the power of amplifying your brand’s visibility. Audio ads on websites can be an effective top marketing funnel that can channel traffic and create conversions to bring in ROIs. Window shopping doesn’t have to be three-dimensional anymore. It’s now doable through your flatscreen in the comfort of your bedcovers and PJs.
Like everything else, online advertising can be a double-edged sword. The almighty dollar investment can build your brand fame and fortune, or fall through the cracks of a leaky marketing strategy. As it is, spam is a waste of receivers, and there’s a fine line between creating audio ads for websites that turn heads and ones that get canned like spam.
As the saying goes, all cats are gray in the dark. Every investment deserves worthy research before diving in deep. Don’t go into an advertising strategy half-cocked. This article will explore the successes of audio ads for websites and how you can navigate the ad marketplace. If you’re between two minds, you will be able to decide if you can bet your bottom dollar on audio ads, and how to can build a better mousetrap towards successful campaigning. So let’s get started pronto!
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This post has been updated in August 2021.
Why Include Audio?
Audio ads are basically any ads that include an audio component in it. In most cases of web ads, videos are muted by default. The audio usually gets activated by a mouse over or click. So why go through all the trouble to create audio, you ask.
Emotional Marketing
Have you ever watched a horror movie in silent? No door slams, no climatic music or ghost “whooooo-ing”. It just doesn’t pack quite as much a punch. This is because audio evokes so much more emotion than just pictures. Putting two and two together, a study reported by Forbes revealed a 23% increase in sales on ads that evoke an emotional response from consumers. Another study done on 1,400 campaigns showed that ads with emotional content performed twice as well compared to rational content. Emotional marketing puts you ahead of the curve and inspires consumers to act.
Turn More Heads
Close your eyes for 30 seconds. Try to recall the number of ads you’ve seen just yesterday. Be honest, because personally, we can’t seem to recall a single one. Why? The average internet user gets bombarded with over 1,700 ads per month but only actually sees about half of them. Too much of something and our minds automatically conditions us to determine them as just background noise. Social media, television or websites, consumers are shelled with ads, ads, and more ads. Marketers tend to take for granted that as long as your ad is out there, your ad will be registered in the minds of your consumer. Fact is, you’re swimming upstream along with the rest of advertisers. Adding audio can be your ace in the hole in placing you ahead of the pack.
Better Recall
Here’s why audio packs a punch. Audio ads for websites create echoic memory which stores longer than just visual memories. Defined as retention of information specific to sound stimuli, echoic memory is typically stored longer compared to visual memories. Besides, with a bazillion tabs open and ads popping up all over the screen, it’s just harder to get noticed these days. Including audio in your ads helps you to stand out. Putting out ads on Google display network helps you achieve the top 2 objectives of your marketing funnel, that being building brand awareness, and brand recall.
Successes of Web Ads
SME or a global conglomerate, there is no escape from online marketing in your strategy in today’s day and age. Simply putting all your eggs in the conventional basket of radio ads and television commercials just won’t cut it anymore for any successful, modern-day marketer. Here are 10 statistics that will help convince you if web advertising is worth your dollar investment.
- Google display network reaches over 90% of internet users.
- While 70 to 80% of internet users ignore sponsored search engine results, Google display network serves more than 2 trillion ad impressions monthly across over 2 million websites.
- For every $1 invested in Google ads, businesses get an ROI average of $2.
- Retargeted ad campaigns on Google display network generates an ROI of 486%.
- More than 50% of consumers prefer video content compared to other media channels such as blogs and email marketing.
- Retargeted display ads on consumers who have visited a website hold a 70% chance of a conversion.
- 64% of consumers will click on an ad if they are looking to shop online.
- Consumers using smartphones to view ads have shown an increased conversion rate of 64%
- The number of audiences who complete watching a video ad has shown to increase up to 70%
- The average spending per internet user on ads amounts to $17.74 this year.
Numbers speak better than words! Now or never, its time to channel some of those marketing funds into digital web advertising. And of course, the strongest combination would be voice-enabled ads. Here’s how you can begin.
Navigating the Ad Marketplace
There are several ways in which you can display your audio ad on websites and we are here to introduce to you the top few that you can integrate into your marketing strategy. Audio ads on websites not only offer you a boundless reach of the audience but also allow you to be specific in your segmentation. Not only will you be able to channel your investment towards your target audience. Unlike traditional print and radio ads, you will also be able to track your campaigns’ effectiveness in driving traffic and conversions.
Google Display Network
Huge billboard signs or print media might capture attention, but you end up spending a hefty amount without any idea on how effective they are. Here’s a way to digitally promote your brand without even having to pay for impressions.
