Introducing Local Search

Having an easily found local business is important to its growth and development.  The foundation of local online marketing is being found easily when prospective customers are searching online.  Google has found that 73% of online activity is centered on local searches and content. This means that you have to make sure that your website is optimized to come up in localized searches either on search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo, or in map applications like Google Maps or Mapquest.  This process is often referred to as “local SEO.”

Keyword Research

Keyword research is the foundation of local SEO, and it can be easily done with Google's keyword tool. The tool can show search data about local search phrases accurately and it is constantly updated. A business owner can use this tool to get a good idea about the search habits of the locals and can focus efforts on those keywords. For example, a dentist in Denver can see how many people search on the keyword “dentist” compared to “dentist denver.” While there are fewer searches for the latter, you can be sure that those are much better prospects to go after.

Keyword Optimization

Once the keywords are found, pages on the website have to be optimized for those keywords. The most common place to change is the title and the descriptive tags of the pages. These descriptive tags, called meta description tags, are what people see when they search for the website in search engines. The tags should include the target keywords and a description of the page. It may also be a good idea to have multiple service pages for the different areas around them to reach a wider audience. Another important step is to add the physical address and the phone number of the business at the footer of all the pages located in the website as it will help search engines find information associated with the business while someone is searching for key words.

Local Directories

Once the keyword research and optimization is completed, the next logical step is to submit the website to various local directories and Google. Many people still use local directories to find information, and that combined with Google+ Local (which replaced Google Places last year) service means that you have just created a website that can reach as many people as possible. Some directories are nationwide, while others are for local businesses.  Your local chamber of commerce may also maintain online listings.  There are also directories specific to particular industries. Some research is necessary to find all the potential options, but it is worth it to go after them all. Even if you do not pay for premium listings, it is important to check them to make sure they have the correct, most up-to-date information about your business.

Local Display

Once your online presence is set up to be easily found online, you can earn even more attention from online customers through local display advertising.  These are high-quality banner ads, run them on well-known relevant websites to viewers in your target geographic area. In some ways this strategy is similar to advertising in magazines or newspapers, but because of the targeting capabilities with online display it is much more cost effective as there is less waste on audiences that are not relevant to the message. Studies have shown that running display ads provides significant lift to the effects of PPC campaigns as well, since the brand awareness generated by display ads can prompt more people to search for a brand by name later.

Together, these the essential steps that local business owners can use to make online advertising work within their local area. Remember, the Internet has the ability to pull customers away.  Even offline businesses must get online to be able to pull those customers back.

Sales teams for web advertising that have concentrated almost solely on click-through rates as the most authoritative measurement of achievement in online display advertising have caused grievous damage to the industry of digital publishing. Agencies, advertisers and publishers should consider a broader scope of options than just click-through methods when striving for online marketing campaign success.

For more than a decade, advertisers have believed the Internet to be highly measurable. Because of this, many marketers have become attached to the idea of performance-based metrics while neglecting other success benchmarks. Unfortunately, it prevents companies from getting the most out of their ROI.

Click-through information has long been considered a silver bullet by web marketers, who typically wish to measure the returns they get on advertising in order to justify how much they spend on their ad campaigns. Because of this, many of them have disregarded how other metrics could benefit them.

Although money spent on media is measurable, more traditional forms of media are tedious to keep track of. For a long time, marketers made use of certain data to condone their overall costs.

In the world of online business, most of these methods have been abandoned in favor of click-through advertising. This is because many online display publishers and representatives aren't capable of determining the metrics of their brand awareness to advertisers, but they have no problems keeping track of participation.

Display advertising is underestimated as a means of brand-building. Therefore, many advertisers don't end up using the correct measurement techniques to keep track of the effects of their brand awareness.

Nearly everyone demands data, but not many marketers want to pay for it or start the process that will make them an example. As a result, people continue to be obsessed with performance metrics and struggle with a poor understanding of the true impact of display ads.

