So we’ve had more than a decade of measuring online advertising effects primarily through the generation of direct click traffic. But now many a marketer is asking ‘what effect does online advertising have beyond the click?’ Marketers want to know whether online display advertising can be justified on the basis of anything other than clicks.  The answer is yes it can - so let’s explore what some of these more difficult-to-measure beyond the click effects are. Here are seven effects of online display advertising that cannot be defined or measured by clicks alone.

1. Online advertising drives offline sales: Online advertising drives purchase behaviour in offline channels - particularly retail and phone. This was shown by a Yahoo! and Comscore in a study (2007) that revealed 89 percent of consumers shop for information about products online, but less than 7 percent of retail sales actually take place online. These effects are not measurable in clicks, though one of our clients does undertake weekly in-store surveys to identify search terms that are driving retail traffic.
2. Online display populates the search sales funnel: Search volumes are driven by consumer demand for information and this demand is accelerated by all forms of online and offline brand communication. Online display is one of the drivers of search term demand, but consumer response often takes place outside standard “cookie windows” or in forms that are not easy to track unless you have a form of universal tracking in place to analyse click paths. As a result this effect is not always fully understood and accounted for.
3. Cross-media synergy: When two channels work together, engaging with the same person about the same product on the same day, there is likely to be a 2+2=5 effect. Of course it’s very difficult to quantify the precise effects of this especially on a micro level but the difficulties presented in measuring this type of cross-media synergy do not mean that the effect is not present. An ad exposure online may well stimulate a purchase elsewhere - an effect not measured by clicks.
4. Attitudinal change: Ongoing online display is likely to drive attitudinal change over long periods of time. Over periods of weeks, months and even years, online advertising can positively re-enforce, modify and update brand perceptions. These changes are unlikely to be reflected in short-term click traffic, but are likely to be valuable to a brand from a positioning perspective.
5. Pre and Post Purchase effects: Advertising has effects both before and after the purchase. Sometimes this is long before the purchase - when consumers are not consciously selecting products but subconsciously compiling their preferred sets. Sometimes it’s after the purchase and during ownership when consumers are reassured about their brand purchase decisions. This may result in increased future sales and increased brand loyalty, but this cannot be measured by real-time clicks.
6. Accessibility signals: Because online is a distribution channel as well as an advertising medium, its use can send signals about accessibility to consumers. It says “we’re open for business in the digital space”. This was certainly the case with direct response advertising and direct brands where the presence of phone numbers in ads was viewed by consumers as making the company appear more accessible and ready to talk. These accessibility signals are not directly measurable by clicks.
7. Relationship with technology: Advertising online helps to demonstrate how companies relate to digital technology and the internet. By ‘being there’ in the digital space a brand is saying that it values the digital channel as a means of communication and distribution and has the competencies required to participate. Again, a brand attribute which is not measurable by clicks alone.