Online advertising: Strategies, trends, and best practices in 2024

Benefits of web advertising: Why advertise online?

Along with SEO and email marketing, online advertising is one of the top acquisition channels for an ecommerce business. Let’s take a look at some of its advantages!

There are several advantages of online advertising for ecommerce: online ads can highlight the many assets of your brand, your products, your services, and your values. Increase your average basket, your turnover by encouraging people to buy, make your offer known, get data from your customers and users by proposing a subscription to a newsletter, enhance your content creations, your videos, your brand image... The digital world is an inexhaustible source of visibility for a business, and online advertising offers opportunities to take without delay.

Precise targeting

With online performance research, you’ll have the chance to target precise shoppers by setting up your different campaigns on the internet. Thus, with the cost of the money invested or the time used to create your ads, you can be rewarded quickly if your campaign is well built and you know your customers well.

Personalization

With online advertising, whether you organize your ads or choose to be helped by a specialized agency, each ad can be customized for very specific segments on Google, Instagram, Youtube, Google, Facebook... This type of ad marketing allows each campaign to be broken down into sub-campaigns in order to personalize your message to each target.

Beyond the users, it’s media that can be personalized: more mobile than computer? No problem! You or your agency can simply modify the options and formats to reach people who prefer using mobile devices for even more advanced targeting!

Traffic and conversion

If all your advertising strategy is going well, the results should appear on the number of visitors counted but also and especially on your number of sales, which should increase significantly!

Analytics and tracking

Throughout your online advertising campaigns, you can keep an eye on their performance, almost in real time. The sites and platforms that make it possible to create ads on the internet have complete dashboards to monitor the campaigns. So, if your ad doesn’t perform exactly as expected, you can change its options along the way.

Accessibility for all budgets

Who said advertising was expensive? Thanks to the web and especially social media, advertising campaigns are now open to everyone. Video content never seen before in your country? Something new to announce to your network? Information about the evolution of your homepage? A new ecommerce digital marketing strategy to develop on YouTube? Each piece of content created can be boosted quickly by adding a personalized budget, a cost from only a few dollars!

How does paid advertising work?

Although online advertising can involve free methods, many advertisers use paid ads in their strategies. Before we take a look at the different types of online advertising available, it's advantageous to have a good understanding of how paid advertising functions.

In paid online advertising, ad networks use an auction system to determine which ads to display. Advertisers place bids, which are the maximum amounts they are willing to pay for a user action, such as a click or impression.

When a user triggers an ad auction (e.g., by performing a search or visiting a website), the ad network evaluates the bids and other factors like ad quality and relevance. The highest bid combined with the best ad quality typically wins, meaning that ad is shown to the user.

This system ensures that ads are served to the most relevant audiences while optimizing costs for advertisers.

Example with product placement—a watch in this case

Just like when working with affiliates, when collaborating with influencers to promote your business's offerings, be sure to choose people who align with your brand values and particular audience.

In addition, it's important to define what success looks like and communicate expectations clearly so that you and the influencer are on the same page from the get-go. However, you should also allow for creative freedom, letting the influencer create content in their style to maintain authenticity.

Email advertising

Email advertising involves sending commercial messages directly to potential or existing customers' email inboxes, focusing on promoting products, services, or special offers.

Unlike email marketing, which aims to build and nurture relationships through regular, value-driven communication like newsletters and informational content, email advertising is more immediate and sales oriented.

You'll find that email advertising can be done in different types of ways. For example, email advertising can involve banner ads within newsletters, sponsored content from businesses, footer ads, and offers from non-competing brands.

As these email ads go to targeted subscriber segments directly in their inboxes with their permission, they often result in better conversion rates and increased sales.

Key online advertising strategies

When it comes to online advertising success, what is effective for some businesses may not work so well for others. Nevertheless, there are a few strategies you can employ to boost your likelihood of achieving your goals with your campaigns.

Target audience identification

Knowing your target audience is crucial, as it ensures that your efforts reach the right people, maximizing engagement and conversion rates.

A well-defined target audience helps businesses with creating personalized and relevant ad content, which resonates more effectively with potential customers. It also optimizes ad spend by focusing resources on the most likely buyers, improving overall ROI.

