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Reader Question: I have newsletter articles and a forum on my Web site. Since I often have focused content on these pages, I thought that contextual ads might be a good way to supplement income from my site. Is this a good idea? What types of contextual advertising programs are available?

Answer: As I stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this article series on contextual advertising, I believe contextual ads are a simple way of adding relevant advertising to a publisher's Web site. Search engines such as Google and Overture have contextual advertising programs, and companies such as Vibrant Media offer a different type of contextual advertising, in-text contextual ads.

As with all forms of marketing, there are plenty of myths and misconceptions surrounding this form of online advertising. Part 3 of this article series will address a somewhat heated debate in the search engine marketing (SEM) industry: are contextual ads a form of search engine marketing?

Keywords equals search engine marketing

If a person hears the words "keywords, keyword phrases, or key phrases" to an online marketer, and he/she might automatically think that the discussion is about search engine marketing.

Although keywords are an integral part of the search engine marketing process, keywords are not unique to the search industry. Anyone involved in the direct marketing industry understands the importance of carefully selected words. What words and word order get the best response on an envelope and/or cover letter? What words and phrases get the best response on the outside pages of a brochure?

"Is contextual advertising new? Of course not," said Joshua Stylman, XXX of Reprise Media. "Perhaps the channel itself is now, but the idea of targeted advertising has been around forever. The news isn't the idea that ads can now be targeted - it's the notion of how they're being targeted and the possibilities ahead that are so exciting."

Additionally, topic-based ad purchasing has existed in traditional marketing for years. If a print publication is featuring an article about Web analytics software, for example, a savvy Web analytics company might purchase advertising space to be featured next to the article. The ad is relevant because it relates directly to the article.

My colleague, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch, does not believe that contextual advertising is a form of search engine advertising. Some other notable search engine marketers disagree with his point of view. I tend to agree with Danny. Contextual ads and keyword copywriting have existed in the traditional advertising and marketing long before the Web search engines came into existence.

From a publisher's point of view, contextual ads can be a simple way of generating revenue through a search engine partner. If a Web page is focused on a specific topic or keyword phrase, then the ads that appear in the online article relate directly to the article content. And if there are no relevant contextual ads available? Then the contextual ad company will use "filler" ads which are not exactly the most relevant ads.

How is this any different from print publications?

Contextual advertising equals search engine advertising

"Is contextual advertising the same thing as search advertising? Absolutely not," said Stylman. "That is like saying that magazine ads are like billboard ads just because they both use pictures. While the visual medium is similar, the delivery methods are obviously different, primarily because they are presented to users in very different mindsets. In one, the person is actively searching or reading. In the other, the ads are just scenery."

On one hand, if a contextual ad appears in a news article, editorial, or any type of publication, then I do not consider it to be search advertising. On the other hand, publishers also populate their search results (from their internal site search engine) with contextual ads. I feel that if an ad appears on a search results page, then it is search advertising. If a contextual ad does not appear on a search results page, then it is a contextual ad that is no different than any traditional ad.

"One of the fundamental flaws of Google and Overture's approach to the contextual market has been to treat it like a logical add-on to search," Styman continued. "As a marketer, we're trying to address two different audiences with a single creative execution and completely incompatible targeting. There aren't many mediums in which you're asked to pay for leads and 'trust' that your ads are being targeted the best way possible."

So in this respect, I must respectfully disagree with my colleague about contextual advertising being search engine advertising. Contextual ads might originate from a search engine company who has the technology to analyze a page's content and deliver relevant ads. Maybe search engine marketers confuse the ad delivery system and the ads themselves.

Conclusion

To answer the reader's question, I fully support adding contextual ads to his/her site. Research the different types of contextual advertising available (inline, in-text) from both search engines and other contextual ad firms. Find the one that best suits your type of Web site. If you find that the contextual ad program does not suit your site, then don't renew. If you like it and your visitors respond well to it, then great! Maybe you can add other forms of advertising to your site. Just keep a level head when you test out different programs. There are plenty of myths and misconceptions about contextual as well as search advertising. But if you take the time and thoroughly research, test, and measure the different programs available, I'm sure you will determine the program that is best for your site and your site visitors.

Shari Thurow is Marketing Director at Grantastic Designs, Inc., a full-service search engine marketing, web and graphic design firm. This article is excerpted from her book, Search Engine Visibility (http://www.searchenginesbook.com) published in January 2003 by New Riders Publishing Co. Shari can be reached at shari@grantasticdesigns.com.

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