Helen M. Overland

Beginners Guide to Online Advertising Types

Types of Online Advertsing:

• Banner Ads - 468 x 60 pixel ads that can appear at the top or the bottom of the page. This ad was originally highly sought-after, then avoided at all costs, now possibly growing in popularity again
  Cost: Usually paid by each thousand displays (CPM)
  Pros: Good for branding and getting the message in front of customers eyes
  Cons: Does not usually convert directly to sales - sales occur at a later date based on customer recall
  
• Leaderboards - Long ads that usually appear at the top of the page
  Cost: Usually paid by each thousand displays (CPM)
  Pros: A large flashy ad that customers will find hard to ignore
  Cons: May not convert directly to sales well. Customers will soon learn to ignore this ad type
  
• Skyscrapers - Tall, thin ads that usually appear on the right side of the page
  Cost: Usually paid by each thousand displays (CPM)
  Pros: A large flashy ad that customers will find hard to ignore
  Cons: May not convert directly to sales well. Customers will soon learn to ignore this ad type
  
• Text Ads - A text link to your site, sometimes with a short amount of text
  Cost: Varies - cost per thousand displays, cost per period, cost per click, cost per lead, cost per sale
  Pros: Customers trust text ads more than banner ads and so this ad converts directly to sales much better. It can also help with your google ranking
  Cons: Little branding opportunity. Cost per period links (the most common) have no guarantee of success
  
• Page Sponsorship - A "Brought to You By" mention on a page
  Cost: Usually paid by the period
  Pros: If correctly targeted, this can help convince those hard-to-convert customers that you are the company to buy from. This may present excellent branding opportunities
  Cons: No guarantee this method will convert to clicks
  
• Newsletter Sponsorship - A "Brought to You By" mention in a newsletter sent to subscribers
  Cost: Usually a cost per mailing
  Pros: If properly targeted, this can raise awareness of your brand with your target market. Depending on the quality of the subscriber base, it can also convert directly to sales very well. If the newsletter is archived online, you get a bonus link and google boost for free.
  Cons: No guarantee this method will convert to clicks. If the list isn't maintained well, there is a chance your link could show up in a spam report or block
  
• Paid Listings - Inclusion in a directory for a cost
  Cost: Usually paid by the term (generally by the year)
  Pros: If the directory is relevant and has good traffic, this can directly result in sales
  Cons: No guarantee the listing will ever be seen by prospective customers
  
• PPC - Pay Per Click advertising. Usually a link next to search results.
  Cost: As it sounds, a cost every time a visitor that clicks on the link
  Pros: This method can result in extremely cost effective direct sales
  Cons: This can be expensive with little return if not managed carefully
  
• Pop-Ups - A window that opens in a visitors browser, over or under the webpage they are viewing
  Cost: Generally a cost per thousand
  Pros: Harder for the customer to ignore
  Cons: Customers generally find them irritating, and some consider them spam. Many surfers are using software that blocks pop-ups
  
• Interstitial Ads - Ads that appear as a visitor travels from one page to another. The visitor usually has to click on a "continue" link to get to their destination
  Cost: Generally a cost per thousand
  Pros: Visitor is much more likely to look at the ad, and to look at it for longer than a banner ad
  Cons: Some visitors may find this annoying