The way of Internet advertising is changing rapidly. We are moving from websites once cluttered with blinking banners that populated Internet real estate into a cyber-generation of positioning. Marketers are realizing very quickly that
Internet customer is much different than a buyer in physical world. The typical Internet shopper has developed following manifesto which motivates him or her to resort to cyberspace:1. Privacy - The ability to shop from home without anyone else knowing what you are doing. 2. Convenience - The list of products available on Internet is more extensive than famed Mall of America in Minnesota 3. Speed - When's last time you waited on a pimple-faced teenager working a cash register when checking out on Internet?
Traditional Internet marketing has not coincided with Internet surfer's manifesto. However, no means of marketing have come as close as pay per click search engine marketing.
In this article we will discuss drawbacks to traditional banner advertising, new rich media advertising, and e-mail advertising. We will follow this up with benefits of pay per click search engine advertising.
1. Traditional Banner Advertising We've all seen them, and then we've all ignored them. The annoying "Punch Monkey and Win!" flashing 468x60 banner at top of website you are visiting. Although in its day this was a highly effective ad, for its novelty and at same time fascination at novelty of Internet on part of those who visited Internet, today we are looking at stark reality that banner ads just are not effective.
Traditional banner advertising violates all motivations of Internet shopper. It intrudes on shoppers privacy, it creates an inconvenience, and it slows shoppers ability to find exactly what they are looking for (if they are even paying attention to ad).
As a shopper on Internet surfs from site to site, or page to page within a site to find what they are looking for, goal is to find their product or service, learn more about this product or service, and learn about other options which will hopefully lead to an informed purchase. Introducing banner advertisements often becomes a distraction, or an annoyance, exact opposite of what any good marketer would like to create. By distracting shopper from their intended goal advertiser succeeds in slowing down their ability to make informed decisions while at same time inconveniencing shopper with information that they cannot use.
In rare instances, a banner advertisement succeeds in aiding a buyer. In fact, industry experts estimate that only 8 people out of 1000 people who are exposed to a banner ad will pursue what that ad has to offer. This does not mean that they will buy...the number of people who buy compared to number of people who visits is an entirely different percentage that does not work in our favor.
All in all, unless banner advertising is done with extreme precision, it will only succeed to further encourage potential buyers to ignore those common place ads.
2. Rich Media Advertising
Youu get to website you want, you just start to surf site, and then its there. Before you can do what you came to this site to do, you are presented with a floating image, maybe with some music, maybe with something moving all way across your screen, or a movie. You are given option to cut this out prematurely with a small 'x' in upper-right hand corner, but be careful not to miss it, otherwise you will lose site you initially inteded to visit.
Rich media is very much like most new graphical ads and new technologies on Internet. It is enjoying highs of a novelty. People are clicking on these ads...but for all wrong reasons. Most people do not click on rich media ads because they genuinely are interested in product or service that they are offering, but rather they click on them because they are "cool". There are no arguments from our camp that these ads are amazing, but they are also one of greatest intrusions to Internet surfer's life on Internet.
The typical Internet user is selfish: he/she wants what they want when they want it. To block screen and prevent them from reading site, or clicking a link, or viewing a picture will cause more people to become greatly annoyed than to cultivate genuine feelings of interest in advertised website.
Again, we have succeeded in teaching Internet users to ignore ads, not to pay attention to them.
Rich media, even moreso than traditional banner advertising, violates Internet surfer. And although this medium is currently enjoying highs of a technological novelty, look for it to quickly drop off in its effectiveness.
