Advertising on the Internet

reviewed by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Web Marketing Today, Issue 37, October 1, 1997

Advertising on the Internet (John Wiley & Sons, 1997)
by Robin Zeff and Brad Aronson

---

Zeff and Aronson's Advertising on the Internet is one of the first books focused on advertising on the Internet as opposed to setting up a website to advertise. While the book surveys a number of advertising models (e-mail, classified, buttons, push, and interstitials), its main focus is on banner ads. It begins with a demographic overview of Web users, and then discusses measurement of traffic on a website as a way of analyzing a banner’s visibility and effectiveness (page views and click-throughs).

Next, the authors discuss advances in the ability to target a banner to reach just the right Web visitor. Double-Click Network, for example, is developing a database which tracks a particular person’s likes and dislikes, ZIP, etc. When a visitor is identified with a cookie, the Double-Click database delivers a banner based on geography, preferences, and banners seen so far. The authors explain how to collect information about from website visitors by means of registration, surveys, and contests, so that potential advertisers have demographic profile from which to determine a match with potential customers.

The authors then describe various pricing models, primarily CPM (cost per thousand page views), click-throughs (cost per person who clicks on the banner and is transported to the advertiser’s site), flat fee, and pay per purchase. An appendix gives sample rate cards current when the book was written to show how this might be done.

After laying the groundwork, the authors integrate information from two different perspectives: the advertiser and the publisher. In "Running an Online Advertising Campaign" they outline the various steps: establishing campaign goals, buying ad space, locating ad space and rates, using an interactive agency, and measuring campaign effectiveness. The next chapter, "Selling Online Ads," covers preparing the site for paid advertising, analyzing and documenting the site’s audience, pricing ads, various ad-selling strategies, and closing an arrangement. The book contains a sample banner advertising contract, banner ad delivery checklist, insertion order, rate card, an extensive resource directory, and tips for designing effective banners.

I recommend this book to website owners who want to generate revenue from banner ads, as well as companies wishing to use banners to promote their site or product. As a survey in usable form of the current state of the industry, this book can’t be beat.

You may purchase a copy at a substantial discount through Amazon.com Books or for regular price at your local bookstore.