In digital marketing, we often talk about “getting the word out.” But how do you know if anyone is listening—or better yet, leaning in? At Eves Digital, we use two primary metrics to solve that mystery: Impressions and Click-Through Rate (CTR).
While search ads capture users who are actively looking for a solution, display banner ads play a different game: the game of attention. At EvesDigital, we know that display advertising is about being in the right place at the right time, even when the user isn’t looking for you.
To measure success in this “interruptive” space, we look at the same two pillars—Impressions and CTR—but with a different set of expectations.
Impressions: The “Brand Billboard”
In display advertising, an impression is counted every time your banner loads on a website, app, or social feed (Chambers et al., 2024). Because display ads often appear on the sidebars or headers of sites like WXHC.com, they are powerhouse tools for brand recall. Even if a user doesn’t click, seeing your logo 50,000 times across local news sites builds a “mental footprint” that pays off later when they are ready to buy (Ambekar, 2019).
Display CTR: The “Interruptive Handshake”
Click-Through Rate (CTR) for display is typically much lower than search. Why? Because you are asking someone to stop what they are doing (reading news, checking sports scores) and click away.
In the U.S. market, a “good” display CTR is often under 1%. However, because display impressions are generally cheaper than search impressions, a lower CTR can still lead to a high ROI if your targeting is precise (WebFX, 2026). When we’re talking about display banner ads, the “good” threshold is significantly lower than search ads because banners are passive—you’re catching people while they’re reading news or checking scores on sites like WXHC.com, not when they’re actively hunting for a product.
Our goal for all Campaigns
- 0.1% – 0.3%: This is the “Baseline.” It’s common for broad awareness campaigns where you just want eyes on the brand (high impressions, low intent).
- 0.05% – 0.07%: This is “Good.” You’re beating the national average and likely have solid creative and targeting. This is our goal!
- 1.0% or higher: This is “Excellent.” Usually, this is only achieved through high-intent industries (like Real Estate) or hyper-specific Retargeting (showing ads to people who already visited your site).
Why Your Display CTR Might Be Lower
If you’re seeing numbers below 0.05% (the current U.S. cross-industry average), it’s time to look at two factors:
- Creative Fatigue: Unlike search ads, which are text-based, display ads rely on visuals. If your audience has seen the same banner for three months, they will stop seeing it entirely—a phenomenon known as “banner blindness” (Ambekar, Iowa State University, 2019).
- Placement Quality: Are your ads appearing on high-trust local sites like WXHC.com, or are they buried on low-quality gaming apps? Quality placements lead to quality clicks.
The EvesDigital Tip: Dynamic Creative
U.S. research shows that Dynamic Display Ads—ads that automatically change their images or offers based on the user’s past behavior—outperform static banners by over 50% (Marino, 2024). By personalizing the “handshake,” you make it much harder for the user to look away.
References
Ambekar, A. (2019). Factors influencing the success of a social media marketing campaign [Master’s thesis, Iowa State University]. Iowa State University Digital Repository. https://doi.org/10.31274/cc-20240624-712
Chambers, L. C., et al. (2024). Identifying effective components of a social marketing campaign. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 10, e50944. https://doi.org/10.2196/50944
Marino, S. (2024, May 15). Google Ads benchmarks 2023: Key trends & insights for every industry. WordStream. https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2023/05/15/google-ads-benchmarks
WebFX. (2026). What is a good CTR? 2026 benchmarks by industry and channel. https://www.webfx.com/blog/marketing/whats-good-click-rate-ctr-industry/
WXHC (X101 Always Classic). (2026). Advertising and reach in Central New York. https://www.wxhc.com/