Small Businesses and Display Ads

Internet display advertising expenditures increased by $2.5bn from $12.33bn to $14.98bn between 2011 and 2012 and is expected to increase further in the coming years, according to research firm eMarketer Inc.  Despite this growth, a lot of this investment seems to be poorly utilized.  YFS magazine has interviewed small business owners and concluded that some do not appear to fully understand the breadth of online advertising and assume display is the only option.  They also tend to pay a steep price for higher trafficked websites for their ads when a more targeted approach would have likely produced better results.

 

To help address these issues, I think one idea is to create an online strategy that has display as one component of an overall approach.  Other areas that we discussed in class, such as search, paid advertising, or using rich media, should also be included in a broader strategy.  For display, though, since a lot of businesses focus on it, there are several areas to think through when developing a strategy.  Two that stand out for me include figuring out where to target your customers and how best to measure the effectiveness of campaigns.

 

In terms of targeting, understanding your customers’ interests and where they might spend time online (especially if it can be related to your product) is a key part to the strategy.  As discussed in class, niche websites that current and potential customers may visit would likely maximize the display’s effectiveness at a better ROI.

 

In terms of measuring impact, analyzing the CTRs on the display ad and the amount of conversions as a result of it is one metric.  Other metrics such as improving brand awareness, increasing traffic to the website, or growing the number of purchases should also be taken into account.  The path to purchasing is not always a linear one, which suggests that using broader measures to analyze the online strategy is imperative.

 

Display ads that we all have seen can be fun and interactive and can help brands expand their customer base.  Throwing ads up on websites that are not constructed for the specific target audience with the hope that people will see it and go to the company’s website is obviously not a well thought-out approach.  For more ideas on building a display strategy, please click here.