The effects of website credibility on perceived advertisement credibility

This paper’s main objective is to find a relation between website credibility and perceived advertisement credibility to see if and how it affects advertising effectiveness. The paper also aims to find the combination of website credibility and initial advertisement credibility so that ads are most effective. Different combinations of initial advertisement credibility and website credibility have been tested to check perceived credibility and advertising effectiveness. In an experimental study using a within-subjects design, perceived ad credibility, attitude toward the ad, the attitude toward the brand and purchase intention were measured. Results have shown a positive relationship between website credibility and perceived advertisement credibility. The combination that has been found to make ads most effective is the combination of a high credibility advertisement and a medium or high credibility website. This study contributes to understanding the concept of buying behaviour and it has shown that businesses should avoid the use of low credibility websites as an environment for their advertisements once a high advertisement credibility level has been established.