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Nov 3, 2008

Exitmercials Push Visitors to Advertiser Websites

Ad buyers jump through too many hoops for low ROI
Online advertising creates friction for the ad buyer. 
Why do buyers jump through so many hoops to entice visitors to their website?
tEarn exitmercials solve the problem.

History of Advertising

Whether newspapers, magazines, coupon mailers, yellow pages, or TV broadcasts - an advertiser bundles their advertising with other content. Delivered as a media product, the advertiser is promised:
  • A minimum circulation.
  • Savings when compared to mailings.
Buyers pay a cost per thousand (CPM) like $50. When compared to minimum direct mail costs of $1.00 each, participating at $50 CPM is much cheaper than $1,000 CPM. Conversely, the $50 CPM has a cost per impression of a nickel, substantially cheaper than $1.00.

A magazine or Yellow Page book with 50,000 circulation would charge $2,500 per page - less for partial pages. This compares to $50,000 for a direct mail campaign via the USPS. 

That's the core economics of advertising.

Banners, Spots, Skyscrapers, and Other Display Ads

In 1993, I participated in the early phases to standardize online advertising. Cnet proposed banners. We pushed spots. ZDnet invented skyscrapers, initially to fill the extra space on the right edge of wide-screen monitors. 

Standards emulate print advertising.
  • Advertisers supplied a creative image in standard sizes.
  • Rather than show the same banner to every visitor, the practice randomizes - thus showing different ads to visitors. This made it hard for the buyer to find their own ad, since it may not show during their visit. 
  • The ad server controlled delivery, to provide the buyer with the exact number of deliveries that they contracted for. The buyer can buy any quantity - not just the fixed circulation of the publisher. 
  • Creative talents worked in the limited space to entice viewers to click and learn more.
  • A click takes visitors from the ad to the advertiser's web site. This is a click through.
This high friction process has become a multi-billion business with billions of ad deliveries, but low click-through rates. 

Ultramercials (i.e. fancy interactive banners), in-game, in-video, and in-text advertising continue the tradition of ads embedded on a page. Each is a high-friction buy with typical single-digit or less click-through rates.

Enter Google Text Ads

Google created Adwords. Yahoo, Microsoft, and others copied the model.
  • Buyers supply two phrases of limited length. One is the headline. The other is a tagline. 
  • Copy writers struggle with catchy phrases to attract buyers.
  • Buyers choose keywords that match customer interests to the advertiser's products. 
  • With the complexity of synonyms, buyers often choose thousands of keywords to describe their offering.
  • Buyers bid to pay a cost per click (CPC) or cost per action (CPA). When readers click on the ad, they are directed to  the advertiser webpage. Buyers pay only when clicked - a paid click.
  • A robot controls placement of ads on a page and the order of ads in a column. Buyers don't control placement and frequency - creating frustration.
Despite this high-friction process, CPC has also become a multi-billion business. CPC solved the low click-through rates of display ads. Buyers pay when there is a click-through - a paid click.

As stated by the Google CFO in 2008 Q3:
"there is insatible demand for any paid click we produce."
  • Efficient Frontier reports that CPC buyers pay from $0.30 to $0.60 per click. 
  • Google has reported mortgage brokers who pay over $4.00 per click.
When compared to $50 CPM display ads:
  • If 10% of viewers click-through, the equivalent CPC would be $0.50. 
  • At average click-through rates of 1%, the equivalent CPC is $5.00. 
  • At lower click-throughs, the CPC would be higher.
Average CPM rates have dropped. 

CPC has won increasing share of online ads. 

Buyers want click-throughs.

tEarn Exitmercials Push to Advertiser Websites

tEarn's patent-pending exitmercial system pushes qualified visitors to advertiser websites. 
  • Buyers supply a website or webpage.
  • Buyers choose a target audience.
  • Buyers choose a CPC or CPA.
Exitmericials push relevant visitors - a paid push - 100% ROI by definition.

There is no friction from:
The paid push results in a website visit without friction. Buyers focus on their product, image, and website to retain customers. 



Conclusion

Innovation simplifies.

Buyers want hits on their website. 

tEarn pushes without friction. 

How many pushes do you need?


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