It is inevitable that we are going to encounter website banner ads, whether we are searching for product information or not. Internet and website advertisements are available in two different forms – FREE or paid-for banner ads. Granted, FREE banner ads work . . . somewhat. Conversely, paid-for banner advertisements are more effective and generate a greater return on your investment. However, the success of your advertising depends on one of the 4 categories of ads that we have listed here.

Behavioral advertising – also referred as behavioral targeting, behavioral internet ads are used by internet marketers and online publishers to increase the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. The process works by gathering information on individuals who visit your website including their browsing habits, internet history, and search queries. The goal is the improvement of conversion rates through the increase of collected data relevancy.

Category advertising – website ads that serve specific categories of internet businesses are known as category advertising. For instance, if you sell sports memorabilia (baseball cards, pro jerseys, etc.), you’re going to target a male audience and place ads on applicable websites. You will find a lot of websites that target your audience so your list of ad impressions will be potentially huge at the very least.

Contextual advertising – these types of banner ads will appear on pages that contain content that is relevant to the products or services you are selling. If you sell protective gear for bikers or skateboarders, you’ll place your ads on web pages that feature content and news articles that are associated with biking or skateboarding. Contextual advertising should be used in conjunction with category advertising in order to create brand awareness and reach a larger target audience in the process.

Re-targeting advertising – internet advertisements that serve those individuals who have visited your site before while searching the web are known as re-targeting internet ads. This is the most important form of website advertising because the audience you are reaching is the most relevant to the products or services that you are offering. These website visitors are more familiar with you, your business, and your products or services and have already expressed an interest in them at least once by navigating through your site.

On a closing note, each one of these advertising categories is effective at reaching your target audience based on how you construct your website banner ads. So be sure that you determine which one will be the ideal venue for achieving your advertising goals.