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chapter 6 Advertising Online
further reading ...
Note that I’ve included some articles that are a couple of years old ...
don't let their publication date put you off - they are still relevant now.
The most recent posts are at end of each section.
This book covers only the essentials – for links to wider coverage of the
subjects take a look at the web pages for Digital Marketing; a Practical Approach.
Two books that will help understand online advertising are:
* Ryan Wallman’s 2019 book Delusions of Brandeur is a critique of marketing and advertising in general, but questions much of what digital has brought to the subjects. It is also very funny.
* Bob Hoffman's BadMen: How Advertising Went From A Minor Annoyance To A Major Menace (2017) should be compulsory reading for all marketers ... digital or otherwise.
The story of the first ever banner ad and why it worked so well.
Do not be put off by the term arbitrage in the title of Inside The World Of Ad Arbitrage: An Analysis Of 272,220 Taboola Ads [it's something you should know about, but if you don't, look it up - it's not complicated] the article is a fairly simply explanation of all those ad you see on the likes of news websites.
Bob Hoffman
On The Dangers of Tracking - as presented to the UK Parliament in May 2021.
Why all online advertising is advertising
If PPC is a line item on your media plan, you're not very good at it is a very good article in itself – but an additional reason for me including it here is as an emphasis that PPC advertising is a specialist skill … it is not search engine or social media marketing.
Automated, programmatic, network or display
In answering the question What Is RTB Auction Manipulation? this articles gives a good background to whether ads are automated, programmatic, network or display.
The Internet Advertising Bureau UK’s 2014 Programmatic Handbook might be a tad out-of-date - but most of the content is still relevant.
For an excellent – and basic – description of header bidding, see The Beginner’s Guide To Header Bidding. Note that in explaining header bidding, other elements of programmatic advertising are also addressed.
Watch Google's chief economist, Hal Varian, explain – in simplistic terms – how Google Adwords Quality Score works. The video is a little dated, but it will give you a sound idea of the basic concept.
Online advertising in the UK - a report from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2019) .
I've included Explain It To Me Like I’m A Baby! Digital Advertising Explainer For Consumers because it is not a million miles from my content in the book - but it's written by someone who knows far more about it than me. Note however, the book was at the publishing stage when this article was written ... so I didn't copy it :-)
The AdTech Book is a good intro to the basics of online advertising.
Search advertising
The new dot com bubble is here: it’s called online advertising is a MUST READ. Note, however, the eBay report that is central to the story is on BRAND keyword advertising, not any keyword advertising.
In this video Google's chief economist, Hal Varian explains – in basic terms – just how search ads rank and cost - it's a little dated, but it will give you a sound grounding in what is going on.
This list of the 10 Most Expensive Google Keywords dates back to 2017 - but I doubt they have changed much since then.
I've included To make every conversion count, count every conversion not as a tip or guide, but as an illustration of the help that Google gives to digital advertisers. Google wants your ads to be effective so that you spend more money with them, so it is in their interest to give this help.
I have included No search volume? No problem! 3 ways to improve low-traffic AdWords campaigns as it is a good story on how to improve SERP advertising. However, given how few searches are made for the example products, I have to wonder if the marketing budget might have been better spent offline.
Here's a series of guides on different aspect of advertising on SERPs from someone who seems to know what she is talking about ... Expert’s Guide to Optimizing Automated Rules in Google Ads, What Works & What Doesn’t When Automating Ad Copy & Keywords and The Pros & Cons of Every Automated Bidding Strategy in Google.
What makes people click on search ads?
There are many articles that cover How Google Ads determines what you pay - but this one is good.
The Growth of Voice Search and Pay Per Click .
Ignore the title ... 30 questions to ask that so-called PPC ‘expert’ before hiring him/her is a quick guide to PPC advertising.
How to Use Competitors’ Names in Google Ads.
Google Ads Auto Applied Recommendations: Every setting, explained does what it says in its title. Note that it covers both Google search and display ads.
The title of Are search ads worth the cost? is misleading as it refers only to very specific search ads – those where a brand ‘buys’ ads for searches on its own name.
I find that Beginner’s Guide to Keyword Search Volume for Marketers reads as if it is about choosing keywords for SEO - but it's about search advertising.
Google is probably the best source of help and advice on advertising on its SERPs – here’s some more … Google launches Ad Creative Studio to customize video and display ads
Search shopping ads: 4 experts on how to shape your strategy gives a good idea on how this is a full time – and complex – job.
Advertising on social media
Advertising on Pinterest ... Understanding Pinterest: A social media ‘outsider’ or marketing gem?
