A Guide To Advertising on The Internet

The internet offers many exciting opportunities to advertisers used to advertising in media such as print and television, both in terms of cost, targeting, and speed. Using the internet, it is possible to get feedback in as little as one hour and to test several different versions of your advertising copy simultaneously to discover which is superior.

To make the most of advertising on the Internet, it is vital that one first grasps the full range of options which are available. The potential advertiser is confronted by a vast range of choices, ranging from banner ads to sponsored e-zine adverts and search engine pay-per-click adverts. Pay per impression (CPM) advertising is available, as is pay-per-action (i.e. affiliate programs.)

No less important is an understanding of the basics of advertising as a science - those principles that ensure that every advertising effort is focused towards improving the results in a systematic fashion.

This web site will guide you through the application of the Scientific method to advertising, and inform you of your many options when it comes to buying advertising on the Internet.

Scientific Advertising

At the turn of the last century, advertising was developing into an art form. As the printed media of the day was becoming rapidly saturated with marketing messages, so too was the effectiveness of this marketing reducing, as the average reader was learning to develop a sales resistance. The art of sales copywriting was becoming a vital necessity, as the fortunes of companies and individuals were determined by the success of advertising campaigns.

It became increasingly obvious at this time that it was necessary for individual pieces of advertising copy to distinguish themselves from the competition, and that advertising was no longer about "getting the company's name in front of the public," but instead it was about getting orders and a solid return on investment.

To enable advertisers to achieve these goals, a new school of thought was founded. Scientific advertising was born.

On this site I have included the full text of some of the classic works of this movement, as relevant to advertising today as they were when written.