Some tools available from Effective Measure or Nielsen are able to measure the success of display inventory campaigns, but like all useful research, they're costly. This means that smaller, local brands miss the opportunity to learn how their online display can affect consumer awareness.

But even local business owners have resources to monitor how their customers are receiving their display advertising.  The big advantage they have over national brands is they tend to have closer, more personal relationships with their customer base.  This can be used to probe for campaign awareness by consistently including questions of how the customer found them, have they seen the ads, etc.

There are other metrics that are important to display advertising. These include view-throughs, conversions, and engagement. As pointed out by Vantage Local, specialists in display advertising for local businesses, understanding what these mean is important but keeping it simple is also key to monitoring success.

Do you have additional ideas on how small advertisers can keep their finger on the pulse of their brand?

Still a Varied Landscape

Internet development has seen many transitions. Search marketing has been consolidated within the industry due to Google page rank becoming the most popular way of measuring relevance of a website. On the other hand, display advertising has not gained this same level of consolidation yet. Today it is still a fractured landscape that includes many types of service providers: ad networks, DSP's, DMP's, CRM, and resellers. This means that there are still opportunities for new companies to make it big.

No Longer Just for Early Adopters

Traditional advertisers must make use of this new technology to stay competitive. They must enter the digital game. Almost 50 percent of budgets set aside for advertising today are targeted for online marketing. With technology changing rapidly, advertisers should keep up with current trends and use them productively.

Cross-Platform Trend

A huge trend today is towards mobile device usage. Smart phones are on the rise. People are no longer content to sit on a personal computer or a laptop. The newest trends are towards tablets and smart phones. So far there has been much pooh-poohing of the effectiveness of mobile advertising.  But in the end, ads must move to where eyeballs can be found. Advertisers must always be aware of new trends and adapt within them to stay viable.

Smarter Marketing

Marketers are also demanding access to better data processing. This will end the need to group data into segments, creating a challenge for DMP's to stay relevant. Less structure creates more transparency of data.

Ad-Technology Arms Race

With such a fractured industry landscape, service providers are each trying to hold onto their market-share. But not all of them are making the necessary updates to their technology. Those that do stay updated will probably come out on top.  In addition, those that maintain a clear focus, such as Simpli.fi's niche with search retargeting or Vantage Local's focus on local display advertising, will be able to keep and grow their place in the industry.  My prediction for 2013 is that there will be big advances made in the creative tools available to ad agencies, and that the data provided for audience targeting will become more reliable and more immediately actionable. Who will come out with the best new advances will be an interesting race to watch.

Here is a look at five of them:

Brand awareness

With a 63% increase in brand awareness, marketers recognize the importance of the contributions that display advertising makes to a company’s unaided brand awareness. It is crucial to marketers as this contributes to future sales when viewers remember an ad they’ve seen while surfing – even if they’ve never clicked on it. They will also recognize it again after seeing it again and after seeing your display ad online, they will recognize your brand when they come across it elsewhere, even offline.

A study by the Jumpstart Automotive Group found that contextual and behavioral targeting in tandem prove more effective as far as impacting the purchase funnel from awareness to purchase intent. Despite a low click through rate, display ads do ultimately have a positive impact on sales. You are building familiarity with the consumer.

Display advertising is arguably the most cost-effective way to market your brand as well as to create brand awareness to people browsing and surfing the Internet. What makes it so effective is the booming targeted capabilities that are available to the advertiser, building brand awareness and generating leads which can ultimately increases sales – paying off big in the long run.

Basically what this means is that consumers will see your brand, become more familiar with it and as a result, have a higher chance of connecting and feeling loyal to your brand.

Greatly increased site visitation

In 2010, comScore, Inc., released a study that showed a 300% increase in site visitation through display advertising. The company is a leader in measuring the digital world and after analyzing 103 campaigns from 39 different advertisers covering seven industries, proved the effectiveness of display advertising.

