10

Display Advertising

DISPLAY ADVERTISING is the use of online display ads (also known as banner ads) to generate leads by posting them on websites that are frequented by the ad’s target audience or that have content related to the ad.

Display advertising is the most widely used form of digital marketing. As I mentioned before, display advertising is the next step in evolution from print ads and outdoor advertising. The popularity of display ads is a direct result of the popularity of print ads. Many companies have shifted their advertising focus from print and outdoor ads to online display ads because their target audience is spending more time online. Today, display advertising represents the largest percentage of marketing budget that is spent outside of traditional advertising.

Display advertising is also the oldest form of online advertising. Online display ads first appeared in the mid-1990s with the creation of Web browsers and graphical user interfaces. What’s interesting about display advertising is how it has evolved over time, just as the Internet and the digital world have evolved. Display advertising was originally used as an online brand-building tactic, but it has gradually evolved into a lead-generation tool. This makes display advertising unique among the tactics discussed in this book. All the other tactics (such as direct mail, e-mail marketing, etc.) have always been lead-generation tactics.

As I explained in Chapter 5, it’s very hard to measure the effect that print ads (such as magazine ads) or outdoor ads (such as billboards) have on a customer. You can never be sure how many people have seen the ad, or how many bought the product as a result of seeing it. But in the Internet age, advertisers have combined online display ads with technologies that allow viewers to have an interactive experience with the ad. In addition, advertisers have added new technologies that track the number of clicks an ad receives. This gives advertisers a measurable result for each display ad. Thanks to this combination, online display ads have evolved into a powerful lead-generation tactic.