Web Advertising on the Rise

As businesses throughout the country tighten their advertising budgets, print publications are taking a big hit. Magazine page counts are shrinking and publications are getting lighter each month. According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), print ad sales have drastically declined, down 9.4% from 2006 to 2007 totals.

Web ad sales, on the other hand, are on the rise in spite of, or maybe because of, the current economic situation. This article in The Oakland Press states that revenue from online advertising has increased by nearly $2 billion from last year…not half bad. The same NAA report shows an 18.8% increase in web advertising sales from 2006 to 2007.

The popularity of Web advertising is evidence of two important points:

• It is pertinent that businesses have concrete proof that advertising is worth the investment. When advertising online, people often pay based on performance, offering documented proof that the advertisement lead to increased business, or a jump website traffic at the very least.
• As many members of the Identity team have previously explored, prominence of the Web initiatives has blown up and is continuing to do so. From social media networks like Facebook and Twitter to online publications and company websites, more consumers can view and share Web ads than has ever been possible with print advertising.

Creating and maintaining an online Web advertising presence has become virtually essential to a successful ad campaign. And, if statistics from the last few years are indicative of the future of advertising, that trend will only continue and strengthen in years to come.