Display advertising can generate increased site visitation, online and offline sales and trademark search. One reason for this is that people remember what they see, even if they never clicked on the ad. Display advertising does not require any action on the part of the user, so it is a preferred method of advertising for those who want to cultivate brand identification and name recognition. It’s not about simply making quick sales but instead about increasing awareness to your site and your brand.

An increase in offline sales

According to a report by Neustar, display enhances awareness and even drives search. Perhaps surprisingly, it can even boost offline sales as people often search for what they see in banners when they are shopping in retail stores. Their research found that in-store visits increase as much as 43% through use of display advertising. When you see some online (especially repeatedly), you are much more likely to recognize it when you see it again offline and in person. There is an automatic familiarity there that is very helpful.

“Brand advertising and digital,” an IAB Europe White Paper states that studies analyzing online and offline retailers found that the exposure to an online ad increased awareness by 16% and was able to average an increase of 27% for online sales. Could you benefit from 27% more increases sales?

An increase in brand recall

“Brand awareness and digital: An IAB Europe White Paper,” from June 2010 found that display advertising has a major impact on consumers’ awareness. Their study found a significant increase of aided brand recall of 26% due to online campaigns and across several different industries found a rather impressive increase in the recall of online ads in the health, retail and automotive sectors – as much as 63% in some cases.

Display ad repetition also increases the chances of brand recall and awareness in your customers. The more they see it, the more they will recognize it, even if they never click on the ads themselves.

Increased conversion rates

In a study by Media Mind on Financial Services Research produced in 2011, a .016 conversion rate was found which means that for every 100,000 impressions, there were 160 conversions. Media Mind found that display advertising is a strategic marketing channel after analyzing over 28 billion online ads to uncover best practices and what works for financial campaigns.

The company believes that as users are becoming accustomed to managing their financial affairs and buying insurance online, advertisers respond “in-kind, making online display advertising the most important marketing channel in terms of investment for the industry.”

It’s important to reach consumers where they are today and the Internet is one great place to do that. These are just some of the top reasons to use display advertising. If you have questions about how display ads can help you, contact Vantage Local today.

Understanding the Basic Funnel

The basic marketing funnel that has been around since the late 1800s and was introduced by Elias St. Elmo Lewis. It has been taught in universities for many years in its most basic from which is summarized in the acronym AIDA, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire/Decision and Action. In this basic marketing funnel the traditional place for online display ads has been in the first phase, attention. But, as technology advances and marketers get more creative, display ads are being used to impact customers throughout the marketing funnel.

Attention

Many people have thought of online banner ads as somewhat of an online equivalent of a billboard. While offline billboards may get your attention, historically, they have been thought to do little more. Online display ads, however, can be much more compelling in a variety of ways including the addition of images, animation, audio or video. These dynamic elements can help get readers' attention and increase the effectiveness of your ads.

Interest

Good ad design can increase interest and, with the ongoing developments in making online ads more dynamic, this is more true today than ever before. Marketers can generate interest for their product or service by focusing on the benefits their offering can provide. By drawing attention to how their offering can be the solution to their prospects problem ads can move past just getting attention and begin to stimulate prospects to be interested to find out more.

Desire/Decision

Once you have customers interest, the next step is to translate that interest into desire. This distinction between interest and desire is subtle, but important. To move to desire your customer must perceive that, not only is your offering interesting, but it can solve their problem. Once they believe you can satisfy their need, you will have gotten them to desire your solution.

Action

One of the most often missing elements in many marketers' efforts is effective calls to action. Banner ads are great for calls to action. This is where you want to tell your prospects to do something. Whether it is to sign up for your e-mail newsletter, download a content piece or buy a product, you must actually come right out and tell them what you want them to do.

Your call to action should be telling prospects what to do to move them closer to satisfying a need they have. This is what they need, but without clear calls to action most people tend to just not do anything. If your product or service can satisfy your prospects needs you may be doing them a disservice if you don't call them to action.

