How did the coronavirus crisis shake up online advertising prices?

The current crisis has hit almost everyone and everything. We looked at the overall figures in Google Ads and Facebook Ads. We compared average prices across various segments, specifically average cost per click (CPC) and cost per thousand impressions (CPM).

The analysis was run on a data sample from 10 February to 19 April 2020, covering more than 850 million ad impressions and almost 13.4 million clicks in total. We gathered the data together with the agencies Visibility and Basta Digital, so as to build a fuller and more objective picture of how average prices moved.

Facebook Ads

With ads on Facebook and Instagram the price fell really markedly. At present you can reach far more people on these networks at the same price as before the crisis. Facebook Ads primarily charges advertisers for impressions and it is display advertising. So the most relevant metric here is cost per thousand impressions (CPM).

The largest fall in CPM came at the point when the first case of infection with the new coronavirus COVID-19 was confirmed in Slovakia — as much as 21.1%. The decline continued afterwards, but average costs per thousand impressions have now settled, even if they are still 36% lower than in February.

Google Display

On the Google display network there is a clear downward trend in average cost per click, even though the cost per thousand impressions remains at a similar level. That is mainly because most campaigns and advertisers favour buying clicks over buying impressions, as with more traditional display campaigns and Facebook Ads.

With banner advertising too, the decline has halted and is now rising again. That is down to marketing strategies being reconsidered and temporarily paused campaigns being restarted, to entirely new banner ads responding to current subjects, and to specific demand from internet users.

Google Search

In search the situation is similar, and the downward trend in average price is visible mainly after the strict state measures were announced. In recent weeks, though, the price is rising again, which is down to search campaigns being redeployed and to increased competition as online selling is prioritised. When we analysed the individual verticals, the price fell most markedly in travel and services.

Once again my thanks to friends at Basta Digital and Visibility for supplying the data. Do you track changes in average costs per impression or per click in your own accounts, or do you focus first on metrics such as revenue, profit, orders or reach?