2010–05–21 How–Could... SEO Online Advertising

Advertising is attempting to influence the buying behavior of your customers or clients by providing a persuasive selling message about your products and/or services.

There are many different types of advertising that are effective for small businesses, from traditional forms of advertising such as signage, yellow pages listings and newspaper advertising through newer forms such as pay per click advertising on the Internet.

Technically, advertising is only one way of promoting your business, and you will want to be sure that whatever form of advertising you choose fits in with your marketing plan and overall marketing strategy.

Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action. It includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume that particular brand. It can also serve to communicate an idea to a mass amount of people in an attempt to convince them to take a certain action, such as encouraging 'environmentally friendly' behaviors. Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers. Different types of media can be used to deliver these messages, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor or direct mail; or new media such as websites and text messages. Advertising may be placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization.

Non-commercial advertisers that spend money to advertise items other than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Nonprofit organizations may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement.

In 2007, spending on advertising was estimated at more than $150 billion in the United States and $385 billion worldwide.

Online advertising

Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages, banner ads, in text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.