Clickbait Websites Cost Advertisers $115 Million, A Report Finds

According to a recent study, programmatic display and video advertisements on clickbait websites accounted for over one-tenth of advertisers' spending, significantly lowering their return on investment (ROI) as privacy concerns and financial constraints increase.
SIA Team
July 26, 2022

According to a recent study, programmatic display and video advertisements on clickbait websites consume approximately one-tenth of marketers’ budgets, lowering their return on investment while increasing budget and privacy concerns.

This week’s publication of Ebiquity’s Tackling Responsible Media study coincides with budget cuts and belt-tightening caused by modifications to monitoring and privacy policies, shifting consumer preferences, and rising prices.

Ebiquity, a company that analyzes media investments, discovered that from January 2020 to May 2022, clickbait and made-for-advertising (MFA) websites took $115 million of their clients’ $1.47 billion ad spend.

This represents 7.8 percent of their clients’ advertising budgets, rising to 9.8 percent for US clients. According to a sample of $750,000 in advertising, only ten marketers spent more than $1 million on “worst offender domains” on the Global Disinformation Index.

In most cases, poor user experience and low impact impressions result in little return. Appearing on these sites can also have a long-term negative impact on the brand experience. It may also include boycotts and other forms of negative publicity, which are not always easy to overcome.

Sustainable advertising, according to Ebiquity’s report, would increase the likelihood of purchase by 84%. Advertisers must take into account more than just customers and spammy websites.