Online Advertising
Internet Advertising
Written by Stefan Martinovic for Gaebler Ventures
Internet advertising is a great way to advertise your business, even if you don't have a website.
Whether your company has a website or not, internet advertising can be a valuable contributor to the success of your business.
Clearly, if your company has a home on the web, internet publicity can generate more traffic to your site and improve customer product knowledge.
However, if your business operates locally or via the telephone, you can also use internet advertising to your advantage by increasing exposure to another group of potential clientele.
Unlike print and other media advertising where ads are found in a concrete format, the technology of internet advertising allows for advertising to be carried out in multiple forms.
Pop Up Ads
The most notorious internet advertising format is undoubtedly the pop up ad. Rising to popularity with the advent of the internet, the pop up ad provides advertisers an intrusive, unavoidable way to get a message to consumers.
It operates by opening a new internet window containing an advertisement as a link on a particular site is clicked. Once the new window is opened, the user has but no choice to view the ad.
Pop up ads are viewed as an annoyance to internet users at times, and their presence on the internet has been downgraded somewhat due to the introduction of new software that blocks unauthorized pop up windows.
While these new software systems were designed mainly to eliminate spam-type pop ups such as those from online casinos and mortgage lenders, many established companies incorporate pop up advertising in their overall internet advertising schemes. Pop up ads allow you a full window with which to get your message across to consumers and offer one of the highest click-through rates of all online ads.
Due to the formatting of these ads, these ads are generally best suited to businesses who can offer a click-through to their company website.
Banner Ads
Banner ads are another type of popular internet advertising that are frequently used to promote small businesses. Banner ads contain an image, which may or may not be linked, that provides a desired message. Banner ads can be used to create consumer awareness of a particular product, or provide a link to a company's website by clicking on the image.
Banner ads are generally viewed as less intrusive than pop up ads, and are merely situated within the formatting of a host website, typically at the top of the page.
Placing banner ads on a host website that contains a related interest can help to draw in an audience of users who are more likely to view and absorb the content of the ad.
Banner ad placement and formatting must be negotiated with the owner of the host site, and many times is arranged as part of an online advertising partnership.
Search Engine Pay-Per-Click Advertising
The easiest way to start advertising on the web is to open an account with one of the popular search engine companies, like Google or Yahoo. They make it easy for you to create ads that will be displayed when their users search for a phrase that is relevant to your business.
Ingeniously, they also have now partnered with websites across the web to get your advertising visible, not just in the search engine results but on web pages everywhere that touch on what you sell.
It's a very effective way to advertise because you don't have to negotiate with hundreds of website owners.
How to Advertise on the Web
When choosing an internet advertising format, keep in mind that exposure is key.
While click-through rate may not be as high in some instances, getting your message across to the maximum number of relevant consumers can result in an enhanced bottom line for your company.
Stefan Martinovic has an extensive body of work across the financial services, manufacturing, and retail industries. He is currently pursuing an MBA in Management and Entrepreneurship at The College of William & Mary.
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