Make Them Click: How to Drive Real Engagement with Your Ads

In digital marketing today, it’s not enough to show your ads to people. What really matters is how they interact with your ads — do they click, watch, like, comment, or share? These interactions are known as ad engagement, and they are one of the most important signs that your content is working.

Whether you are a small business, a startup, or a big brand, you need people to engage with your ads if you want to grow. This article will explain what ad engagement is, why it matters, how to measure it, and — most importantly — how to improve it using proven strategies and tools.

What is Ad Engagement?

Ad engagement means any action a person takes after seeing your digital ad. It can include:

• Clicking a link
  
• Liking or commenting on a social media post
  
• Watching a video ad to the end
  
• Saving or sharing the ad
  
• Filling out a form or answering a question
  

These actions show that people are interested in your ad and want to learn more. Engagement is more than just impressions — it’s about interaction and attention.

Why Ad Engagement Matters

Here’s why engagement is a big deal in digital marketing:

1. Increases Conversions: Ads that people engage with are more likely to lead to sales or leads.
   
2. Lowers Costs: Platforms like Google and Facebook reward high engagement ads by lowering your cost-per-click (CPC).
   
3. Builds Brand Awareness: Likes and shares help spread your brand to new people.
   
4. Provides Insights: Engagement tells you what type of content your audience likes.
   
5. Improves Ad Rankings: High engagement boosts your ad’s visibility (YouTube Help, 2023).
   

According to HubSpot (2023), ads with high engagement are 54% more likely to lead to conversions compared to those with low engagement.

Types of Ad Engagement by Platform

1. Facebook & Instagram

• Includes likes, shares, comments, clicks, saves.
  
• Carousel ads have a 72% higher click-through rate (CTR) than single-image ads (Socialinsider, 2023).
  
• Captioned videos boost engagement by 12%.
  

2. Google Ads

• Key metrics: CTR, bounce rate, conversion rate.
  
• Ads with higher engagement get better Quality Scores, reducing ad cost (WordStream, 2023).
  

3. YouTube

• Focus on views, watch time, likes, and shares.
  
• YouTube boosts ads that keep viewers watching longer (YouTube Help, 2023).
  

4. TikTok

• Engagement = likes, comments, shares, duets/stitches.
  
• Ads using user-generated content get 28% more engagement (Statista, 2023).
  
• Top Metrics to Track Ad Engagement

Metric	Meaning
Click-Through Rate (CTR)	% of people who clicked after seeing your ad
Engagement Rate	% of viewers who interacted with your ad
Bounce Rate	% of people who left your site without action
Conversion Rate	% of users who completed a goal (purchase, form)
Cost per Engagement (CPE)	Amount paid for each like, click, or view
Video Completion Rate	% of viewers who watched your video till the end

For example, a Facebook ad with a CTR of 5% is excellent, while the industry average is around 0.9% (WordStream, 2023).

How to Improve Ad Engagement

Here are the best and easiest ways to make people engage with your ads:

1. Use Strong Visuals

People scroll fast, so your ad image or video must stand out. Use high-quality, bright visuals. Try tools like Canva or Adobe Express to design eye-catching content.

2. Keep Your Message Simple

Avoid long paragraphs. Use short sentences and bold headlines. Focus on benefits, not just features. Example: “Save 20% Today” works better than “Our New Summer Product Collection is Now Available.”

3. Add a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Tell people exactly what to do next:

• “Shop Now”
  
• “Try Free”
  
• “Get Quote”
  
• “Watch More”
  Use action verbs and place the CTA where it’s easy to see.
  

4. Personalise Your Ads

People like content that feels made for them. Use tools like Mailchimp or HubSpot to create audience segments and deliver personalised content based on age, location, or interests.

5. Use Video and Animation

Videos are more engaging than static images. Even a short 15-second video can boost results. Use tools like Lumen5 to create videos quickly from your blog posts or product pages.

6. Try Interactive Elements

Polls, quizzes, sliders, and chat features make ads more fun. Add a Typeform quiz or embed a Tidio chatbot to drive interactions.

7. A/B Test Your Ads

Test two or more versions of your ad. Change the image, headline, or CTA and see what works best. Use tools like Google Optimize or VWO.

8. Retarget Engaged Users

People who engaged once are more likely to come back. Use retargeting ads on Meta Ads Manager or Google Ads to remind them to finish their action.

Case Study: Nike’s High Engagement Campaign

Nike launched an ad called “You Can’t Stop Us” using a split-screen video showing different sports and athletes. The ad was interactive and highly emotional.

• Over 50 million views in a single week
  
• Engagement rate went up by 2.5x
  
• People felt connected to the story, and it helped boost brand loyalty
  

This shows the power of storytelling + visuals + relevance.

Common Mistakes That Hurt Engagement

1. Too Much Text: Crowded ads are ignored.
   
2. No Clear CTA: If people don’t know what to do, they won’t click.
   
3. Poor Visuals: Blurry or dull images look unprofessional.
   
4. Not Mobile-Friendly: Over 70% of ad views are on phones (Statista, 2024).
   
5. Wrong Targeting: Even the best ad fails if it reaches the wrong audience.
   

Tools to Track and Improve Ad Engagement

• Google Analytics – Measures traffic, bounce rate, conversions.
  
• Meta Business Suite – Tracks Facebook/Instagram ad results.
  
• Hootsuite – Tracks engagement across all social media platforms.
  
• BuzzSumo – Shows what content is trending and getting engagement.
  
• SEMrush – Monitors competitor ads and keyword strategies.
  
• What’s Next? Future Trends in Ad Engagement

1. AI-Powered Personalisation

Tools like Persado and Seventh Sense use AI to change ad text and timing based on user behavior.

2. Voice and Conversational Ads

With smart assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, brands are testing voice ads. Tools like Drift and Dialogflow are helping brands build chat-based campaigns.

3. Augmented Reality (AR) Ads

Let people try before they buy — like placing a sofa in their room or testing makeup on their face. Platforms like Snapchat and Facebook now support AR ad formats.

References

• HubSpot. (2023). State of Marketing Report. https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
  
• Socialinsider. (2023). Instagram Engagement Report. https://www.socialinsider.io/blog/instagram-benchmark-report/
  
• Statista. (2023). TikTok engagement rate worldwide 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1336013/tiktok-engagement-rate-worldwide/
  
• Statista. (2024). Share of mobile in digital ad engagement worldwide. https://www.statista.com/statistics/873828/mobile-internet-time-spent-share-worldwide/
  
• WordStream. (2023). Google Ads Benchmarks for Every Industry. https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2023/01/10/google-ads-benchmarks
  
• YouTube Help. (2023). How YouTube’s recommendation system works. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7239739?hl=en