ROI of Web Advertising, Online Advertising and Marketing, Internet ads

25
APR
2013

Web Advertising Gives Higher and Faster ROI

Posted by : admin in Web Advertising ()Comments

Last year Strategy Analytics predicted in their Global Advertising Forecast “global advertising spending is expected to grow by 4.9 percent in 2012 to $465.5 billion.” This chart gives a clearer comparison of TV, print and online advertisements spend. Globally, online was expected to grow at 12.8% compared to 5.0% TV and 0.5% print ads.

The same sentiment and view was echoed by Nielsen.com. They stated that “internet advertising saw the biggest increases.”

Research agency PwC has predicted that global spending on web advertising will reach around $ 188 billion by 2016.

As recently as December 2012, research site Marketcharts.com forecasted that “Global Online Ad spending will exceed print by 2015.” While other media like newspapers, magazines, TV or radio would be more or less stagnant, it is Internet that is predicted to grow steadily every year.

Closer to home, Internet and Mobile Association of India last year stated that the Indian online advertising market will grow by 54%! (See Chart)

Internet’s influence on our purchases is undoubtedly increasing by the day and this trend is not restricted to any particular geographic location. This Nielsen research says it all.

The terms Web Advertising/ Internet Advertising or Online Advertising are used interchangeably. It basically means marketing and promoting products using Internet and the World Wide Web and communicating more effectively with a specifically profiled group of prospects and customers having higher probability of conversion.

Look around you. There is a rapid growth in marketers of companies from cross section of industries tapping the web to advertise their products and services. Banking, insurance, other financial products, travel, books, music, electronic gadgets, household items, apparels, medicines, healthcare, gifting ideas are all flocking towards the web for greater visibility and conversion.

How to Advertise on the Web

We have come a long way from the ubiquitous pop-up ads or unwanted blinking banners which used to be extremely bothersome and ineffective. Web Advertising has evolved over the years and has become more refined and efficacious. New tools and methods are coming up everyday which are continuously changing and stepping up the rules of the game.

The web publishers and the advertisers work closely in the online world unlike traditional advertising where media buying, planning and management are done by agencies and other intermediaries. The functions of lead generation, brand awareness, influencing consumer buying behavior and online sales are achieved through various types of media purchase. Some of the common ones are:

How does Web Advertising give more ROI?

1. Target Audience, Better Segmentation – Due to the active interplay of technology in the World Wide Web, it is possible to do a more concentrated segmentation of customers and target them with appropriate advertisement.

2. Wider Reach – Print and Television advertisement is usually restricted to regional or national level. Attempting to tap the global audience is a huge burden both in terms of resources and logistics. Web advertising gives the unique capability to reach a huge global audience and increase the avenues for conversion and sales.

3. Lower cost compared to Traditional Advertising – Lower Cost is the biggest benefit in Web Advertising. Advertising on Television can be as high as 10X compared to Web Advertisements. Web advertisement has revolutionized small business marketing who were otherwise stunted due to shortage of funds. This is one of the reasons why ROI is higher.

4. Informative and Empowering – A television ad is of maximum 30 seconds and it is continuously repeated. A print ad has static information and less or no graphics. Web Advertising on the other hand gives the opportunity to show graphics or videos with good quality sound.

Multiple such advertisements can be presented to the customer. The associated text lets the viewer read about the product in more details. There are links to take the interested customer to a landing page dedicated to the product.

There are options for immediate price/ feature comparison and the choice to read unbiased customer feedback and testimonials not just on the company website but on any other third-party site.

This does wonders in terms of sharing information, empowering the customer and most crucial – building trust!

Nowadays, most television or print ads grab the viewer’s attention and direct them to visit online for “more details”.

5. Tracking and Measuring Outcome – Due to the network capabilities of Internet and the Web, there are detailed algorithms and web analytics solution to track viewers’ interest and surfing habits, analyze likes and dislikes and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. These are automated non-intrusive systems aided by technology which are seldom invasive or causing privacy concerns. Cookies are one of the common ways of tracking. Tracking helps in making the advertisements effective. Google Adsense is a common example of tracking and geo targeting. Look at the advertisements that are on the side bars while you check your Gmail.

6. Faster Changes and Implementation – Based on measurement and analysis, if a particular advertisement is not useful or beneficial then the same can be removed instantly and replaced by a better one. This faster turnaround time affords wonderful flexibility which is not easily available in other media.

7. Multi–faceted – Television or print is unidirectional, web advertising is interactive. There is an option for constructive dialogue, alternative for detailed supporting information to convert the prospect into a customer one he/ she shows even a small amount of inclination. For example: the viewer is exposed to short tweets which lead them to detailed blogs/ videos/ articles or case studies. If the viewer finds the information useful, he is given the option to share it with his own network of people. This is online word of mouth advertisement. The viewer is also provided further contact information to seek more details about the product before making the purchase decision. These multi – faceted solutions influence buying behavior and reduce information asymmetry.

8. Effective Call to Action – On the web, the viewer can immediately become a buyer on clicking the Call to Action button and reaching an optimized landing page which helps the buyer complete the purchase process effortlessly.

9. Reducing Pre and Post – Purchase Dissonance – Dissonance means disagreement or conflict. Buyers are often unsure before taking the final purchase step due to lack of trust or insufficient information. This condition is addressed effectively by web advertisements.

The same conflict occurs after the purchase is done. As a marketer, your goal is not only to convert a prospect and make a sale; the greater goal is to make the customer a repeated buyer (loyalty) and influence others in buying (word of mouth advocate). You focus on your content strategy to create web advertisements which are aimed at reducing the post – purchase dissonance with more testimonials and commendations of genuine people.

10. Shorter Purchase to Pay Cycle – Another big reason why web advertising trumps traditional channels! Purchasing is often an emotional decision – there is a split second gap between clicking the buy or the back button. Once the customer is exposed to a web advertisement, he can be spontaneously persuaded to complete the buying cycle.

And Web Advertising will keep on growing . . .

As more companies adopt web advertising as a core marketing strategy and purchase transactions increase online, the fence-sitters and the uninitiated will be forced to take the plunge because the real action is here! Emergence of social media and the changing lifestyle of the “marketers’ favorite” – the 15 – 45 years age group; branding and advertising online using the web has become the order of the day.

And the momentum will be sustained as the mobile network and penetration of smart phones are growing thereby further increasing the dependence on Internet and the World Wide Web on a daily basis.