How To Advertise Online?

Knowing the various types of display options and payment models available are

all very well, but you might be wondering how to put this all together as you

plan your campaign. The very first thing you need to determine when planning

display advertising is the goal of your campaign. Are you embarking on a

branding campaign, or is your primary focus direct response?

Having determined the goals of your campaign, identify the key performance

indicators (KPIs) that will let you know if you are succeeding.

Online advertising is an acquisition channel. It does not require that users

actively seek an interaction, as PPC advertising and email marketing do. So, it

is crucial that the adverts are placed in front of the audience that is most likely

to convert.

Investigate your target audience – what websites are they likely to be visiting?

It is likely that the type of creative you may use and the payment model you

follow will largely be determined by the websites that you wish to advertise on.

Niche websites with a smaller, but likely more targeted, audience will most

likely charge a flat rate for display advertising, or a CPA rate. They could

probably be flexible in display options that they give you, but you will need to

take into account their bandwidth costs if they serve the adverts.

High traffic websites with a broad audience will usually charge on a CPM basis.

They will broker their advertising inventory through an advertising network, or

even a number of advertising networks.

Knowing your goals, your target audience and the format of your adverts, it’s

time to brief your creative team to ensure that you have the optimum banners

for your campaign.

Your online adverts will need to:

Attract attention

Convey a message

Entice action

All advertising needs an appropriate landing page. Whether this involves

creating a microsite, or merely ensuring users are coming through to an

existing page on the website, ensure that clickthroughs are not being wasted.

Generally, sending advertising traffic to your home page is not a good idea as

it leaves the user deciding where to go next.

Animation attracts attention, but be wary of being one of seven animated

banners on a website. Banners should not be considered in isolation, but

rather in the context of the website on which they will appear.

Web users respond well to being told what to do, and the content of an online

advert should be concise and directional. Examples include:

• “phone now for the best deals on insurance”

• “click here for fast home delivery”

• “donate now”