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Display Advertising: The Billboards of the Web

Introduction

Display advertising is an online form of advertising similar to billboards, television ads and print ads. The ad has a simple concept and instantly provides the viewer with upfront information about the product or service. A display ad is embedded into a web page and consists of images and text. It can include sounds, animation or video to attract more attention, or with the help of some programming, can be highly interactive. HTML code is used to instruct a web server to load the specified website when the display ad is clicked on. Revenue for display advertising is usually earned on a cost per click (CPC) basis.

The main aim of a display advertisement is to target traffic to the website that is publishing the ad. Like all other forms of advertising, it also aims at sales of the advertised product or services and creating brand recognition and awareness.

History

Display advertising has only been around for the past 15 years. The first ever display ad was sold in 1993 by Global Network Navigator (GNN), which now holds the title for the first commercial website in history. But HotWired, the world’s first commercial magazine, changed history by being the first to sell a large amount of display ads to various corporate companies. In 1994, HotWired placed the first display ad on its website. The ad was purchased by AT&T and was 468 x 60 pixels in size. It read, “Have you ever clicked your mouse right here? You will”.

Since then, display advertising has come a long way. Up until 2004, display ads were measured and sold solely on the number of impressions, but today it also relies on tracking, the amount of clicks received and conversions made.

Display Ads are Still Very Important in Internet Marketing

Although many marketers are under the impression that display advertising is a dying form, recent studies and its abundance on the web state otherwise. Their visual appeal and versatility can be used for maximum advantage in engaging potential customers and they have a long lasting branding effect on all viewers without the need for clicks. This is a more traditional form of advertising, but is currently evolving to be more audience centric.

Display advertising is aimed towards building customer consciousness around a product, service or brand. This process is highly effective with visuals rather than with text. The biggest benefit of display advertising is that the “image” of a brand or product is embedded in the viewer’s mind, and results in more chances of the viewer acting on this awareness in the future, thus accelerating sales and goals in the long run.

In the next Display Advertising article we will cover the importance of Display Advertising.

These series of articles were created from Husam Jandal's, a WSI IC, white paper.