Why PPC, CPA, and display advertising can live happily ever after
There is increased, heated debate about the future of advertising online. Each and every time I get my copy of NMA delivered through the door, I read articles by ‘experts’ who say PPC is the next big thing, display advertising is dead, and affiliate marketing is a dirty game packed full of dodgy coupon code site owners, and inexperienced buffoons. Everyone seems to be fighting their own corner, and forgetting the reality of digital advertising - PPC, CPA, and display advertising compliment each other, and always will.
When radio arrived, newspapers were set to die. When TV arrived, radio was supposedly destined for the media grave. And over the last ten years, with the explosion of the internet, all other media is set to die. Of course they won’t die, but we’re all seeing very interesting things happening - ‘convergence’ is a buzz word down Microsoft way especially, and different forms of media are now bleeding into one another. Time Warner / Aol, News Corporation / Myspace, and other traditional and digital media companies have merged, happy to realise that co-existence is not only mutually beneficial, but absolutely necessary.
It’s just a pity there can’t always be such realisations in the segmented world of online advertising.
Brands will always be brands - they’ll always require branding tools, and increasingly effective and engaging ones at that.
Smaller businesses will always require a more direct response approach to marketing, the sort of measurable tools that PPC and affiliate networks bring.
PPC, CPA, and display will always be here and if more people spent more time getting the three formats to work together more effectively, they can all grow together.