What Is Advertising? - A Primer For Beginners
You may have noticed the use of ads on websites you visit, and wondered what they are. This post will explore the basics of advertising - from why they are used to how they work - while exploring the history and types of advertising that exist.
We'll look at how companies pay to promote their products via various forms of media, including TV, radio, print media and internet based ads. We'll also examine these various forms in greater detail later in this article.
## 7 Types Of Advertising Strategies
We should note that despite their prevalence, not all ad strategies are effective or even ethical - we'll cover some common pitfalls found with most methods in this article as well.
Below is a visual guide to the major methods often used on the internet today. Note that some of these strategies are also a part of traditional print and video advertising - we'll be focusing on ad types that take advantage of the internet more than anything else.
1. PPC Advertising
PPC stands for pay per click, and it's one of the more popular forms of advertising on the internet today.
Essentially, advertisers pay a fee to have their product or service come up in search engine results when a potential customer types in keywords or phrases relevant to the product / service.
When you search online for 'drones,' you may see Amazon ads at the top of your screen, as well as ads that appear at the right side of your screen (known as 'Sponsored Ads,' and are paid ads).
Here's a video that provides more information on PPC advertising:
2. Banner Ads
This type of ad is found at the top and bottom of many websites, and usually appears in the form of a rectangle or an image, served up via an ad server. banner ads are often used as a way to promote products / services by displaying an image or text that is larger than the default size found on most websites.
Because they are displayed above or below a regular website, ad banners also tend to interrupt your browsing experience - which is why many websites ban them from their pages as a way to create a better overall user experience.
Banner ads are also often used for PPC ads, and appear in the same format. The technical difference with PPC ads is that it's the advertiser who has to pay when the ad appears on your screen.
It's important to remember that banner ads do not pay unless the visitor clicks on them (or they're blocked by AdBlock). Websites can choose to not display the ad for their visitors who don't click - or even block it entirely.
As a result, businesses should not be overly concerned about display ads unless they're spending a lot of money on advertising.
3. Pay Per Call Advertising
Pay per call is yet another form of advertising that often gets mixed up with PPC ads. Pay per call advertising is performed differently than PPC advertising, and we'll go over the differences on this post in greater depth later in the list.
4. Video Ads
Video ads have become increasingly popular because they are more visual than banner ads - allowing companies to show off their products and services much more effectively than traditional banner ads.
Companies are also able to use video ads to promote their products / services effectively as well - videos can be linked with a website, and placed within the main content area, as well.
5. Email Advertising
Email advertising is one of the oldest forms of online advertising - first starting through newsletters, then onto the internet itself. While not as popular as banner ads or video ads, it's still a common way to interact with companies and reach out directly to potential customers.
Ads that appear in emails are often contextual (specific to the product/service being promoted) and include images (in order to provide more detail).
Some email systems send messages to multiple recipients - including the advertiser's list - meaning that all recipients will receive the same message. For example, you may receive an email promotion for a website, or a newsletter promotion with links within it.
6. Display Advertising
Display advertising is also known as traditional ad placements - and can be displayed in magazines, newspapers, on billboards and even on television. Display advertising is also occasionally used on the internet to display paid ads in places they would be more readily visible (such as at the top of search results).
7. PPC Advertising - Key Differences
You may have noticed that online ads often appear similar to PPC ads, but there are a few key differences:
PPC advertising is generally contextual - meaning it only runs whenever a potential customer types in relevant keywords or phrases into the search box. For example, if someone types in 'drones' into a search engine, you may only see an ad for 'drone' on your screen. The only time contextual advertising will appear is when someone types in something relevant to your product or service. Banner ads tend not to be as effective as video ads (often because they're bulky) and emails are still more effective at reaching potential customers. It's usually more effective to use PPC ads, since they're contextual, rather than banner ads. This is because it's much easier to get through a specific ad as opposed to one that doesn't have context. Companies should be careful with PPC advertising though - because if the ad appears on a search engine plus additional sites that are spammy, or are known scams or frauds (such as fake websites or videos), it might not be as effective.
Conclusion:
No matter which message a company is trying to communicate, they must be as concise and direct with their messaging as possible - otherwise, it's likely that the advertising will not work well. The goal of most advertising is to get potential customers to choose your product over others through any means possible - which means that companies must think about what the customer needs, and not just about why their product / service would be better than others out there.
PPC Advertising: What Works (and What Doesn't)
Pay per click advertising has been popular for a number of years now, and as far as internet marketing goes, it's a near-perfect solution for many businesses.