Gone are the days when online banner ads served only to get attention. With proper design and placement banner ads can be an effective tool to move your prospects through every phase of the marketing funnel. Reach out to one of our specialists today to start reaping the benefits of the proper use of online banner ads.

Basic Online Advertising Terms

Website owners who sell advertising space on their websites are called publishers. Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, and Amazon own some of the most of the popular online sites available for advertising. When posting online content like e-books, whitepapers and blog articles, publishers reserve page sections for various formats of advertising, including pop-ups and banners. Since website ad space is the product sold by publishers to advertisers who want to insert their ads there, it is often referred to as inventory. Ad exchanges enable ad inventory to be purchased on many sites at the same time; they coordinate online auctions of advertising space between buyers and sellers.

Why Ad Exchanges?

Advertisers optimize their ad costs by dealing with publishers whose content is aligned with their target market. It is possible for publishers to directly contact advertisers for an inventory sale, but it is a time-consuming and tedious task requiring sales staff and is done only for premium ad spaces that sell for high prices. In all other cases, ad exchanges are preferred.

Early on, people negotiated each transaction in the initial ad exchanges. They dealt with less valuable online spaces of no interest to premium advertisers, or "remnant inventory". Gradually, online ad networks became fully automated for higher efficiency, to serve the demands of large, national advertisers. The ad exchange inventories are now on par with those that are direct buys.

Ad Exchange Platforms

Ad spends are increasingly moving to ad networks, thanks to new technology-based platforms. When the target market segment is narrow, such as affluent parents living in a specific geographic range, it is difficult to have a wide reach by using a single ad network. The ROI does not justify the ad costs. Vantage Local has created a platform to offer one-stop ad space shopping. In this way, businesses of any size can purchase from many exchanges simultaneously.

Once you understand the working of ad exchanges, their place in the online advertising landscape and their contribution to a marketing mix, you will gain confidence in your advertising strategy where a proven agency will look after the details, leaving you to focus on running the core business.

With geo-targeting campaigns and new techniques to raise branding, the new media planning is something all can benefit from learning. Geo-targeting allows firms to use media campaigns to pinpoint clients and customers during their busy and travel-filled days. A successful media-planning firm knows how to place ads in the precise locations the chosen demographic is most likely to frequent. There is a chronology to the process that when done properly helps ensure a successful media campaign.

When a media-planning firm is hired by a local business there are several criteria it goes about researching and compiling. These include: geography (where is the most logical place for the ads), demographic numbers (size of demographic population within the targeted geographic zone), Internet presence (what the appropriate websites for advertising to the demographic are) and performance estimates for the ads - this includes "reach" and "frequency" estimates.

Once these criteria are thoroughly vetted and sussed out a strategic set of plans, blueprints if you will, are drawn up to begin the start of the media campaign. The entire process works using sets of demographic data as indicators of what is best for placement (examples include such things as eating preferences, reading choices, entertainment and work). By using this information of the demographic a picture begins to form of the effective areas for advertising. For example, a demographic that sees the members between 35 and 55, educated (post-secondary) and living a healthy lifestyle, the target ad areas may include organic food stores and websites, booksellers and local cafes.

Getting the right information is the start of any successful media planning strategy. The subtle aspect comes in after the information is gathered. Local knowledge, patterns of weather and even a little "hunch" play a role in the full professional media planning campaign.

Contextual Targeting

Contextual targeting applies context clues in search queries made by a potential audience in an effort to determine the needs and desires of the constituents. The primary technology it uses is through natural language programs.

Geographic Targeting

As the name implies, this type of targeting makes assumptions based on physical map location as well as a determination of the target's IP address. This type of targeting is frequently used in online political advertising.

Retargeting/Remarketing

This type of targeting takes advantage of a target's past behavior, namely ads that worked on this internet browser in the past. By finding what previously draws the user's attention, a strategy to meet their needs can be formulated.

Automated CPC Optimization

This strategy automatically purchases advertisements based on all available data. The goal is to find a good balance between purchasing advertisement space and data concerning the target audience.

