DMB2B - INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT31 January 2020

Case Study :
HCL Technologies, pushing the billion dollar website IVEY Publishing, ISB, Case
Study No. 16673 , (21 Oct 2016)
Shreya
2018PGP355

Assignment Questions
Below is an exhibit from the case study. The next three questions are based on
data given in the table below ( Your analysis need not take into account any
information given in the case study).

HCL Tech’s “Display (% of overall visits) is 0.53” and is the highest amongst its
competitors, and is the only parameter on which it scores the highest amongst its
competitors. (‘Display’ means Dislplay Ads – these are image ads)
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Q1 – 15 Marks

 Without considering any additional information, what do you think could

be the various probable reasons for this parameter being better than all
its competitors?

A1 . Definition of a Display Ad-

A display ad, also known as a banner ad, is a form of online paid advertising that is
typically a designed image or a photo and copy. Viewers can then click on the
image with the promotion to then be taken to the corresponding landing page.

Display ads function differently than text ads because they aren’t found in search
results. They can be spotted on websites and can feature interactive displays or
some type of animation to engage the user.

Retargeting can also be used for these ads. For example, on ecommerce or
shopping site a user may place something in his or her cart and then leave the site
without purchasing. Ads can then be used to advertise exactly what that user
placed in his or her cart to get them to complete the purchase that they left
before.

The major reasons could be as follows-

 Targeting- Better targeting of audiences to the right demography and

geography at the right time slot. To strategically place the ad somewhere
on the page. Display ads focus majorly on brand visibility and customer
awareness.
 Right area to display- Selection of right set of websites to display the ads.
People in the target persona segment often visit websites of similar
information available. If this particular nature of browsing behavior can be
targeted maybe that’s how HCL was able to achieve that.
 Leveraging emotional triggers through the ads or may be using current
humorous content. Many agencies offer very low CPM (cost-per-

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 impression) rates, meaning that a successful display advertising campaign
will be very cost-effective in the long run.
 Interest targeting - There are certain targeting options that aren’t available
through search marketing. These include topic and interest targeting
and remarketing. You can also reach specific demographics such as gender
and age.
 Attractive discounts on first transaction- By selecting relevant host sites
and keywords, marketers know that the people seeing their advertisements
will be within the target demographic. This allows more control and better
targeting than most other marketing methods.
 Attractive choice of images and colors based on the demographic data
research for those audiences- Eye catching imagery to grab users’
attention. Strategically locate it on the landing page or at Facebook or at
Google display Ads.
 Use of morally shocking content in image banners - that draw a lot of
attention for example an IBM ad speaking about climate change and how
IBM facilities are turning to zero emission facilities.
 Better precision targeting – There are certain targeting options that aren’t
available through search marketing. These include topic and interest
targeting and remarketing. You can also reach specific demographics such
as gender and age.

Q2- 5 Marks

 Does the fact that it ranks the highest in “Display (% of overall

visits) necessarily indicate superior Digital Marketing? Why or Why not?

 A2 No, the highest display hits don’t necessarily imply superior digital
marketing because the ultimate goal of any display campaign is usually to
increase conversion rate. As the exhibit data shows, HCL has the second
highest bounce rate (49.46%) which is just one 1.5% less than the industry
highest. This implies that their digital marketing campaign is half successful
as intended. High bounce rate implies that their target web page. Does not
cater to the need of the audience or the display ads demonstrate
something which is not found in the landing page.

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 Another reason why display ads are not superior is because they tends to
have a lower Click through rates (CTR) than search ads.
 Display Ads also fall prey to certain paid and free ad blocking tools available
in abundance. So display ads cannot guarantee that the user had paid
attention to the ad.
 Past analysis has proved that display ads also result in low conversion rates.
When users see the ad they aren’t actively looking for the particular
products or services targeted, so they may not be ready to buy. Display ads
are more suitable for long sales processes than for selling high volumes.

Q3.
20 Marks.

HCL Tech’s “ESTIMATED VISITS : 270,000” are the least among all its
competitors. Without any additional information (or information from the case
study) what are all the possible reasons you can think of for this situation?

A3. Possible reasons for low estimated traffic are:

I. Lack of best SEO practices leading to non-usage of better key words that -
are relevant in the industry or what people are actually looking for - Build
backlinks for better travelling through the website. Target long tail key
words. Use a lot of popular keywords on the website landing page and or
pages of the website. Avoid duplication of content with uniqueness of
content. Optimize your site loading speed. Usage of lightweight themes and
CDN. Improve the sites UI UX and keep constant influx of interesting
content.
II. Lack of mobile friendly website - The website should have a responsive
design. Usage of adaptive design and separate mobile pages. Inclusion of
viewport meta tags. Make button size large enough to work on phone.
Compress your images and CSS. Regular performing of mobile testing.
III. Less number of blogs or poor quality blogs that do not have hyperlinks –
Bring in famous influential bloggers to write about your sites products and
services. Remove poor quality blogs and bring in quality blogs with
interesting content.

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IV. Lack of content sharing options on social media- Post the content on
social media. Can target certain influencers to increase the brand image
and value of HCL’s offering. Start email marketing encourage feedback with
regular follow ups and start a Guest blog. Intensive use of hash tags on the
social media posts.
V. Poorly performing website, speed – Increase the website space, enable
compression, reduce redirects, Minify CSS JavaScript and HTML, use a
content distribution network, optimize images, work on leveraging of
browser caching. Improvement in server response time. Content
distribution networks (CDNs), also called content delivery networks, are
networks of servers that are used to distribute the load of delivering
content. Essentially, copies of your site are stored at multiple,
geographically diverse data centers so that users have faster and more
reliable access to your site
VI. Less number of backlinks- Increase the number of backlinks. Backlinks from
complementary businesses or industry influencers will not only get your
business in front of a larger audience, but it will also drive qualified traffic
to your website. In addition, Google picks up on backlinks and will increase
its trust in your business if it sees other trusted sites pointing to yours.

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