The impact of the Internet on the field of advertising - Essay Example

The impact of Internet on the field of advertising Over the past two decades, the internet has come to take an increasingly significant role in the field of advertising. This is especially because of its wide usage in the global population as well as the efficiency through which companies can be able to place their adverts online. The internet has come to stir up the imagination of many advertising entrepreneurs who have come to develop different means that are used in online advertising. Because of the increasing usage of the internet, this technology has become an essential tool of advertising because it has enabled an increased outreach to those populations, which would otherwise have been difficult to reach through other traditional advertising means. The internet has had a significant impact on the manner through which advertising is conducted and this has been seen through the wide outreach that it has over a diverse number of intended targets. One of the reasons why the internet is increasingly becoming the method of choice in the field of advertising is through its effectiveness and efficiency and these have ensured that advertising companies save a lot of time (Moe, 2013, p.8). In addition, the content that is published through the internet is not restricted by time, geography, or national boundaries because there is always a guarantee that a diverse number of people will view it. This is a big advantage over traditional means of advertising which are always affected by such constraints as time and geography. As a result of its outreach to a large number of global consumers, the internet has become a tool through which adverts allow consumers to assess, like, suggest improvements, and even purchase goods and services that they like and this has ensured that there has been an increase in the market share of not only goods, but also of advertising agencies. Advertising through internet has made it possible for advertising agencies to measure the impact of their adverts on the potential viewers. This has been done through the development of methods of assessment based on measuring the number of times that individuals either visit a website or the number of clicks that have been made on a particular advert (Lee & Ahn, 2012). In this way, advertising agencies have come to have sound knowledge concerning not only the effectiveness, but also the means of developing improvement to adverts so that they can be more attractive to customers. Furthermore, internet advertising has made it possible for advertising agencies to only pay for those adverts that are performing. A method where payments are made based on the number of times that individuals click on an advert rather than on the impressions of the adverts themselves. This method of payment has attracted a large number of advertisers to the internet because they are able to have value for their money. Advertisers no longer have to worry about paying for nonperforming adverts because the internet has mechanisms to determine whether the adverts that they have posted are worth paying for or not, thus making the internet more efficient. The internet has had an impact on the manner through which investments are conducted by advertisers. This is especially true in the case where it has made possible the customization of adverts to fit into or suit different websites (Pieters, 2008). Through this means of customization, advertisers have been able to reach a wide range of internet users. Furthermore, such companies as Google and Yahoo, through their search engines, have made it possible for adverts to appear in search results and this has helped advertisers to attain the goal of reaching more individuals who are automatically attracted to the adverts in the search results (Jansen & Mullen, 2008). The monetary interest that arises has ensured increased revenues for advertisers and in recent years, internet advertising has taken a massive share of the market as more advertisers become attracted to it. Furthermore, those advertisers who have a limited budget have also been provided with the opportunity to compete with the larger advertisers in the market because outreach is not based more on the number of clicks made by potential customers rather than having the ability to pay a lot of money for adverts posted. In this way, such websites as Google allow advertisers to bid for advertising slots based in how the adverts are going to turn out. Internet has made it possible for adverts to be more targeted towards a specific niche of users rather than making general adverts which might not have a desirable impact. Therefore, it has enabled advertising based on different types of websites and the age group or generation that is likely to generate such sites (Goldfarb & Tucker, 2011). In this way, it has become easier for advertisers to develop adverts which not only attracts a distinctive number of people, but also makes it possible for them to purchase and make comments about the products being advertised. Through these initiatives, advertisers have been able to increase the sales of brands targeting different niches in the global market; a situation which was not entirely reliable through the use of traditional means of advertising. The internet has made it possible for the development of contextual adverts which are set up on specific websites, blogs, or social networks and this has helped advertisers reach individuals who were traditionally not considered to be a significant part of the market. Therefore, the internet has revolutionized the way that adverts are conducted towards different populations because it has ensured that adverts are made more visible to the targets rather than being essentially generalized. Many advertisers have come to prefer using the internet not only because of its global reach, but also because of its cost effectiveness when compared to traditional means of advertising. Placing an advert in traditional media such as newspapers of phonebooks, especially when the advertiser requires it to be prominent, is often quite expensive for advertisers (Farris, Bendle, Pfeifer & Reibstein, 2010). However, placing an advert on an internet directory tends to be essentially free and it allows an advertiser to place links on the advert so that anyone who is interested can be directed to a website with more information. Furthermore, the internet is much easier to use when compared to traditional means, especially within the current technology-conscious generation which has come to completely rely on the internet in their daily lives. This situation has created many opportunities for advertisers who have taken steps to ensure that their presence is felt on the internet. In the modern competitive world, the use of the internet in advertising has become essential for businesses and some of the most successful have their own websites. Those businesses which do not place adverts online have come to be left behind because they do not have the reach which the internet can afford them. In conclusion, many advertisers have come to realize that the internet is an unstoppable trend and technology which can reap great benefits for them. This is the reason why many of them are increasingly turning towards it with the growth of internet advertising being higher every year. In the modern world, the internet has made it possible for individuals to search for goods and services and because it is fast, it has come to be preferred over more traditional means. Therefore, the impact of the internet on the field of advertising cannot be underestimated because it has allowed for the growth of the industry in many unexpected ways. It has not only made it possible for advertisers with low budgets to have a chance to reach their customers, but it has also revolutionized the way that the impact of adverts is measured so that advertisers can know what content is worthwhile and what is not. In this way, the internet has become one of the most essential tools that can be used in the field of advertising. References Farris, P.W., Bendle, N.T., Pfeifer, P.E. & Reibstein D.J. (2010). Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Goldfarb, A. & Tucker, C.E. (2011). Privacy Regulation and Online Advertising. Management Science 57(1), 57–71. Jansen, B.J. & Mullen, T. (2008). Sponsored search: an overview of the concept, history, and technology. International Journal of Electronic Business 6(2), 114–131. Lee, J. & Ahn, J-H. (2012). Attention to Banner Ads And Their Effectiveness: An Eye-Tracking Approach. International Journal of Electronic Commerce 17(1), 119–137. Moe, W.W. (2013). Advanced Database Marketing: Innovative Methodologies & Applications for Managing Customer Relationships. London: Gower Publishing. Pieters, R. (2008). A Review of Eye-Tracking Research in Marketing. 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