Online advertising provides many benefits for companies but also raises some ethical issues. Twin Info Solutions currently uses cost-per-click advertising and contextual ads to generate leads for their complex BPO services. The report recommends Twin try cost-per-lead models and video/forum ads showcasing customer feedback to better suit their needs. Behavioral targeting and email advertising could also help reach corporate decision makers. Overall online advertising is effective if used strategically while maintaining ethical standards.

1. Online Advertising: Issues & StrategiesSeminar ReportAmal Hareendran

2. Organization under StudyTwin Info Solutions Pvt. Ltd.A BPO Firm which provides:Freight Forwarding SolutionsIT & ITES SolutionsCorporate Communication Solutionswww.twininfosolutions.com

3. Online AdvertisingOnline advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.

4. Contd…Online advertising (otherwise known as sponsored links on websites like Google) is a quick and effective way of promoting your website and generating targeted website traffic.It’s the advertising which uses Internet as a media to communicate.

5. Competitive Advantage over Traditional Advertisingimmediate publishing of information and content not limited by geography or timeefficiency of advertiser's investmentcustomization of advertisementspayment is usually relative with audiences' response

6. Ethics in Online AdvertisingFlashing banners will distract the usersMisleading images designed to look like error messages from the operating systemLead to sites with malicious software or adult material

7. Contd…Unethical Advertising MethodsPrivacyHosting the banner images on its servers and using third-party cookies, the advertising company is able to track the browsing of users across these two sites.Malwareexternal applications which alter system settings . E.g. spawn pop-upsinsert advertisements into non-affiliated web pages

8. Revenue ModelsCPM (Cost Per Mille), also called "Cost Per Thousand (CPT), is where advertisers pay for exposure of their message to a specific audience. "Per mille" means per thousand impressions, or loads of an advertisement. CPV (Cost Per Visitor) or (Cost per View in the case of Pop Ups and Unders) is where advertisers pay for the delivery of a Targeted Visitor to the advertisers website.CPC (Cost Per Click)is also known as Pay per click (PPC). Advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their listing and is redirected to their website. They do not actually pay for the listing, but only when the listing is clicked on.

9. Contd…CPA (Cost Per Action)or (Cost Per Acquisition) advertising is performance based and is common in the affiliate marketing sector of the business. In this payment scheme, the publisher takes all the risk of running the ad, and the advertiser pays only for the amount of users who complete a transaction, such as a purchase or sign-up.CPL (Cost Per Lead)CPO (Cost Per Order)CPE (Cost Per Engagement)

10. Types of AdsFloating ad: An ad which moves across the user's screen or floats above the content.Expanding ad: An ad which changes size and which may alter the contents of the webpage.Polite ad: A method by which a large ad will be downloaded in smaller pieces to minimize the disruption of the content being viewedWallpaper ad: An ad which changes the background of the page being viewed.Trick banner: A banner ad that looks like a dialog box with buttons. It simulates an error message or an alert.Pop-up: A new window which opens in front of the current one, displaying an advertisement, or entire webpage.

11. Contd…Pop-under: Similar to a Pop-Up except that the window is loaded or sent behind the current window so that the user does not see it until they close one or more active windows.Video ad: similar to a banner ad, except that instead of a static or animated image, actual moving video clips are displayed. This is the kind of advertising most prominent in television, and many advertisers will use the same clips for both television and online advertising.Map ad: text or graphics linked from, and appearing in or over, a location on an electronic map such as on Google Maps.Mobile ad: an SMS text or multi-media message sent to a cell phone.In addition, ads containing streaming video or streaming audio are becoming very popular with advertisers.

12. Types of AdvertisingE-mail advertising: Legitimate Email advertising or E-mail marketing is often known as "opt-in e-mail advertising" to distinguish it from spam.Affiliate marketing: Affiliate marketing is a form of online advertising where advertisers place campaigns with a potentially large number of small (and large) publishers, whom are only paid media fees when traffic to the advertiser is garnered, and usually upon a specific measurable campaign result (a form, a sale, a sign-up, etc). Today, this is usually accomplished through contracting with an affiliate network.Contextual advertising: Many advertising networks display graphical or text-only ads that correspond to the keywords of an Internet search or to the content of the page on which the ad is shown. These ads are believed to have a greater chance of attracting a user, because they tend to share a similar context as the user's search query. For example, a search query for "flowers" might return an advertisement for a florist's website.