To obtain a better understanding of the shoppers you're hoping to reach, you'll need to analyze their demographic information, such as age, gender, income, and location. You'll also want to examine their interests, values, and lifestyle preferences. Don't hesitate to take advantage of data analytics as well, using tools like Google Analytics to gain insights into user behavior and demographics.

With this valuable information in hand, you'll then be able to create buyer personas, which are detailed profiles of ideal customers based on data.

Finally, remember to check out your competition. Analyze the customers of competing companies and identify gaps in their strategies.

Content and messaging

For successful online advertising, companies need to be able to communicate the value and benefits of a product or service, compelling potential customers to take action. Effective content captures attention, resonates with the audience, and differentiates a brand from competitors.

Clear and persuasive messaging helps to build trust and credibility, making it easier for customers to connect with the brand's values and offerings.

Furthermore, well-crafted content can enhance user engagement, improve click-through rates, and ultimately drive conversions. Tailoring the message to the audience's needs and preferences increases the likelihood of achieving advertising goals.

Choosing the right platforms

The platforms you opt to use for your online advertising efforts can play a major role in the reach and effectiveness of your campaigns. Different platforms attract different demographics and user behaviors, so selecting those that align with your target audience ensures your ads reach the most relevant viewers.

The right platforms also provide suitable formats and tools for showcasing your products, enhancing engagement and conversion rates. In addition, platform choice affects budget allocation and ROI, as each offers varying costs, audience sizes, and ad performance metrics.

Strategically choosing platforms optimizes exposure, improves targeting accuracy, and maximizes the impact of your advertising efforts.

Budgeting and bidding strategies

How you budget and bid for your online ads will also directly impact the visibility and success of your campaigns. 

Effective budgeting ensures that advertising funds are allocated wisely, maximizing reach and engagement without overspending. Bidding strategies, on platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads, determine the cost per click (CPC) or cost per impression (CPM), influencing how often and where ads are displayed. 

A well-planned strategy helps in achieving a balance between cost and performance, ensuring that ads are seen by the right audience at the right time. Proper budgeting and bidding optimize ad spend, enhance ROI, and prevent wasteful expenditure on ineffective placements.

A/B testing

A/B testing, or split testing, allows marketers to compare two or more versions of an ad to determine which one performs better. This method provides data-driven insights into elements like headlines, images, calls-to-action, and overall design.

By systematically testing variations, businesses can optimize ads for higher engagement, click-through rates, and conversions.

A/B testing helps in understanding audience preferences and behaviors, reducing guesswork, and refining marketing strategies. It also minimizes risks by identifying what works best before a full-scale rollout, ensuring that advertising efforts are both effective and efficient.

What is the best way to create money-making ad copy?

Use a strong message

First of all, you need to present your offer in a distinct and concise way. To do this, use different levers to bring out a punchy and effective message while targeting your customers! You can use different levers for your internet advertising: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.

A short and simple sentence remains ideal. It'll more easily hold the attention of your readers and is going to be more understandable. You can even dare to be original to create a real opportunity. Finally, introducing a time factor into your ad will create urgency and commitment.

Keep a promise

As we all know, the competition is tough, very tough... So you have to differentiate yourself! Make a promise to your audience and stand out. You can identify yourself with: a particular offer, a quality/price ratio, a key advantage, a saving, a discount, an element that you monopolize in your market. Your advertisement is going to definitely become attractive and your web-marketing strategy will be successful.

The plus that makes the difference

What do you think drives customers to buy? Promotions of course! A discount is the little extra that will make your online advertising the star of the moment! A free delivery, a discount on your product... It’s up to you to define the most relevant thread according to your strategy.

For example, you can create a direct, effective, concise and colorful call-to-action to maximize its visibility. Simply put, a call-to-action (CTA) is a link, a button, or a visual that encourages the user to perform an action (add to cart, sign up, etc.).

To easily create a CTA, you can use the Button Optimizer tool, very useful to create the perfect design in a few clicks that is going to appeal to your audience.

What are the important details in the appearance of an ad?

An attractive design to appeal to the internet user

Your advertising message must be qualitative. It must have a real coherence with your graphic charter. Also think of inserting your logo! Your advertising space must be adapted to your identity. Internet users must recognize your company at first glance when they view your ads.