Advertising on Facebook ... 5 Effective Facebook Ad Targeting Options Which You May Not Know About.
Although What’s the Best CTA For Your Facebook Ads? has a focus on Facebook ads, much of its content is relevant to all network ads. Not only does it tell you specifically about Calls To Action and the difference each type can make, it also gives examples of the cost [in this case $5 to $12] and click-through-rates [0.73 to 1.56].
1/3 of Instagram users have bought directly from an ad, study finds is another example of needing to be aware that the headline might be being used by sellers quoting research as evidence of demand to promote whatever it is they’re selling. The reality is that of the millions of ads on Instagram, only 1/3 of people have even made a purchase from just one of them. It kind-of changes the story doesn’t it?
Seven tips and tricks for optimizing Facebook Ads gives you some idea of what Facebook offers advertisers.
I've included Now your Google text ads can show on YouTube search results as another example of digital marketing being an ever-changing landscape.
Twitter Launches New 'Carousels' Ad Format Option.
Only one in 10 Brits trusts social media advertising, YouGov survey finds.
Elon Musk’s purchase – and subsequent managerial decisions – of Twitter is a story told all media. Although it is a business story rather than digital marketing, it gets a mention here because Mr Musk’s actions saw advertisers such as General Motors, General Mills, VAG [VW, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche and Ducati, Mondelez (Oreos, Cadbury, Ritz...etc) and Pfizer withdraw from the platform. So, for the digital advertiser, work was needed to re-allocate an advertising budget and prepare ads for other media. Or what about the business whose main source of income came from ads on Twitter. Or what if posting on Twitter was an integral part of your social media/content marketing efforts? The moral? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Display network [programmatic] advertising
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has produced a couple of videos on digital advertising that you will find useful ...
* How an ad is served with Real Time Bidding (RTB).
* Understanding Programmatic Digital Advertising.
It can't do any harm to have another view on the subject ... What is programmatic advertising? A beginner’s guide.
I don't totally agree with everything in Marketers misunderstand the two tasks of online advertising - but that isn't to say I'm right and the its author is wrong. Read it carefully and you'll see the basic premise of online ad objectives is very similar to mine.
Google Display ads have evolved: What’s next for display?
Google's chief economist, Hal Varian explains – in basic terms – just how search ads rank and their cost. The video is a little dated, but it will give you a sound grounding in what is going on.
An extension of Retail media networks (RMN), May 2022 saw hotel group Marriott roll out its own media network that allows brands to reach customers on its apps and tv screens. More on RMN … Walmart Connect expands with TikTok, Snap
Re-targeting and re-marketing
Re-targeting - Six big re-targeting mistakes marketers should avoid.
Pummeling users with Google remarketing ads they don’t want to see? Now they can mute those, too … was big news when it was announced, how’s it going now?
Native advertising
Sorry ... nothing yet
Landing pages
Why retailers should create product landing pages for their shopable social posts.
Limitations of online advertising
Does it work?
‘There is a big hole in the value chain’: Brands lose 50% of the money they invest in programmatic ads is another report questioning the validity of programmatic advertising - and it doesn't even mention ad fraud.
How do you measure a good click-through rate (CTR) for PPC?
Banner blindness may or may not be fiction – but it does relate a true story.
Study: Most location-based ad spending is wasted on bad targeting.
My experience is that I seem to be able to go for days without seeing an online ad that is relevant to me - it even comes as a pleasant surprise when I do see one. However, the author of How many relevant ads do we see each day? puts more effort into the equation. Note that he refers to ads he sees - what he is really saying is ads that have been presented to him, he might have seen them subconsciously, but not consciously i.e. taking notice of them. I suggest that you take these numbers into account when considering the fraud issues presented further down this page.
How Much Is Left Of A Marketer’s Dollar, After Digital ‘Leakage?’ offers a clear pictorial representation of where ad money might go.
Ads on Facebook may not be that important for brands after all, Forrester data shows - what happened when companies pulled their advertising from the social platform during a boycott in 2020.
There is more to the story than just the headline of Mobile video ads had some of the lowest ROI in 2020.
Ignore the title of Sub Prime Data Crisis, this 8 minute video covers much of what is included in the book and on this website, but you can watch/listed to it rather than reading.
Waste Not, Grow Not and Rethinking John Wanamaker.
Two stories on the same theme … I stopped advertising everywhere and nothing happened
and A Positive Story About Digital Marketing -- They Stopped Spending.
Don’t be put off by the title of Marketers should pay more attention to attention it’s Mark Ritson talking about the limitations of online advertising.
Do users like ads?