Audience Targeting

Similar to the retargeting/remarketing method, audience target takes it a step further and specifically observing a viewer's past purchases and other online activity. Typically, audience targeting information can be acquired by an online data aggregation company.

Voter Data Targeting

Voter Data Targeting is a type of advertisement strategy that relies on a target audience's voter registration data. Typically, their voter registration data will be matched with a company that provides databases full of information, which in turn can be used to find appropriate audiences for your product. This type of targeting is particularly common with online political advertising.

When considering your target audience(s), be sure to leave nothing to chance. Ask yourself these questions in an effort to better assess your audience:

• How big is your projected audience?
• How much money can you spend on advertisement creation and distribution?
• Is your ad flight lengthy? And if so, is it appropriate to the audience?
• How accurately does your research relate to your campaign?

Consider working with an experienced provider like Vantage Local for your online display campaign.

Social Media and Search Both Important

One of the key points eMarketer makes in their article is that integration of display ads with other marketing efforts is one of the biggest trends impacting marketers. In one of their surveys, they found increased integration with social media had the highest response for the significance of select trends to the future of display advertising. The surveys show that 70% of respondents said that integrating search and display advertising had the most favorable impact on their display advertising, making that the second most important area of integration.

Market for Display is a Factor

While integration of display ads with search was second in importance in the survey, the similarity of how search and display advertising work is striking. Search and display advertising used to be more different than they now are, but the changes in how display ad space is bought and sold have allowed for tighter targeting of display ads, increasing the common threads between the two media. This similarity makes the integration of the two even more important than ever before, and more challenging than managing the integration of social media with display advertising. Having a good understanding of how each strategy fits into your overall marketing plan is a key piece of the puzzle for most marketers and keeping up with changes in how each technology works is a big part of that.

Marketers are increasingly looking for ways to reach their target audience in the most effective and efficient manner and as ad networks, as just one example, continue to refine the way they serve up ads it is more important to have access to as many sources of quality ad space as possible. This is where working with an agency that specializes in this area of online marketing can be extremely valuable. The right agency will help you access more, and higher quality ad space that will help you target your messages more effectively than you could do on your own. Very few business owners have the time to keep up with all the changes in technology that are taking place in this rapidly developing area of online marketing. Where our specialists excel is in understanding business owners' needs and matching the available technology to each need to get the best result.

Integrated Marketing - the Holy Grail of Advertising?

However search and display advertising continue to develop, understanding how each works with the other to help you reach your marketing goals is important to the effectiveness of your overall marketing plan. Continue to educate yourself about your marketing options and make sure you stay focused on the 20% of the activities that bring you 80% of your results. That is one of the key factors that helps separate the very successful marketers from the rest.

Creative Display Ads

Your advertising goal is to encourage Internet users to click on your ads. Start by making sure your ads look pleasing to the eye. Avoid using unreadable fonts or colors that clash drastically. People are far more likely to click on creative and interesting ads.

Additionally, many Internet users have simply learned how to completely ignore ads on websites. You need to do something bold and refreshing to get attention among a sea of boring ads. Don't be afraid to use a little humor, but try to keep it clean.

Highlight Your Business or Products

Make sure your display ads are clear and to the point. You want to inspire people to immediately click on your banner the second they see it. If your banner is too confusing, people will quickly forget it and move on. Don't use your online display advertising as an opportunity to mock your competition. Your ads should only focus on your company and what makes it amazing.

Placement

Some ad locations on a website attract more attention than others. Web users are far more likely to notice ads at the top of the page than those near the bottom. It may cost you more to purchase advertising at the top of a website, but you will see better results.

Focus

Each of your ads should have a clear focus and message. Don't clutter your ads up with too many products or services. For each ad you create, choose a single theme to focus on. If your business has multiple products, try creating a separate advertisement for each one. You can spread your message further by adding single product ads to relevant pages on the Internet.

