Online Ads

                     Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, interstitial ads, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.

Online advertising is simply advertising that is done over the Internet. For those interested in such a strategy, there are a number of options and some have found a way to advertise online through things that do not appear to be traditional advertising mediums. While the effects of online advertising are still being studied, it is a rapidly-growing segment of the advertising dollar.

As more people turn to the Internet as a source for daily news, socialization and communication, more advertising dollars are likely to be spent. In fact, in a period of five years, from 2006 to 2010, online advertising is expected to increase from 6 percent of all money spent for advertising, to 12 percent or more. That could signify the beginning of a fundamental shift in how all advertising dollars are spent.

Online advertising is also quickly becoming a serious force for other types of advertising media to deal with. Newspapers and magazines all over the world are facing a number of different challenges, including loss of ad revenue. Many attribute some of those struggles to online advertising, which is not only taking a share of the advertising, but a share of the audience as well. This is especially true of the young adult male audience, which is a target demographic of many advertisers.

However, newspapers and magazines are not the only media dealing with lower revenue. The remarkable thing about online advertising is its ability to cut across the spectrum. For example, online ads can look like television commercials or print ads. The possibilities are limitless. Further, because of hypertext linking, advertisers have the power to transport potential buyers directly to their site, or a site selling their products.

In some cases, online advertising may not look like advertising at all. There was one case where a video was put on an online video sharing Web site supposedly showing popcorn being popped by radiation put out from mobile phones. While this was later revealed as a hoax, the company that put the video online received a substantial amount of free, or nearly free, publicity. The company sold headset devices meant to help limit an individual's exposure to radiation.

Online advertising is also appealing to some advertisers because, with some types of ads, there is no pay unless there are results. With click-through advertising, the advertiser only pays if a user clicks on the ad. This type of strategy can make advertising very cost effective, especially for those who do not have large advertising budgets.

--Types of online advertising--

As is the case with any kind of advertising, online advertising aids you in:

*Selling more of your product/service

*Notifying buyers of your new product/service, or promotional offer

*Spreading your ideas about a certain topic

*To increase brand awareness

And unlike any other form of advertising, online advertising is highly measurable. There are several ways through which you can measure ad success such as click-through rate, page impressions, cost per sale, etc.

For online advertising you will usually need to buy space in the high-traffic websites, to post your ad. You can also do ad-exchange with some websites. This article talks about some of the most popular types of online advertising.

::Banner Ads ::

Banner advertising was the first kind of advertising ever done on the net. A banner can highlight your product/service/offer and by clicking on it the user will be taken to your website, where you can create a suitable landing page to provide his further information. Banner spaces are usually sold by impressions, or banner views, but it is sometimes sold by click-thru, when you pay only when the user clicks on the banner.

To post a banner ad, you can do either or all of the following:

*Banner exchange where another website displays your ad in exchange of you displaying for them

*Pay publisher sites to post your banner

*Pay a banner network to post the banner ad on a number of publisher sites

::Pop-up Ads::

It's the thing of the past now. With a variety of pop-up blockers available freely, it makes no sense in investing in this form of advertising as it irritates the viewer.

::Floating Ads::

These ads appear when you first go to a webpage, and they "float" over the page for five to 30 seconds. While they are on the screen, they obscure your view of the page you are trying to read, and they often block mouse input as well. These ads appear each time that page is refreshed.

Floating ads are popular for several reasons:

*They grab the viewer's attention and cannot be ignored

*They are animated They have audio/video content like TV ads

*They can take up the entire screen, therefore from a branding standpoint, they are much more powerful than a banner ad or a sidebar ad

*They have a high click-through rate of about 3 percent

However, many users get highly irritated because of these ads.

::Interstitial Ads::

Interstitial pages are a form of advertisement on the web that appears between web pages that the user requests. Because interstitials load in the background, they are a preferred way of delivering ads that contain large graphics, streaming media, or applets.

::Unicast Ads::

A unicast ad is basically a TV commercial that runs in the browser window. It has enriched audio/video content. The ads can last anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds. These ads have similar branding power as a TV commercial. However, a unicast ad offers something that TV ads cannot -- the ability to click on the ad for more information. These ads are getting very effective, as the average click-through rate is 5%

::Takeover Ads::

Viewers visiting the website will see a large ad when they first come, and then the continuity is maintained by reiterating the same message throughout the site in the form of banners, side bars or buttons. The approach works very well for branding because the brand is visible to viewers throughout the visit to the site. Click-through rates are also high.

::Contextual Ads::

Contextual advertising is a type of online advertising commonly used for content-based websites. With contextual advertising, targeted ads appear based on the page's actual content. First, a contextual advertising system scans the text of a webpage for keyword phrases. Then, the system returns specific, targeted ads based on the content people are viewing. This is becoming very popular as the ads can be targeted based on the users' interests.

There are many other ways in which you can advertise like embedding your ad/brand in online games, chat rooms, etc. Rich media interactive ads can also be creatively used in a lot of different ways. Once you get started - you'll be able to explore great opportunities in this area.

--Advantages and disadvantages--

Internet advertising can expose a small business to customers all over the world. This would be far more difficult and expensive to achieve with conventional forms of advertising. There are, however, demographics that it can't reach, making it better suited for some products and services than for others. When used for the right products and in the right way, it has the potential to reach more customers for less money than any other form of advertising.

::History::

While online advertisers once had to go to websites and ask to advertise their business or products, today it is far easier to advertise on a large number of sites. Companies such as AdSense and Blogvertise provide one place to go and place ads that will be placed on a number of websites.

::Geography::

Any size business can reach a world-wide audience with online advertising. However, it is possible to spend money on advertising only to have it seen by the wrong demographic or by people in countries where the service or product is not available.

::Types::

Pay-per-click ads are inexpensive. The advertiser doesn't pay unless someone clicks on the ad. It is possible, however, for people to click on the ad out of curiosity without having any intention to buy.

::Advantage::

A major advantage of online advertising is that it allows potential customers to click on links to learn more about what is being advertised. This is something that TV commercials and newspaper ads can't provide.

--Considerations--

Senior citizens are not online in the same numbers as younger generations. Products and services that are geared toward them may not be successfully seen by this demographic if online advertising is the primary advertising method.