Types of Online Advertising You Need to Know

The world is moving online. Due to a global pandemic, most businesses have to shut their physical stores. This has meant a huge number of brands, companies, and firms moving online. Any business existing in the digital space needs to advertise online. But did you know there are different types of online advertising? As with traditional advertising which has types- print, direct, B2B, B2C, or television. There are sections and types of online advertising. Let’s find out what they are and which ones will suit your business or needs.

Search Engine Marketing & Optimization- (SEM/SEO)-You may have heard these words a lot if you work in a digital space. SEM & SEO work in tandem to optimize your business. The main role is to promote your brand, its visibility, and content through searches. In SEM, advertisers pay every time users click to go to their website. This information can allow you a deeper look at your customers and their preferences. SEO is about choosing the right keywords, content, and descriptions. For example, when you type ‘BEST EYE CREAM USA’, the first few links that come up are not necessarily the best products. It is the organic, metadata, and use of keywords that push them right to the top. This is why picking the right headlines, domain name, crafting an interesting excerpt is very important for blogs and websites.

Social Media Advertising- There are about 1.65 billion active social media accounts globally. These numbers are yours for the taking. Users are constantly browsing through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. You can create social media advertising campaigns that promote your brand. This could be organic, where you would post something about your brand and others could retweet or repost it. Or it could be a paid promotion. You could put an ad through Facebook or Instagram that would pop up when users are browsing through the app.

Native Advertising- Social media stores your preferences, data, and interests. So when you browse through, you can see things like ‘Others liked’ or ‘Others also bought’ or ‘Others recommended.’ This is Native advertising and usually placed below blogs or Facebook posts.

Pay Per Click (PPC)- In Pay Per Click, you pay when the user clicks on the ad. So it doesn’t matter if your ad was seen by 1000 people. If only 30 people clicked on it, you pay for those 30 clicks. PPC usually gives very effective results and is a small image with some basic text.

Affiliate Marketing- This is essentially a 3 party advertising agreement. In affiliate marketing, a publisher (blog/website/influencer/celebrity) will talk about your product and link to it. The consumer will click on that link and reach your website. The business then pays the publisher for the leads generated. Affiliate marketing links are usually disclosed by publishers.

Video Ads- Short, relevant, and interesting video ads are a great online advertising tool. Users are interested in watching visual content and will eagerly consume short videos. Marketers often use this to disclose offers or giveaways. Influencers will rely on video ads for increasing followers or announcing collaborations with other brands. Reports have suggested that the revenue from video ads is reported to reach $5 billion. Another report has claimed that 43% of users want to see more video ads instead of copy. YouTube has already utilized video ads effectively by making it difficult to skip ads before videos.

Display Advertising- Banner ads, Pop-ups, or any ads that are displayed on the website come under-display advertising. These ads are website specific. They will only appear on certain pages or blogs or websites. They will not show up in search results. Users will get redirected from the first website to your website through display advertising. Marketers have suggested that users who have been redirected are 70% more likely to convert to your website.

Online advertising is an evolving medium. There is no rule book to success. Understanding your audience, predicting their needs, and creating relevance matters. Brands or corporations can connect to their consumers authentically using online advertising. Online advertising also gives you the advantage of creating customer loyalty. Getting them to buy your product once isn’t enough. You need to ensure they become your promoters, loyalists, and recommend you to their friends and family. This will create an organic online presence for you and your brand. You can be in any business or field. Utilizing online advertising is highly advantageous. Select a method or type that works for you. You can create small, timely campaigns using various types and analyze the results. You don’t need to spend a lot of money or waste time on fancy campaigns. Just create something honest, direct, and simple. And now when the world is shopping and consuming content online 24/7, you have a ready base of consumers waiting for you.