It is undeniable that people are increasingly using the internet and so marketers will be looking to advertise online more to reach their audience, it is claimed.

According to Jack Wallington, chair of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Search Council, there will be increased migration to advertising online and he hints that marketers should look to use more than just one medium to sell a product.

“If a consumer is still reading a certain magazine but also using the internet it would be silly to ignore one,” Mr Wallington adds.

Advertising spend on the internet grew by 21 per cent year-on-year between January and June 2008 on a like-for-like basis, with £1.7 billion invested, according to IAB figures.

On the whole, the advertising sector declined by -0.7 per cent but online’s share increased to 18.7 per cent for the first half of 2008, compared to 14.7 per cent from the same period in 2007.

Internet targeting allows businesses to reach the audience who are interested in what is being marketed, particularly if search terms are used as well, it is claimed.

Jack Wallington, chair of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Search Council, notes that search terms can tell the marketer what the consumer is trying to find.

He claims that targeted marketing on the internet “is both effective and accountable” as “you know exactly what audience you are marketing to and where your money is going”.

“You know how many adverts you are distributing and who to.”

The IAB Online Adspend 2008 report shows that there are 31.6 million people now online in the UK, according to the BMRB Internet Monitor May 2008.

Online adspend in 2008 stood at around £1.7 billion, while spending on internet advertising rose by 21 per cent year-on-year on a like-for-like basis, the report revealed.

However, the advertising industry as a whole declined by -0.7 per cent, the report noted.

Internet advertisers can benefit from targeting as it is aimed at people who have a genuine interest in whatever the product is, it has been claimed.

Jack Wallington, chair of the Internet Advertising Bureau’s Search Council, said that targeting and retargeting are proven to increase the efficacy of advertising initiatives.

He made his comments after Yahoo! released its new targeted online advertising package during the organisation’s keynote speech at the IAB’s annual conference on February 24th.

Yahoo!’s package amalgamates and improves existing search targeting and retargeting tools and Mr Wallington commented that the bringing together of applications is the “big hook” of the offering.

He added: “You can either advertise on the search or on the website. So this is really bringing it all together.”
Search paid-for listings accounts for a 58.3 per cent share of online advertising spend, according to figures from the IAB.

The company’s figures also reveal that £981 million was spent on search advertising between January and June last year.

There is one set of words to bring people to the website and another to bring them through it, it is claimed.
Gerry McGovern, writing for gerrymcgovern.com, says there are search words that bring people to the website and tend to be short and precise and it is important to understand what these are.

However, there are also an entirely different set of words that come into play once the website has been found, something which Mr McGovern calls “carewords”.

These words “are softer and more subtle”, according to the expert.

“Understanding how people search is extremely important but is only part of the battle to understand what people actually want when they search,” he comments.

Mr McGovern gave the example of searching for a “cheap hotel”, when what he would really be looking for would be an inexpensive four or five-star hotel.

Jack Wallington, chair of the Internet Advertising Bureau’s Search Council, recently praised Yahoo!’s new targeted online advertising package.

He said that targeting and retargeting improves the efficacy of internet advertising campaigns.