Advertising on the Web - Part 1 - Why do it?
The first question you should ask yourself before advertising on the Web is why you're even doing it in the first place. If you're writing up a media plan just because you've always wanted to see your ads on other people's sites, that's fine. Most sites won't need any more than that to feel good about taking your money.
But here are a few other reasons you might be considering advertising your brand online:
Online advertising offers you the chance to microtarget your advertising to almost any kind of consumer you might want to reach. Right now you can target ads based on the user's browser (and version!), platform, domain (specific domains as well as the TLDs - .edu, .mil, and so on), and other specifications. In the years to come, it'll only get more specific - and even now, many sites and advertising networks are preparing to offer very specific demographic and psychographic categories for ad targeting that almost no other advertising media can offer. You say you only want to reach women between the ages of 25 and 40 who make more than US$40,000 a year? Soon you'll be able to do just that.
Since the Web is such a gloriously wacky ball of ephemera, you have almost unlimited opportunities to place your advertising message alongside highly relevant content that jibes with what your audience likes, from microchips to microbrews and everything in between.
The Web audience is also a highly desirable one. With the latest estimates counting 13 percent of US residents online, you're still reaching the cream of the crop: according to a recent Business Week report, over 40 percent of the Web audience makes over US$50,000 a year.
Lastly, online ads offer you an almost overwhelming array of tracking opportunities. You can see, often on a daily basis, which ads are getting great response and which are stiffing - and this information will help you get the most for your marketing dollar, both online and off.