The Google Display Network is not to be confused with Google Search Network that allows ads to appear on the search engine when a user is organically searching for specific keywords or phrases. Mentioned time and again above, the Google Display Network is a powerful system of interconnected display platforms including more than 2 million websites. It allows advertisers like yourself to reach segmented audiences while they are playing games, reading up on the news or even researching to buy a product.
How can you get these ad spaces, you ask. Some bloggers or site owners chose to work with Google AdSense to monetize ad space on their sites, based on pay per click (PPC). Here’s where your ads can be integrated into these carefully chosen sites. This is where visual or media-rich ads including the audio element can be incorporated to make an impact instead of just plain text.
Below are several different ways by which you can place your video ads through Google Display Network:
Skippable in-stream ads: Plays for 5 seconds before the option to skip the video is given. Shown on videos of Google partner sites, apps, and YouTube
Non- skippable in-stream ads: Plays with sound for 15 seconds with no option to skip the video. Shown on videos of Google partner sites, apps, and YouTube
Outstream ads: Begin plays mute, until the user unmutes the video. Across mobile placements on partner sites and apps on the Google Display Network.
Other Web Channels
Google aside, there are other channel websites you can also consider publishing your ads on. Such include social media channels. The huge perk of advertising on social media is the convenience of sharing. With just a click, your audience can easily share, like or interact with your brand. As such, engagement is key in creating a ripple effect in order to amplify your brand’s or product’s visibility.
Social Media:
You can opt for in-stream video ads with a CTA that play mid-roll within Facebook’s feed, watch and audience network. Alternatively, boost videos from your page to ensure a wider reach.
Post video ads on Instagram stories and feeds through ads in explore. Connect your Instagram account to Facebook for seamless ad management.
Streaming Sites:
- Spotify / Pandora
Music streaming websites such as Spotify and Pandora have been gaining popularity in recent years. With Spotify owning 217 million users and Pandora having 66 million, the reach is vast for these channels. There are many options for audio advertising on these platforms. For example, you can choose between audio ads, played between songs, or video ads as means of a sponsored 30-minute ad-free session for the user for viewing the full ad.
How Much to Invest in Audio Ads for Websites?
Time to whip out those calculators and spreadsheets now that we’re on the iffy topic of budgets. How much is enough for you to reap some significant ROIs? Your ballpark figure all depends on your scale and timeline of the campaign.
Making the Ad
Let’s first talk about creating your audio ad, or sound-enabled video ad. You are going to need good sound engineers and a good script. Typically, you can outsource a professionally made 20-second video ad for less than $200. This includes unlimited revision and a turnaround time of about 3 days. Alternatively, if you need a voice over done, you can outsource it professionally done in your chosen voice and language for less than $100. This usually includes converting to the format you need as well as integrating the sound file with any specific videos you need. Now let’s move on to advertising costs.
Budgeting for Campaigns
With your inventory developed, its time to decide on your channel. Here are some numbers to give you an idea of how many viewers your dollar will reach below. However, it is really important to note that in the world of digital marketing, the outcome is never instantaneous. It always takes time to reap conversions. Bear in mind that it’s probably best to do some A/B testing, and give it a couple of months before deciding on your strategy’s effectiveness.
Google Ads
On average, the click-through rate (CTR) for Google Ads is about 0.46% on display networks. But the number of impressions is extremely high. You can channel your investments by segmenting your audience’s interest, demographics or activity. You can also handpick the domains in which you wish for your ad to be seen. On average, expect the cost per click (CPC) to be about $0.58 for display networks. Most SMEs spend about $9000 to $10,000 on Google ads per month. We recommend you set aside $1,000 to $2,000 for testing before officially diving in.
Social Media Websites
If you’re considering social media platforms, here are some numbers for Facebook. The average cost per mile (CPM or number of thousand impressions) is $10, CPC is at $1.72 and cost per action (CPA) is $18.68. CPA is taken into account when the user takes action such as submitting contact details. Instagram’s CPM is an average of $5.
Music Streaming Websites
The CPM for Spotify lies around $5 to $30. To make things simpler, that means that each ad on Spotify costs about $0.015 to $0.025. On the other hand, the CPM of Pandora is about $8 to $12 for audio ads. If you are considering this channel you will need to take into consideration that Spotify requires a minimum budget of $250 for individual ads. Pandora, on the other hand, does not require a minimum.
That’s About the Size of It
Audio ads for websites can be a worthy investment if done right. That said, the last but most important tip to remember here is always to use retargeting as a key strategy. Target visitors who have visitors who have visited your site through display ads. They are more likely to convert by 70%! Retargeting allows you to track them as they meander through the internet, bringing back the 98% of your website visitors who have not been converted to a sale.
It’s time to move past marketing strategies as old as Adam and move to the digital age of now. Perhaps it’s time to dip your toes in and create that audio ad today!
Start your own audio ad today with Bunny Studio!
