CTRs may be low, but the post almost ignores impressions, which are much harder to quantify but still having some value[0]. Of course, with the proliferation of small devices, ad plug-ins, and the general 'banner ad blindness' of a population that is increasingly familiar with the Internet, it's all probably still dropping in value.
I disagree with those who assume it's all useless because they've never personally clicked on any ads ("After all it’s a $16 Billion market. Nobody would spend that much money, without any realistic returns"), but the trends are also pretty clear. Sometimes I feel like retargeting is the last great scheme to squeeze more conversion out of the whole model. But there will probably be at least a couple more...
I agree about the impressions point. High CTR or not, the Ad is indeed shown to the user, and to look it form a totally different PoV, the low CTR ads mean relatively low CPMs (i.e. eCPM, assuming CPC to be low). If looked from a pure branding or impression perspective, this might be desirable (although I'm not saying low CTR is good for the publisher OR the advertiser).
I disagree with those who assume it's all useless because they've never personally clicked on any ads ("After all it’s a $16 Billion market. Nobody would spend that much money, without any realistic returns"), but the trends are also pretty clear. Sometimes I feel like retargeting is the last great scheme to squeeze more conversion out of the whole model. But there will probably be at least a couple more...
[0]http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/10487-view-through-attributi...