Thus, an effective website communicates to it's audience and, oftentimes, audience communicates back. In other words, an effective website is defined simply in a single sentence: it communicates well with it's intended audience. Period.

Now, if your intended audience is people who need a certain kind of widget, and you get those people to purchase your widgets, then your website is a success.

It does not matter if "non-target" audience doesn't get communication (and hence does not purchase). They are not target!

Now, folded into this equation is matter of ethics. In order for a society to exist and it's members to prosper, rules are agreed upon for civilized conduct. Thus, you can expect that you can drive down street without getting a rock through your window or a bullet in your back (at least in California). Civilized people have agreed that this is inappropriate behavior.

There is an even higher plain of ethics, where you decide to follow a code which is "higher" than that agreed upon by society. It is very interesting that there is a direct correlation between a person's ethics and his long term success. More ethical people tend to survive better than less ethical people (in long term). I am not referring just to money here (although that is part of equation). This is overall quality of life. While Howard Hughes certainly was very rich, for example, I do not believe that in later part of his life anyone could claim he was happy - his final years struck me as miserable. He was highly unethical, and this caught up with him.

So questions come down to: do you communicate effectively to your target audience, and do you present this communication in an ethical manner?

As people get more accustomed to online advertising, they are becoming more vocal as to why one ad appeals, while others are earning cold shoulder.

According to a survey conducted by Jupiter, a globally recognized resource on ecommerce, most winners and losers have a number of things in common.

And The Winners Are...

According to survey, winning ads:

*Include targeted information. A vast majority (40%) of those surveyed stated that they continue to use Internet as an information resource.

Consider packaging your ad within free information, perhaps by presenting your ad as a resource box at end of a free report. Or weaving examples throughout, encouraging readers to refer to your website for more detail.

*Include statistics. Numbers work, as long as they are realistic. A claim, backed by statistics, tends to be more believable.

*Keep their length appropriate for offer being presented. More information must be provided for higher ticket items, or items that require a great deal of consideration (buying a house, for example). While other ads, that focus on more simple products or services, can be shorter.

*Provide a number of benefits. There's that word again, benefits. It's key to success online, and you'll see it again and again.

Benefits answering 'what's in it for me?' question are far more persuasive than features. Benefits speak to emotions. And vast majority of sales have an emotional element involved.

Make sure you address in your ad how your product or service will fulfill a need, a want, sooth a concern or fear, solve their problem, etc.