When launching an advertising campaign on the internet, traders need to consider ways to increase its impact.
On the internet, advertising banners allow companies to increase their visibility by choosing sites corresponding to targeted interests. This form of advertising can represent a significant part of the public relations budget.
Online advertising banners take various standardized formats. The skyscraper (120 x 600 pixels) and the rectangle (180 x 150 pixels) are the best-known. In addition to these traditional formats, online advertising has had to invent new techniques to get companies noticed. We now have pop-up windows, which open up on all or part of the screen when you move the mouse and even interactive video games. With the advent of sites like YouTube, the use of video and viral marketing has developed considerably.
Advertising agencies
Online advertising campaigns are usually handled by specialized companies, i.e. advertising agencies. They act as intermediaries between e-commerce sites (the advertisers) and the owners of the sites on which the advertising will be shown.
The cost for advertisers can be calculated in various ways:
- Cost per thousand impressions (CPM): Pricing is calculated according to the number of times the advertising banner appears on the site.
- Cost per click (CPC): Pricing is calculated according to the number of clicks on the advertisement.
- Cost per lead (CPL): Pricing is calculated according to the number of leads, such as the number of people that sign up for a site or a newsletter.
- Cost per action (CPA): Pricing is calculated according to the number of actions (e.g. sales).
The total price is then divided between the owner of the site and the advertising agency. The advertising agency usually receives a fee of 30% to 60%.
Targeted advertising
Targeting an advertising campaign is much easier on the internet than with a traditional marketing campaign.
An advertising banner can be targeted based on several criteria:
- Context: A banner for garden items will be effective on a gardening site, for example. Context greatly determines the effectiveness of the advertising.
- Internet-user behavior: The message will be shown according to the internet user’s browsing history, based on the traces left by cookies (data on websites visited). This method of advertising is very effective in its targeting, but can have a negative impact, as it is perceived as overly intrusive.
