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Online advertising really doesn't work!

By: Qwaider

On:Sunday, May 16, 2010 7:31:26 AM
In:Thoughts
Viewed: (5144) times

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Rated 4.7/5 stars (81 votes cast) Thanks for your vote!

I know, I've seen the statistics, I've heard all the arguments. But still, I am coming to the conclusion that online advertising simply doesn't work.

This is the last thing you would hear from someone like me who makes money from online advertising. Yes, I do, so it's really not in my best interest to "spill the beans"

It's extremely alluring when you hear the numbers. Millions of users, billions of page views. The numbers are just staggering. Even the Arab world is struggling to get a piece of these millions and billions. Even at 1% content on the Internet, many are hopeful to get a piece of this pie. I understand the reasons.

But for advertisers! I think it's a total waste of money. I truly do...

The world of online advertising is vast, it springs in your face when you least expect it. So people developed natural "tolerance" to these attacks.

What happens is that most people learn to block these ads from their minds. The brain plays one of its most favorite games, blank out things you hate! You can check similar symptoms in war photographers, paramedics and surgeons. The brain simply sees the blood and gore, it just blanks it out.

In other words, these ads don't provide any stimulation to the brain. People just skip over them to get to the content they're seeking.

That's not to mention the people who actively use tools to block ads from showing up in their browsers.

While a certain percentage have actually developed a hatred to these online ads. These feelings were nurtured when users clicked by mistake and got something they disliked. They automatically associated the ads with negative feelings. Some may develop a certain hate to the brand being advertised. So in this specific corner case, advertising is doing a lot to harm the image of the advertiser!

Speaking of mistakes, this is where Online Advertising hits jackpot! The majority of clicks are probably the result of a mistake. What advertising can certainly help you get is some additional clicks, or people landing on your site. What happens after that, is anybody's guess. But I estimate that less than 1 in a 1000 would be curious enough to actually see what the site is selling! Probably even a fraction of that would end up buying something.

Compare that to traditional advertising where people actually see, hear and get immersed in the creative experience while watching their favorite movie or during a game. That will make it clear why those ads are so expensive. Because in all honesty, they work.

While online advertising ... simply doesn't!

Don't waste your time and money on these "campaigns", do something better to promote your brand. Like supporting your favorite teams, or creating some gimmick that people transmit to each other virally. Those actually work, but they're hard to get right!

Just with everything else, easy things, that anyone can do, have the least return. It's exactly the same in the world of online advertising.

Memories....

#1
Haitham Al Shishani
Said
On: 5/16/2010 9:24:22 AM
SpamScore=[0.89]

Agreed, there are for sure some success stories amongst the online ad`s but then again too few to account for!

Easy to do and/or immitate efforts in marketing as a whole (in anything actually!) has low return, that`s the bottom line :).

H.

#2
Marvin
Said
On: 5/18/2010 5:48:09 PM
SpamScore=[-0.25]

I absolutely agree. I was reading an article that talked about how advertisers actually just click on each other's ads to run up each other's ad costs, but actual customers aren't clicking. So it's really just advertisers fighting, not garnering any useful business.

I refuse to use MSN/Bing because they auto-create double-underscore hyperlinks for random words, and if you point at them (don't even click!) they spawn an irritating popup that follows your pointer around. It's VERY annoying. So I won't even look at MSN or Bing anymore. They're idiots.