Evaluate Constantly

A good ad campaign requires you to constantly track your progress. Solicit feedback from your customers to find out if your ads are having a positive influence on your business. If an ad isn't working out, it's easy to try again with a new one. Treat every ad campaign as an opportunity to learn what works and how you can improve your message.

The impressions metric is one of the most commonly cited metrics, mainly because most display ad inventory is bought and sold by impressions. It indicates how many times your advert has been seen, and prices are usually quoted in CPM, or cost per thousand impressions. Often, the more people that see your ad, the better. The reach is another common metric, and is calculated as the percentage of your target customers who see the ad, against the total targeted population. Reach goes along with frequency, which is the number of times each targeted consumer saw the ad. Some people feel that this metric is significant because of the "rule of seven", in that people must see an advert seven times before they buy, (Dennis Payne, 2011).

The clicks metric is also one of the most relevant metrics. Combine this with the impressions metric to work out the CTR (Click Through Rate). The CTR is the percentage of people who click on the ad.  CTR's for banner ads tend to run around 0.9%, and there has been much discussion over whether clicks are even a good metric for whether an ad is achieving its goal.   Another metric that is now starting to supplant CTR with display ads is the view-through, which links site traffic with earlier impression, often using floodlight tags to make the connection between impressions and visits.

Conversions are what happen when a person clicks on your ad and then goes through a desired action. This may be filling out a form or making a sale. The desired action must be noted with the advertising platform so that they can monitor it. When these actions happen they are called conversions. The conversion rate is then figured out through people who converted and people who did not. This makes the conversion rate. The higher the conversion rate, the better.

These are some of the most significant metrics for display advertising.  For further discussion of planning and running effective display ad campaigns, go to the Vantage Local blog.

Reference List

Dennis Payne, 2011 - business insider, Editor-in-Chief of CityRoom.com, President of the MBMA marketing agency.

George Rawlinson, 1966 - Aesop's Fables, 620BC, The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus. trans. George Rawlinson, Book I, p.132

Worldwidewebsize, 2012 - Web Statistics

Is the banner dead? Think again! If you are denying the tipping point of display, I will say, think deeper. It is the rebirth of display. It's evolving; with an integrated approach in an industry where the essence of DATA can no longer be ignored. Online display ads play a bigger role in every marketing mix.

In the last 2 years, the interactive advertising industry witnessed a number of changes, which for some players led to serious decline in ad revenue and for others the formation of a new landscape that will play a significant role in changing the way business is done in online advertising; namely: the importance of data and the role of online audience in digital advertising. Faced by one of the worst recessions and economic downturn since the "Great Depression", advertising budgets declined dramatically. Advertisers chose for more measurable formats with prospects to increase their overall ROI in advertising. The shift from traditional media to online fueled some amount of growth in online advertising despite the crisis. Search maintain its position as the largest online advertising format by revenue, accounting for nearly 50% of total online ad budgets in many major online ad markets.

Not long ago, the future of online display ads was questioned. It became the topic of discussion in many panels, spawning discussion in the industry regarding its potential to rise again. However, the integration of display ads with search advertising and the emergence of high end technologies for rich media, online video, mobile and social media platforms opened up new opportunities, and are set to give online display ads a new life and help create even larger revenue streams for publishers, networks, agencies, and better ROI for advertisers.

Is Banner advertising really dead? How effective are banner ads? Is this the Come Back of banner ads?

Many questions have been raised and many comments have been made regarding the future of display since search continued to grab larger portions of online ad budgets while display ad revenues continued to shrink. From a logical perspective and empirical evidence, I will call it the modernization of online display advertising. In spite of the challenges, I consider every trend in the online industry as an opportunity. In one of my recent articles about the rise of Exchanges and DSPS's, I also called for the adaptation of current business models in online media trading, especially from the buying side; based on the opportunities and challenges in the industry. The role of online display will definitely get bigger as it is essential to the success of every online marketing mix.

