Google looks for new ways to encourage ad engagement

In a digital world, pay for clicks and page views are the norm, but is there anyway to tell if the message is actually getting to the user? New online research and studies are trying to create new ways for users to engage in digital advertising that other mediums can’t compete with.

Google is working on a new advertising model that will help to determine the most-effective advertising for online videos. Right now, most online videos have pre-roll ads that appear automatically before or during online videos. There are very high abandonment rates for videos that have the pre-roll ads and advertisers want to know if the audience is actually watching them.

Google will be testing “skippable” pre-roll ads in YouTube videos that will give people the option of clicking the link and skipping the ad, taking them directly to the video. The tests will help to determine if and when people actually watch the videos and makes the advertising more engaging.

The search-engine giant is trying to bring a new advertising model to the digital world, where advertisers would only pay for opt-in engaged views of the ads and completed views of the ad. Advertisers will need to make their ads more engaging to promote more opt-in views by making sure they pay attention to quality and creativity during their campaign.

Google's research notes that high-quality advertisements most likely influence viewers to stay and finish viewing ads three times more than if that same person watched the same ad on television. Online advertisements tend to be a lot shorter and make it easier for the call to action because all the tools that viewers need are at their fingertips.

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