First of all, keep it simple. Place a light frame for banners with a white background to avoid any floating. Second, know that a white background works better than a complex visual. In addition, limit color changes for animated formats; this will maintain the fluidity.

And finally, reduce the weight of your images as much as possible to ensure fast loading. A web image should be at most 100 KB. Loading time is a very big factor in the loss of internet users on the web. It shouldn’t be taken lightly! To give you an example, according to Google, a page with 500 ms more loading time results in 20% less traffic. And this is why Google has developed the AMP format.

From consistency to performance

Let’s go back to the CTA. It’s one of the key elements of your advertising campaign. It’s thanks to it that you’ll improve the conversion of your online store. You must therefore optimize it as much as possible. Think about its visibility. Your CTA should not be inside your text. It must be detached.

Then, be consistent. The destination URL must be consistent with your offer. For example, for a newsletter registration, the user must directly understand what it’s about via the CTA.

And finally, pay attention to its color. Depending on the color of the CTA, the meaning is different. For example, red is a symbol of urgency. Orange is a good deal. Lastly, green will bring confidence, etc. Keep in mind that advertising with a CTA increases the click rate by 83% to 180%! An asset to create a profitable advertisement.

Here’s an example!

Current trends in online advertising

Just like anything else in ecommerce, what's hot in online advertising one day is likely to change at some point in the future. Here are some of today's top trends that you may want to pay close attention to as you work on developing your own strategy for advertising on the internet!

Personalization

The shift towards more personalized ad experience reflects consumers' desire for relevant and customized content. Personalization involves tailoring ads to individual preferences, behaviors, and demographics, making them more engaging and effective.

This trend is driven by advancements in data analytics, AI, and machine learning, which enable marketers to segment audiences and deliver highly targeted messages.

To leverage this trend, you can collect and analyze user data to understand customer profiles and behaviors. Implementing personalized elements, such as dynamic ad content, product recommendations, and personalized email campaigns, can enhance user experience and boost engagement. In addition, availing of retargeting strategies to show ads based on previous interactions can improve conversion rates.

Video content

The growing trend of video content in online advertising is driven by its ability to capture attention and engage audiences more effectively than static images or text.

Video ads can convey complex messages quickly and memorably, often leading to higher engagement and conversion rates. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram have popularized short-form videos, making them integral to digital marketing strategies.

If you aren't already incorporating videos into your digital advertising efforts, it's time to do so! Just be sure to focus on creating compelling, high-quality content that resonates with your target audience.

Videos can be used for product demonstrations, storytelling, testimonials, and tutorials, all of which can be tailored to specific viewer interests. Optimizing videos for mobile viewing and ensuring they are shareable across social media platforms can further enhance reach and impact, making video content a vital component of a successful online advertising strategy.

Mobile advertising

With the widespread use of smartphones and tablets for browsing, shopping, and consuming content nowadays, it's no surprise that mobile advertising has become a dominant trend in online advertising. This trend capitalizes on the always-connected nature of mobile devices, allowing advertisers to reach users wherever they are.

You can take advantage of this trend by prioritizing mobile-friendly ad formats, such as responsive ads, in-app ads, and mobile video ads, ensuring that they're optimized for smaller screens. Note that with these types of ads, it's crucial to create concise, visually appealing content that loads quickly and is easy to interact with on mobile devices.

Utilizing location-based targeting can also enhance relevance and engagement, offering personalized ads based on users' real-time locations. Furthermore, integrating mobile ads with other digital marketing channels can provide a cohesive and seamless user experience, maximizing the impact of advertising efforts.

Programmatic advertising

The trend of automation in buying and placing ads, known as programmatic advertising, is revolutionizing the online advertising landscape.

This technology uses algorithms and machine learning to automatically purchase ad space in real time, optimizing targeting and ad placement based on data. This method improves efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances precision in reaching specific audiences.

To begin availing of programmatic advertising, you can start by selecting a reliable programmatic platform that aligns with your goals. Automated systems can also facilitate dynamic ad creation, allowing for real-time adjustments based on performance metrics.

