The Landscape of Digital Advertising: Varieties and Best Practices

Advertising is a crucial part of any successful marketing campaign. Through advertisements, a business’s promotions and messages will reach its target audience to achieve its marketing objectives. Advertising as a fundamental component of marketing can not be overstated and the several roles that it plays in marketing are the reasons why. Building brand awareness, promotion of products and services and even driving business success are some purposes of advertisement. And in a digital-centric society, utilizing this digital advertising is essential for any business that wants to stay ahead of the competition.

5 Types of Digital Advertising and How They’re Used

There are many forms of advertising, and digital advertising is one of them. Under this advertising category are more forms of digital advertising that consist of various focuses and objectives. In this article, we will discuss five of the most common forms of digital advertisement and how they are applied in marketing efforts. 

1. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

According to IDG Advertising, Search Engine Marketing is one of the most reliable forms of digital advertising. Under this category of digital advertising, there are the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) subtypes. With SEO, we optimize digital content with keywords and phrases that help it end on the first page of search engines like Google and Bing. In Pay-Per-Click, businesses bid on their ideal ad space on a website or a webpage, which allows them to catch the attention of their audience.

2. Social Media 

Social media is often used in modern digital advertising efforts. According to data released by Demand Sage, about 4.9 billion people, which is more than half of the world’s population, use social media. Businesses that use social media for their digital advertising are more likely to reach their target audience more efficiently than traditional forms of advertising.

3. Email Marketing

Apart from social media, email marketing is one of the easiest ways to reach a target audience easily. By offering website visitors to be included in an email list, businesses can reach individuals who are already interested in their products or services. Through email marketing, businesses can directly send promotions, discounts, content, or other business announcements to their most loyal customers. 

4. Native Advertising 

Native advertising is considered the least obstructive form of digital advertising for users because their own interests and online activities are considered. “Things You Might Like Based On…”, “Items Similar to…”, or “People also bought…” are some keywords that can help you identify a native ad. Even if the ad is sponsored, it will always only be shown or recommended to a person who has already purchased something similar or has looked up a specific product or service related to the ad. 

5. Display Advertising

Display advertising is the most common form of digital advertising. These ads come in the form of text on images that are displayed on various spots on a website. Display ads are shown on a website as banners, landing pages, pop-ups, or even flash ads. The biggest difference between display ads and other common forms of digital advertising is that display ads are not searchable on search engines- meaning they will not be displayed because of a search engine. 

Advertising In Digital Marketing

Advertising is a very important part of marketing. Through the use of the right form of advertising, businesses can take a step forward in reaching their marketing objectives. Sharing promotions, connecting with their target audience, and driving business growth are some rewards that businesses can reap from advertising.