It’s a common question and I’m sure there are some people that would say, “All of them!”  Just like with print advertising, too few impressions won’t give you the impact you need. One business card ad in your local paper won’t give you the same bang as a full page spread.  Conversely too many impressions can be overkill. Do you really need a full spread, every month to be noticed and convey your message? Probably not.
At BDX we won’t sell a builder more than 30% Share of Voice (SOV) or 30% of total impressions per market. At that level a builder is guaranteed to appear on every page above and below the fold and from the data we’ve seen even at this volume campaigns still perform well. Meaning that performance at 15% is the same as at 30% but with just fewer clicks…

Shortening the Ad Window To Improve Performance

However, we have seen performance suffer on campaigns with too small a SOV if not properly managed. For the BDX that means shortening the window on our smaller buys. We’ve found that we can drive more clicks for our smaller buys by reducing the advertising window to  15-20 days instead of a full 30. It equates to more impressions per user and stronger performance overall.

The Impact of Good Creative

I’ve consistently seen that creative is the strongest driver of performance and even a small campaign can perform well. Once you’ve established the right site and the right message it’s easy to scale.

In Summary – Focus On Frequency

With the right site, high frequency appears to be the right move. We’ve seen a similar trend in our retargeting and the performance of our VAN advertisers (who advertise across a network of vetted real estate websites).  Our retargeting audience is self-qualified and we’ve seen high frequency against narrow windows have very positive results. Builder advertisers on the VAN are successful because in addition to a large SOV these ads reinforce the builder’s listings on those websites which also improves conversion.

For me when testing new sites I think you can learn a lot in a one month flight and a strong SOV. In the end you’ll know where you stand or if you need to tweak your message.  I recently heard of a builder who will cut the number of websites they advertise on by 70% in 2012 choosing to focus on those few that drive the greatest value.

If you have questions about marketing strategies or advertising with BDX contact Thane Tennison, Advertising Manager for the BDX Network.