When placing your ad, you should think less about what sites you want to target, and more about the users. Ask yourself
Hopefully, you already have a profile of your site's audience (see profiling your users, p. 50), so you know who your ads should target and where on the web you might find them. But also consider timing: If you reach the right people at the wrong time (when they're involved in an unrelated task) they may ignore your ad altogether. But if you hit the same user when they're thinking about your product or even when they're in a more relaxed state of mind they may be more likely to follow through. choosing a siteDifferent types of sites offer different benefits to advertisers. search engines offer a chance to reach the broadest swath of web users and target only those searching for specific keywords. It's an excellent way to target users with very specific needs. But its benefit is also its weakness. Nowhere are people more focused than on a search engine. If your ad doesn't relate to a user's specific need at the time, it's doubtful it will be seen at all. portals also reach a mass audience online, and give advertisers a chance to target users. They differ from search engines because they're destinations as well as starting points. Some users go there to accomplish goals as well as find sites, making it an appropriate venue for a wider range of ads (including those that aim to draw the user's eye, without necessarily inspiring clickthrough.) news sites offer a chance to reach a broad-based audience (sometimes with very desirable demographics) when they're in the mindset of consuming news. The advantage here is that readers will often treat an entire publication as an information source, taking in the ads along with the articles. recreational sites offer a chance to reach users when they've slowed down from their normal break-neck browsing speed. Whether they're chatting, playing games, watching a video, or cruising the personals, users become less task-oriented and more open to suggestion on recreational sites. Visits tend to be longer and more leisurely, so users have more time to absorb ads.
|