People Believe Ads Are Becoming More Intrusive.
The overall message in What Consumers Want in Advertising is not particularly good news for digital marketers, not least that when asked which advertising medium they prefer, 58% of respondents put TV on top, ... more than 4 times as many respondents as the next-most preferred type, online ads (13%).
Ad saturation and over-targeting damaging people’s trust in brands.
The results shown in Five Charts: Why Users Are Fed Up With Digital Ads suggests that people are annoyed by the state of advertising.
Banner Blindness Revisited: Users Dodge Ads on Mobile and Desktop.
40% of Brits dislike all types of online ads, finds Ofcom media usage report.
Ad fraud
Although ad fraud has been around for as long as there have been online ads, the last year or so has seen the practice being publicised more than ever before - much of this being led by Dr. Augustine Fou. I've selected just a few helpful articles by him for this section - if you want to read more you could do worse than starting by searching on his name and reading his many articles published in a variety of sources.
In the book I describe only the very basic kind of ad fraud, here are a few more from the excellent Dr Fou ... Fraud Technique and Purpose Matrix.
Digital Ad Fraud Explainer For Marketers.
How Much of the Internet Is Fake? shows that my description of how ad fraud works is rather naive.
You’re being used to steal $50 billion in digital advertising.
Digital Advertising - We're In The Upside Down.
Industry Associations Have Misled You on a 20-Year Wild Goose Chase.
And in Everything Is Awesome—Everyone Keep Buying a sceptical eye is cast over a report that says fraud rates are negligible.
Tips For Improving Every Digital Tactic You Use is pretty much an introduction to ad fraud.
There are a couple of things in that bother me about How much ad traffic is invalid? Moat quarterly benchmarks break it down. First is that I find it hard to believe that invalid traffic [IVT] in the US and UK is so low - but more concerning is that it is the organization that is presenting these figures. Even if you ignore the evidence presented by others [including Dr Fou], it is difficult to see how an organization that sells analytical services have come up [down?] with such figures. Or is Oracle right and others wrong? However, the white paper linked-to in the article has the title; Protect Your Ad Spend from Invalid Traffic and Fraud - which seems to make a big deal out of avoiding a loss of 5%, which seems an acceptable shrinkage to me.
Another one from Dr Fou - The User-Not-Present Problem Of TV Ads Is User-Not-Human In Digital. It covers more issues, but if you consider only what he points out about registered domain names that alone suggests that the 5% IVT in the Oracle article [above] is, err, optimistic.
More from Dr Fou ...
Declared Vs Detected, And All The Fraud In Between is worth reading if only for the paragraph; 'There simply aren’t enough humans on earth, let alone ones that spend time online and on mobile devices and apps, to generate the enormous quantities of ads bought and sold through programmatic channels'.
Marketers Give These Reasons For Buying More Digital Ads - Dr Fou explains why/how they're all wrong.
Study:
“LinkedIn is Basically a Money Pit” Because of Ad Fraud.
An update on
click farms I describe in the book - apparently they're back in favour for 'long game' frauds, see
Meteoric Rise in Fraud Attacks by Human Farms.
About That Leaked Employee Email Saying That Facebook Targeting Was Crappy covers more than how Facebook advertising doesn't work - it offers advice on how to make it work better.
When Big Brands Stopped Spending On Digital Ads, Nothing Happened. Why?
Some of the previous articles mention the use of bots - Bots Emulate Any Audience You Want To Target explains how they're used by the nefarious folk out there.
This video - Online advertising causes the world's biggest data breach. We are going to court to stop it - is well worth your time. From a privacy point of view, you may find it disturbing. From an online advertising point of view it will tell you how real-time-bidding [RTB] works.
This Devious—And Mostly Legal—Ad Scam Is Bleeding Small Businesses Dry.
A guide to the different types of ad fraud Which Forms of Fraud Are Impacting Your Digital Campaigns? CPM, CPC, CPL, CPA, or all?
Marketers Give These Reasons For Buying More Digital Ads.
Digital (Money Laundering, Tax Evading, Terrorist Funding) Advertising.
How Two Small Businesses Beat Ad Fraud.
How Bots Corrupted Advertising.
Inappropriate host websites
Some of the problems with programmatic advertising … Brand safety looms large over YouTube’s Brandcast pitch to advertisers as further crisis emerges and
YouTube 'urgently' removing ads from inappropriate videos of kids as big brands freeze ad spend.
80% of people would avoid buying brands featured next to extreme or dangerous content.
Based on research October 1 to January 12 in the US,
Over 1,000 brands ran ads alongside election misinformation.