How often do you click on an online display ad and when you do what drives you to do so? CrowdScience conducted a study to answer those two questions – how often and why? What they found was that over the past six months, more than half of all internet users clicked on or interacted with some form of online advertising.

Age was a factor in whether the user clicked on an ad. 76% of internet users who did interact with an online ad were ages 55 and older while only 58% were under 24. However, just because someone doesn’t click directly onto the ad doesn’t mean it isn’t having some influence on them. The study showed that more than 75% of users between ages 25 and 55 had actively searched for a company or visited their website after just viewing the ad. The reasons for not clicking on an ad varied by age and gender. Users 25-44 were the least trusting of online advertising in general with one-quarter of them fearing a virus – all the more reason to have legitimate looking ads.

What does that mean? That online advertising works in a two ways. Immediate interaction and delayed interaction; both of which are effective in getting the advertisers message across. Because ads are influential even if passively acknowledged advertisers need to be careful with their positioning, message and user experience. For example a liquidus rich media bannerlink ad featuring a cover page with a direct on-point message and high-quality vehicle videos for an auto dealership is more likely to have long term influence than a generic display ad which has limited interactivity and shopping options, poor brand imagery and a suspect call to action. Pretty simple.

It is important know that dynamic, interesting ads go a long way to engage users but even if they don’t click doesn’t mean the message won’t stick.