13. Contd…Behavioral targeting: In addition to contextual targeting, online advertising can be targeted based on a user's past clickstream. For example, if a user is known to have recently visited a number of automotive shopping / comparison sites based on clickstream analysis enabled by cookies stored on the user's computer, that user can then be served auto-related ads when they visit other, non-automotive sites.Semantic advertising: Semantic advertising applies semantic analysis techniques to web pages. The process is meant to accurately interpret and classify the meaning and/or main subject of the page and then populate it with targeted advertising spots.

14. Features of Online AdvertisingHoming in…: The ability of web ads to home in on the right target audience makes them a critical tool in the hands of advertisers. Value for money: There’s more. Net ad campaigns are typically less expensive, as well as easier and faster to produce than television advertising. The flexibility advantage: The flexibility of using ads on the Net enable advertisers to cost-effectively launch ad campaigns at short notice in response to specific needs. Better feedbackThe techies do it best: Not surprisingly, it is the Net technology companies that have best understood Web advertising.The early adopters: Some FMCG companies jumped on to the Web advertising bandwagon early, in the late nineties. One of the early starters was Hindustan Lever. It partnered with contests2win.com for on-line promotional contests. The results speak for themselves. Levers’ first contest generated only 66 participants but within two years the company generated 30,000 responses. At best a print campaign for a contest generates 15,000 responses. Still a long way to go: On-line ad spends of traditional brick and mortar companies are still a small part of the whole.It’s too measurable.Some major ad agencies (and Wall Street) are losing confidence in online advertising. Customers are experiencing advertising overload.

15. Advantages of Online AdvertisingYou can easily test the market. The ad campaign is less expensive. The ad works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can change your online ad much more easily than you can change ads in other media. Your customers can see your ad, shop, and buy, (if you sell your goods online) all without leaving home. You can target your audience effectively. The ability to set daily spend limitsThe ability to track, test and evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns compared to other mediumThe ability to run multiple campaignsEasy to implement and easy to withdraw

16. Disadvantages of Online AdvertisingDon’t know if they actually get what they pay for.Don’t know if they can trust the visitor and/or traffic profile online media owners and publishers claim their sites have.Have the feeling there is a lot of click fraud.Don’t know if their ads appear in the sites and/or sites’ sections where they should appear.Surfers who are on the net for a specific purpose may ignore your ads.Surfers may notice your ads but choose not to click.Low-net penetration of your target markets. This will push up cost per contact.There is a limited media choice as not all Indian sites maintain user data-bases.There is an absence of sufficient research on the effectiveness of web ads.The web is a highly competitive environment and it’s easy to get lost.Poorly managed campaigns can be expensive and ineffective.By not evaluating what you’re doing you’re likely to waste money.

17. Strategies ~ Online AdvertisingUnderstand what people are searching for.Be specific with your keywordsE.g. Instead of using the keyword ‘tennis’ use ‘buy tennis target’.Send the people to the exact page that you are talking about rather than sending them to the home pages.By this the firm can reduce the costs by converting more clicks into sales, which in turn increase the effectiveness of the ads.

18. The Best Online Advertising StrategiesBefore getting in to the strategies:gain knowledge your competitors don't havePlan your website contentThe best advertising strategies involve presenting your product in a manner that influences customers’ perception of your product in the most favorable manner. Convenience is an important factor

19. The Best Online Advertising Strategy No.2The delivery time, cost and product guarantees you can offer vs. what they can provideThe emotional and physical need or desires your product can potentially fulfillAre your customers local and are your competitors localWhat demographic your competition is targeting and are there weaknesses you can exploitConsider what online advice or value-added services you can provide (i.e; Newsletters, FAQ page, 1 800 #'s, guarantees, forums, blogs, tools, etc.)Can you and do you offer more varied methods of paymentDoes your staff's education, training or experience set your company apartEstablished reputation, customer testimonials and/or celebrity endorsements establish trustCan you provide statistics regarding volume of sales and customer satisfaction

20. The Best Online Advertising Strategy No.3Listing prices of your product or service. Many people will leave the sites without this informationEnsure your most advantageous points appear within the first two paragraphsIdentifying the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in positioning will allow you to clearly distinguish your product and website above the competitors and plan for effective website copy. However, if your website does not get seen, it is wasted effort.