Be sure to also use data analytics to refine audience segments and set clear parameters for ad placement. Remember to emphasize transparency and brand safety by monitoring where ads appear, ensuring they are shown in appropriate contexts.

Privacy and data protection

The online advertising landscape is increasingly shaped by privacy and data protection concerns, driven by regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the US.

These laws require businesses to obtain explicit consent from users before collecting and processing their personal data, emphasizing transparency and user control. Non-compliance can lead to significant fines and damage to brand reputation.

It's therefore crucial that you prioritize data privacy in your advertising strategy by implementing clear consent mechanisms, such as cookie consent banners and opt-in forms. It’s essential to be transparent about data usage and provide easy-to-understand privacy policies.

In addition, concentrate on collecting only the necessary data and consider using less invasive targeting methods, like contextual advertising. Building trust with consumers through ethical data practices can enhance brand loyalty and long-term customer relationships.

Best practices for online advertising

Focus on creativity and innovation

Creativity and innovation are key elements for being able to stand out in a crowded digital space.

Creative ads capture attention, evoke emotions, and make a brand memorable, which is essential in an environment where consumers are bombarded with countless messages daily. Innovation, on the other hand, involves leveraging new technologies and novel approaches to reach and engage audiences in unique ways.

To foster creativity and innovation with your ads, aim to encourage a culture that values experimentation and is open to risk-taking. Use brainstorming sessions to generate fresh ideas and consider diverse perspectives to fuel creativity. Try to also incorporate the latest trends and technologies, such as augmented reality or interactive content, to offer engaging experiences. 

Don't forget to stay informed about industry advancements and competitor strategies, using this knowledge to inspire and refine your approach. Finally, consistently test and iterate on creative concepts, using data to guide improvements and ensure the effectiveness of your advertising efforts.

Be authentic and transparent

In an era where users are increasingly skeptical of marketing messages, authenticity helps brands connect with their customer base on a deeper level, fostering loyalty and long-term relationships. Transparency involves clear communication about what the ad offers, avoiding misleading claims, and being open about data usage and privacy policies.

To practice transparency and authenticity, ensure that any advertising claims you make are truthful and supported by evidence. Use honest storytelling that reflects your brand's values and mission, and avoid overpromising. Remember to also always clearly disclose sponsored content and partnerships to maintain credibility. 

In addition, be transparent about data collection practices and provide users with control over their information. Engage with your audience authentically, responding to feedback and concerns with genuine care. By prioritizing these practices, your brand can better differentiate itself and build a solid reputation in the marketplace.

Maintain adaptability

As we previously touched on, the digital landscape is rapidly changing. This means that your business is likely going to face evolving consumer behaviors, emerging technologies, and shifting market conditions on a regular basis. Being adaptable can help you to quickly respond to these changes, ensuring that your advertising strategies remain relevant and effective.

For this reason, it's going to be advantageous for you to stay informed about industry trends and technological advancements, such as new advertising platforms or tools. Regularly reviewing and analyzing campaign performance data helps identify areas for improvement and adjustment.

Furthermore, embracing a test-and-learn approach, where new ideas are continuously tested and iterated, is crucial for discovering what works best. Maintaining flexibility in budget allocation also allows for quick shifts in strategy based on real-time results.

If you have a marketing team, be sure to encourage a culture of agility there as well, where members are open to change and innovation, further supporting adaptability. This proactive approach guarantees that your advertising efforts can be quickly adjusted to maximize effectiveness and ROI.

Prioritize compliance and ethics

With increasing scrutiny from regulators and the public, adhering to legal standards and ethical guidelines is a must for digital advertisers. This entails following laws and regulations related to advertising, data privacy, and consumer protection, such as the GDPR or CCPA.

Prioritizing compliance and ethics in online advertising is crucial not just for protecting a brand's reputation and building consumer trust but also for avoiding penalties, lawsuits, and negative publicity.

To ensure compliance and uphold ethics, start by developing clear policies that align with legal requirements and industry standards. Note that regular training for marketing teams on these policies is essential to maintain awareness and prevent violations.

Transparency in advertising practices, such as clearly disclosing sponsored content and avoiding misleading claims, reinforces ethical behavior. Respecting user privacy and data protection by obtaining consent and safeguarding personal information is also of the utmost importance. 

