Spreading Your Message through Online Advertising

Written by selva on December 16th, 2009

Standard Advertising Attributes

Online advertising is full of acronyms and industry-specific words that will be covered. Ultimately, when terminology is put aside, advertising boils down to three different sections: the ad media, distribution, and payment.

Types of Ads

Web content is flexible and, of course, so are the choices of ads. Let’s explore the most common types.

Display Ads

Display ads, or banner ads, are images that contain a marketing message and link to your landing page. Banner ads have been around since 1994, when AT&T advertised on HotWired with a banner that read: “Have you ever clicked your mouse right HERE? YOU WILL.”

Text Ads

Text ads are any paid advertisement that uses hyperlinked text to link to a landing page. Text ads are typically comprised of a title, a short description, and a link.

Rich Media or Flash Ads

You’ve most likely seen a rich media ad—some of them can be really annoying. These ads are usually created in Flash or JavaScript, and can feature video, interactivity, and even gameplay.

Video Ads

A video ad is a form of display ad that when clicked, plays a video. There is usually a call to action in the video, and clicking again takes the visitor to the ad’s landingpage. Video ads are excellent ways to show product reviews or demonstrations.

Popups and Popunders

Popup ads open in a new window on top of the current browser window, while a popunder appears underneath. Sometimes popup ads (and popunder ads) are just image or video ads, but they can take other forms. Popups can be full web pages, and can include video, rich media, or a contact form.

Ways to Purchase

And if you’d had enough of the amount of terms and acronyms already, the advertising industry has come up with a way to confuse you even more! There are several different ways ads can be displayed to visitors.

CPM—Cost per Mille

Under the cost per mille model, you pay a flat fee for every thousand impressions, regardless of whether your ad gains any clicks or conversions. CPM has been a common fee structure for some time. Just to add to the confusion, Mille sounds like it might be short for million, but it’s actually the Latin term for a thousand.

CPC—Cost per Click

CPC click is the cost per (each) click of an ad. With this model, you only pay when a user actually clicks your ad and is taken to your landing page.

CPA—Cost per Action

CPA is the cost per action. With this model, you only pay when a web site visitor completes a designated task, such as signing up for a free trial or making a purchase. CPA is sometimes referred to as Cost per Conversion or Cost per Acquisition.

AJS Promotional Media provides Search Engine marketing (SEM) is an instant gratification advertising campaign. You can set up a Google Adwords campaign in half an hour – and often have your advertisements running within the hour. Try that with any other advertising medium! You don’t have to make any changes to your website. You don’t have to know how your website is built. And best of all, you only pay when your advertisement is clicked on, not when it is shown.

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