In terms of ad revenues, the last 2 years were probably not a favorite period for the banner. If you still doubt the potential of display ad revenues to revamp then you are probably still considering display ads as static gifs, images, or text links, etc. Still living in the 90's?

In a recent European survey[i] by ComScore, visitors who viewed a display ad were 72% more likely to visit an advertiser's website and 94% more likely to conduct a search activity on the advertiser's brand than those who saw no ads. In terms of branding and reach, display ads have a greater reach than search. However they both need each other, as search engine can boost the effectiveness of display ads, and vice versa. Display ads increase awareness of a brand, which can drive direct traffic to an advertiser's website and increase the likelihood of purchasing a product or service. Certainly, when combined with display, more search activity is conducted and website traffic increases.

Why should the effectiveness of display ads in clicks and conversation be questioned? Advertisers should be focusing on originality, being more creative and conversational with their display campaigns, presence in the right channels, at the right time, engaging audiences based on pre-knowledge about their characteristics, and applying an integrated and measurable marketing approach that works best for them.  

How integration can fuel growth in online display.

In the interactive advertising industry, evolving trends are perceived by some stakeholders as opportunities, while others with a vulnerable position may consider trends as challenges or threats. Simply, whether you are an advertiser, publisher, network, or agency; the rise of new channels and platforms means an increment to the industry's existing opportunities; as new streams of revenue will be created. Your final share of the industry's revenue will depend on the extent to which you embrace and integrate these newly evolving technologies. It doesn't require foregoing one form of advertising for another. Retargeting with search and display campaigns can significantly increase conversion rates and hence reduce the percentage of wasted or non-converting clicks. Advertisers spend time in optimizing their search campaigns that too often; end up delivering higher CTR and low conversion rates due to the absence of or lack of efficient re-targeting. With the integration of display in search campaigns, an advertiser can gain better insight about a visitor's interest, thereby contributing in the efficient allocation of display ad budgets. Be it banner ads, rich media, widgets, search, or videos, etc. All that is required is a hybrid marketing approach in which all these forms can easily be incorporated. This will improve overall ROI and your share in the industry's total revenue pie.

In capitalizing on opportunities and facing the challenges resulting from the current trends in the online media landscape, underestimating the potential of one of the channels due to preference for the other will be a mistake. If you are not getting enough conversion on your display campaigns, there could be many reasons for that. The technology, and the most effective technique for designing and creating more dynamic ads that could be served in Real Time and measured in CrossPlatform is already out there. Make use of it.

A week ago, I attended a monthly online advertising event in Amsterdam called "Online Tuesday", an event that brings together online professionals from across the Netherlands; organized by DQ&A and partners. The topic of discussion was "The future of Online Display Advertising". The keynote was Damian Lawlor, Managing Director Google Media Platforms Europe. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion that featured renowned European marketers from the Netherlands. The audience wanted answers regarding trends and technological challenges in taking advantage of opportunities in display advertising. In discussing the road ahead, Damian, said that "online display will grow faster than search",a statement that was met with a number of responses from the panel and audience. After a broad discussion and a number of questions from the moderator and the audience, it was interesting to see how the entire panel ended up agreeing with the online giant, Google, on the notion that: "online display will grow faster than search". From the audience, a marketer from the largest Dutch advertiser in terms of investment, also highlighted the opportunities in online and said his company "will invest in Ad Exchanges".

A data driven industry

The data is in your hands. Understand it. In the current online marketing ecosystem, acquiring data and capitalizing on it is the key. There is so much data out there that could have significant impact on overall ROI in marketing spend for the demand side. Data is the key to success when you know where to get it, how and what to do with it. At the end of the day, it all comes down to data, which is already playing, and will continue to play the most important role in online advertising.

What will advertisers need? An integrated online advertising strategy with an audience-centric focus model in which, acquiring and sharing relevant data is efficiently applied.

[i] Source: Whither the Click? ComScore Releases European Study Highlighting the View-Through Impact of Online Display Advertising.