The cure for writer's cramp is writer's block. - Inigo DeLeon

Information advertising

by Jason Preston

Last week Scott Karp ruminated on the future of online advertising: will it be driven by entertainment or will it be driven by information?

He presents two good examples that represent each technique in the world of car advertising. If you want to get a handle on what I’m talking about when I refer to one or the other, you should go read his post.

Got it? OK. Here’s why I think that information advertising has a much bigger future on the web: it fits the nature of the medium.

One of the biggest headaches in the “web 2.0″ space right now is the utter failure of advertising in social networks. The Google model just doesn’t work inside Facebook.

This is because the efficacy of online advertising is based largely on context.

The Google model

It’s an open secret that Google’s trademark text-based ads work so well on search result pages (SERPs) because it fits naturally into user behavior patterns. When someone types a search into Google, (let’s say “business travel blog” because that lets me show off the search rank for InFlightHQ, which I write for), they are expecting a page full of links about business travel, one or more of which they will click.

When an advertiser presents the user with a relevant and informative link, it’s as good as an organic search result. Sometimes better.

Click. Click. $$.

Fit in with user behavior

The moral of the story is this: present your advertising in a way that fits in with user behavior. In the case of Television, entertainment makes sense. It’s what I’m watching TV for: to be entertained.

I think a smart advertiser is going to focus on inserting their ads into places where they can directly affect online purchasing behavior.

While TV, billboards, and classical print advertising are often meant to increase brand exposure instead of drive a particular purchase (the print equivalent there, I guess, is a coupon), internet ads can lead directly to a sale with very little friction.

Given that consumers are researching even packaged goods online before they head out to buy them, it’s a good idea to fit your advertising into that habit: research.

Fred Wilson has been playing this tune since 2005 and I think he said it best back then: “Advertising is content when its relevant and its an annoyance when its not.”

When consumers are doing their product research online, being helpful—being informative—is going to be the best way to make sure you’re relevant.

So I guess the question for newspapers is this: how do you engineer your site so that the ads you carry fit in with user behavior?

If you think my half-baked ideas and incessant ramblings are entertaining, you should subscribe to my RSS feed to keep up with the latest.

May 2, 2008 | Filed Under Long Form Blogging 

Subscribe to Eat Sleep Publish Email This Post Email This Post

Leave a Reply