Internet Advertising

There are many ways one can advertise on the internet, and it is important to understand them all!

Types of paid advertisements on the internet:

• Banner advertisements: these are very common on high traffic websites, for example, search engines, portals, music sites, and social media sites. These advertisements include text, pictures, video, or animation.

• Pop up ads: ads that pop up and cover the entire page.

• Advertising on online newsletters: this can be a cheaper option than advertising on webpages.

• Google maps: these are location based advertisements.

• Internet Yellow Pages: the basic ad is free and you pay for more advanced advertisements.

• Adwords: text ads on side of search results on Google.

• Directory Listings: for example, Yahoo directory

• Social Media Ads

• Advertising in video and on video networks

• Product placement in social media games

Objectives of Internet Advertisements

• Branding: create ads that people can see but do not need to take any action. It is usually measured and paid for using cost per impression (CPM).

• Click Thru: expecting customers to click through the advertisement to go to a website. Usually measured and paid using click through rates (CTR) or cost per click (CPC).

• Post Click Action: This is more targeted with the goal to get customers to perform an action beyond just clicking on an ad. The advertisements try to get customers to do things such as purchase a product, download an app or document, play a game, sign up for a newsletter, etc. This is usually measured and paid using Cost per Action (CPA). The action refers to the action that the company looks for the customers to perform.

Who is involved in internet advertising?

• Brand (advertiser): the company looking to advertise their products on a website.

  • examples can be companies such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, or even the local pizza restaurant looking to advertise their products on a website.

• Publisher: the company selling advertising spaces on their website.

  • examples are companies such as Yahoo, weather.com, or Wall Street Journal, looking for people to advertise on their websites.

• Advertising Network: they are intermediaries that match advertisers and publishers. Almost like an "eBay for advertisers". To make the internet advertising process more efficient, there are advertising networks that match thousands of advertisers with thousands of publishers each day.

• Demand Side Platform (DSP) and Supply Side Platform (SSP): these are computer platforms that automate real time bidding process. Brands use demand side platforms and publishers use supply side.