Create effective landing pages for your ad campaigns

Creating landing pages is crucial for paid ads because they provide a focused and relevant destination for users, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Unlike general website pages, landing pages are tailored to the specific ad campaign, offering a clear, concise message and CTA that aligns with the ad's promise. This relevance improves user experience and can significantly boost conversion rates for advertisers.

To maximize the effectiveness of the landing pages for your paid ads, here are few helpful tips:

• Ensure that the headline and content match the ad's message.
• Keep the design clean and free of distractions.
• Place a prominent, compelling CTA button.
• Verify that the page is responsive and loads quickly on all devices.
• Include testimonials, reviews, or security badges to build credibility.
• Continuously test different elements to optimize performance.

By following these tips, you can create landing pages that effectively convert visitors into customers.

How do you measure how successful your strategy is when you advertise on the web?

So you've put some serious work into developing what you believe to be a stellar plan for advertising on the web... But how do you know if it's actually effective?

Let's examine some elements that are going to help you in measuring and boosting your campaign success.

Key performance indicators 

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are crucial in measuring the success of online advertising campaigns as they provide quantifiable data to assess performance against specific objectives.

KPIs help businesses understand whether their ads are effectively reaching and engaging their target audience, and they offer insights into areas for improvement. By tracking KPIs, advertisers can make data-driven decisions to optimize campaigns, improve ROI, and achieve desired outcomes.

That being said, some metrics are going to be more helpful than others when it comes to web ads. Here some of the most applicable metrics for online advertising:

• Click-through rate (CTR): Indicates the effectiveness of ad creatives in driving clicks.
• Conversion rate: Measures the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as a purchase or sign-up.
• Cost per click (CPC): Evaluates the cost efficiency of generating clicks.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): Assesses the revenue generated for every dollar spent on ads.
• Impressions and reach: Provide insights into the visibility and extent of the audience exposed to the ads.

Analytics tools

Analytics tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Ads Manager are essential for tracking and measuring the success of advertising campaigns.

Google Analytics offers comprehensive insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversion tracking. It helps advertisers understand how users interact with ads and the website, revealing data on bounce rates, session durations, and conversion paths. This tool is invaluable for identifying which ad campaigns and keywords are driving the most traffic and conversions.

Facebook Ads Manager provides detailed analytics for Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns, including metrics like impressions, reach, engagement, and conversion rates. It allows advertisers to segment data by demographics, location, and device, offering a granular view of ad performance.

Both tools enable you to set and track specific goals, analyze the effectiveness of different ad creatives and audiences, and optimize campaigns in real time. They also provide ROI analysis, helping you understand the financial impact of your ad spend.

Continuous improvement

Tracking important metrics and analyzing data are great steps to take, but it's what you do with the information that really matters!

Using data to refine and improve ad strategies is essential for achieving continuous improvement in online advertising. Data-driven decision-making allows you to assess the performance of ad campaigns accurately, identifying what works and what doesn't. By analyzing metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and audience engagement, you can gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences.

This process enables the optimization of various elements of advertising campaigns, including targeting, ad creatives, and bidding strategies. For example, if data shows that a particular audience segment has a higher conversion rate, advertisers can allocate more budget toward reaching that group. Similarly, A/B testing can help identify the most effective ad variations.

Continuous data analysis also helps in adapting to changing market conditions and consumer trends, ensuring that advertising strategies remain relevant and effective. Ultimately, leveraging data fosters a culture of ongoing learning and adaptation, leading to better ROI and sustained campaign success.

Conclusion

Mastering online advertising requires a blend of strategic planning, creativity, and continuous adaptation to evolving trends and technologies.

By understanding your target audience, leveraging data analytics, and prioritizing transparency and ethics, you can create compelling and effective ad campaigns. Always aim to stay informed about industry developments and be willing to experiment and innovate. 

Remember, the key to success lies in ongoing learning and improvement. Whether you’re going to handle your business’s advertising yourself or hire advertisers to take care of it for you, use the information in this article to aid in optimizing your marketing strategy with the different forms of advertising and inspire you for your future campaigns!