21. The Best Online Advertising Strategy No.4Posting to relevant newsgroupsSoliciting reciprocal linksPosting to relevant forums and newsgroupsUpdating and creating fresh and additional website contentDirectory and search engine submissionsBlogging and implementing RSS FeedsIssuing press releasesFinally, if your industry is particularly competitive, or your time line is limited it may be worthwhile to consider the services of a professional search engine optimization expert to improve search engine rankings for that final competitive edge.

22. Internet Advertising Strategies for Various IndustriesAutomobile sector: Target audience can be provided with a simulated driving experience, or taken on a virtual car-show. Electronic sector: Advertisers can use the medium’s multi-media capabilities to take customers through a review of product features.Hi-Tech products: Advertisers can use the medium’s computing capabilities to demonstrate product benefits. Services sector: Advertisers can use the medium’s interactivity to answer queries on how offerings can be customized. Entertainment sector: Advertisers can let users sample clips of movies, games, and music, and also make the medium the merchant

23. Internet Advertising Strategies for Small BusinessesLink exchanges can be great, especially if your advertising budget is limited (or nonexistent). Find merchants that sell complementary products, and offer to trade text links or ads with them. If you're just starting out and your site doesn't get a lot of traffic, you may not get a one-to-one trade; be prepared to make concessions, at least until you have a track record.Newsletter advertising is a great way to reach select groups of consumers. For example, if you sell health products, you could advertise in a newsletter that offers health tips and advice. Because newsletter advertising is targeted, it can be expensive. If your budget is tight, you can always start your own newsletter campaign.Budgeted advertising, such as Google AdWords, allows you to purchase a set of keywords, set a limit on how much you want to spend, and have your ad display until that limit is reached. This is a particularly useful way to track your campaign success, and has been a boon to small business owners.

24. Findings ~ Based on Twin Info Solutions Pvt. Ltd.Since Twin is a BPO firm which offers multiple product/services which are also complex in nature, they can’t depend only on the internet for the sale/marketing of their products/services. The type of services that they offer often demands a detailed demonstration by the experts, so they are currently using the online advertising/marketing to create leads for their company and the rest they do directly by fixing appointments with the prospects.

25. Contd…Ethics Twin values the customers more than anything else. As the customers of Twin are corporate, losing a single customer means too much for them. Hence, Twin takes at most care in the way they market their products/services.Revenue Models Currently, Twin is using CPC (Cost-Per-Click) model for advertising in other domains/platforms. Other than this, Twin also host a website of its own (www.twininfosoulutions.com) and also it has got links in the websites of their parent organization CSS Group (www.cssgroupsite.com) and its subsidiary Thuriya Leisure, which is a tourism management firm (www.thuriyaleisure.com).Types of Ads Twin now uses normal Text/Banner ads along with the Expanding ads & Map ads.Types of Advertising Twin uses contextual advertising for their ads in the other domains.

26. RecommendationsRather than the Cost-Per-Click (CPC) model that Twin currently use, a Cost-Per-Lead (CPL) model will prove more effective for a firm like Twin as they have to ensure the leads/appointments from the customers for which they pay for. They can also do video ads showing the facilities they have, and also a forum showing the feedback of their existing customers will turn useful for Twin.Email Advertising can also be used as the prospective customers can be easily identified especially for a firm like Twin. Since the product/service offered by Twin is highly customized & also the contact ID of the prospective customers, which are corporate are easily available, this would be an effective method of advertising. Social networking sites could also be used, as many managers of corporate are easily accessible through these sites.Along with contextual advertising, Twin could also use behavioral targeting for their online advertising.Use of the interactive features of the internet would be helpful for Twin as the product/services features of Twin are complex enough to rise queries in the mind of prospects.

27. Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_advertising (26/10/09)http://tools.devshed.com/c/a/Website-Advertising/The-Best-Internet-Advertising-Strategy/ (24/10/09)http://www.auscreations.com.au/article_online_advertising.html (24/10/09)http://www.piticstyle.com/2007/10/18/measuring-the-pros-and-cons-of-online-advertising/ (25/10/09)http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2006/11/13/advertising-on-line-pros-and-cons/ (23/10/09)http://www.wired.com/politics/law/commentary/circuitcourt/2007/05/circuitcourt_0509 (24/10/09)

28. ConclusionHope you all benefited from my small seminar presentation on the topicOnline Advertising:Issues & StrategiesHave a nice day…