Internet is indeed a unique medium, not only in its reach and in scope, but also in the way it can influence the buyer’s decisions. It is important that before using internet as a means to enhance your product’s visibility and reach, you must understand its unique nature.

The web is certainly the only interactive medium in the world and that too in the real sense of the word. It is therefore very accurate in its presentation of the facts about the actual customer perception. No other medium is as powerful in its prediction of the consumer’s likes and dislikes as the internet because the consumer is directly interacting with the seller and can give real time feedback.

It allows its users the benefit of accessing information about not only the product but also the competitor’s offerings, compare and contrast the benefit and disadvantages of both.

In this unique way, the internet is indeed different from all other mediums of advertisement and it is these features of the Web that giver it an extra edge overall of the other mediums like the print and television. There are several other ways in which the net overtakes its other counterparts in providing an advertising edge to all those who chose it to display their products. Some of these are:

1. Accurate and instant feedback - The best thing about the net is that it provides an instant feedback to its advertisers and gives a very accurate view of what the consumer or the target audience wants and desires. It also tells the sellers about what is wrong with the product and what the target customers really thinks about it. To begin with, it tells the advertiser whether the advertisement was actually seen or not, whether it reached the target audience and whether it was able to deliver the message to the desired audience or not.

Unlike most other advertisement mediums, the web allows the advertiser to know exactly whether the particular ad was clicked on or not. In fact, if the ad was clicked, the advertiser can even get to identify who clicked it and from which location and at what time. It is any advertiser’s dream come true and provides him with a wealth of usable information.

When advertising on the web, the sellers can even track the “web foot prints” with the help of server statistics and cookies to see who all visited that ad and clicked on it. These footprints also tell us where did they came from, which all pages did they visit, on which page did they spend most of their time and when and where did they exit? It provides complete and comprehensive information about the advertisement.

2. Better Returns on Investment(ROI) - There is not an iota of doubt on the fact that internet gives better Returns On Investment (ROI) made and is the most cost effective and efficient medium for advertising.

It is the only medium where the advertiser pays ‘only for the banners’ that have actually been displayed. When an ad is placed on the web page, the advertiser does not have to pay anything. He only pays for it ‘if and when’ the customer clicks on it. Banners that only appear but aren’t clicked are not chargeable to the advertiser. This is something unheard of in any other medium. In the internet parlance this is generally, referred to as “pay per click”.

If the user ‘clicked out’ of the page before the banner was loaded or even after it was loaded he did not click on it, then the advertiser does not have to pay fro it. It is that simple and so much cost effective.

3. Non-intrusive advertisements - While most other mediums are considered very intrusive, the advertisement through the Net is a non-imposing medium. Internet advertising is considered non-imposing because the consumers have the choice to decide whether they need to click on the ad or not. The ad is not just forced on them, they make a conscious choice to view the ad and in case they do not want to watch it, they are free to do so.

However, the important question is that should advertisers switch over to the Net and not bother about other mediums of advertising?

There is no straight answer to this question. It all depends upon what is the product, who is the target audience plus internet cannot replace the other mediums completely; for the simple reason that, the number of net connections in the world is just about 12 % of its total population! Many experts have mulled over this tricky question of whether the Net will completely sweep away the conventional forms of advertising like the Newspapers, television, radio, billboards, other outdoor advertising etc,. Nevertheless, the answer to that is NO. Even though we all agree about the efficacy of Web advertising and its cost benefits; yet at the same time we all know that every person spends time reading newspapers or watching T.V or listening to the radio and these remain a most important form of advertising. All through this time, advertisers the world over, have been using conventional media with great élan and success and now advertising on the net can also be added to its glorious list!

The smart choice would therefore be to couple up the power of internet advertising with that of other conventional forms of advertising so that advertisers can get the benefit of both the worlds. Most companies today devote 10 to 15 % of their entire advertising budget to web advertising and get great success.

Time is right to utilize the power of the web to enhance your product’s reach to unimaginable corners of the world through the simple yet effective tool called the World Wide Web.

Does everyone benefit from Internet Advertising?

No, it all depends on the target customer. If the product is aimed at rural youth, then placing an ad on the net will not be of much use, but on the other hand, if the target consumer is urban youth, then it is a good idea to have net advertising. Similarly, products for small children, old people and women in rural areas where internet connectivity and reach is not possible do not benefit from net advertising.

Yet more and more producers and sellers are using the net for advertising and with great results. Everything from entertainment, insurance, finance to consumer durables is available on the net world. Remember, this is just the beginning…