Advertising Media—Internet

Pages24-25

Page 24

The invention of the World Wide Web created a new way to reach out to people—and for business to reach its customers. The World Wide Web is a communications network; as such, it is a natural venue for communicating advertising messages. Early on people needed computer know-how and command of communications protocols to use the Web. In the mid-1990s this began to change rapidly.

In the early 1990s came the first graphical browser. With that and the later spread of high-speed connections to the network, the World Wide Web, the Internet, became an powerful economic engine. The volatility associated with the early days of Internet growth has settled a bit; but fifteen years later it is still a enormous economic and cultural force; it is changing the ways in which we work and communicate.

Advertising on the Internet, online advertising, has seen many ups and downs. Exactly how best to use the Internet as an advertising medium is still a subject of debate. What is certain is that more and more people are using the Internet more and more regularly. The Internet has "the eyeballs." Advertising is about the eyeballs.

Small businesses may have a unique opportunity for advertising success on the Internet. There are many ways to do so. The sophistication of online advertising campaigns has grown with the proliferation of techniques, from banner ads and pop-ups to direct e-mail and paid search terms. The key to a successful campaign is getting the proper mix of techniques.

MEANS OF ADVERTISING ON THE WEB

To get started involves an initial investment. It is the cost of building an online presence, a web page or web site. This is necessary because most Internet advertising involves bringing users to a web site, "generating traffic." The web site itself may consist primarily of a simple presentation of information about a company, its products and services. The site may also be a more interactive display with e-commerce capabilities allowing a visitor to read about and see pictures of products, to place an order or even to purchase and pay for items online. An e-commerce capable site is often referred to as a cyberstore. The cost of building a web site will depend on the complexity of the resulting web site.

The first questions to ask when deciding on the best way to advertise on the web are the same questions one would pose...

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