The 6 Most Effective Types of Online Advertising [for Small Businesses in Japan]

Many companies may use Internet advertising to attract Web customers, but there are many different types of Web advertising.

It is necessary to choose the type of advertising to use, such as ads that appear in search results or banner ads that appear on websites, depending on the target users and the purpose of the advertisement, and to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each type of Web advertising.

Therefore, we would like to explain the types of Web advertising and basic operation methods for companies and marketers who are considering using Internet advertising to attract Web customers.

  • You’re considering entering the Japanese market

  • You asked an advertising agency for web advertising, it was not cost-effective

  • You’re currently dissatisfied with the strategy and cost of the SEO consulting company currently contracted

For those who have concerns about marketing, please refer to the types and basic operation methods of web advertising in Japan introduced here. We have summarized what kind of effects can be obtained through this work. Our SEO consulting is recommended for those who have the following issues and objectives.

▽SEO is important for attracting customers!▽

Types of Online Advertising & Advantages | Online Advertising is growing every year!

Online advertising is a type of advertising and marketing which place ads on the internet. It is also known as web advertising, digital advertising, internet advertising or online marketing. It is also known as web advertising, digital advertising, internet advertising or online marketing.

According to a study by Yano Research Institute Ltd., the Japanese Web advertising market is growing every year, and is expected to exceed 2 trillion yen by FY2020. Demand for SNS and video advertising will continue to increase.

Types of Online Advertising – You don’t need to use every type

The following is a list of typical types of web advertising. The details are explained one by one below, but it is correct to judge that you do not need to use every type of media to attract customers on the Web, but rather use different types depending on the target audience as well as the product or service to be advertised.

  • Listing Advertising (Google/Yahoo)
  • Display Advertising
  • Social Media Advertising (twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Line)
  • Video Advertising (YouTube)
  • Affiliate Advertising
  • Native Advertising

The author of this article has worked for an advertising agency in the past, and in most cases, when a client requests advertising management, listing advertising, display advertising, and SNS advertising can be used to cover the needs of the client.

What are the advantages of using Online advertising?

Compared to mass advertising such as traffic ads and commercials, the advantages common to web advertising as a whole are as follows.

  • Easy to measure your results
  • You can target people on a number of factors such as location, age, device type, etc.
  • More cost effective than traditional advertising

One of the strengths of Web advertising is the ability to clearly measure the effectiveness of your ads (how many conversions?). The strength of Web advertising is that you can clearly measure the effectiveness of your ads (how many conversions?).

While traffic advertising has its advantages, such as establishing an image through forced visibility, the value of Web advertising lies in its ability to efficiently attract customers by distributing advertisements to user segments that are in greater demand.

Types of Online Ads1 | Listing Advertising

Listing Advertising is one of the major types of Web advertising, and is relatively easy to manage as a search-linked advertisement. Listing Ads can be placed for users who search for specific keywords, and are particularly likely to generate conversions (reservations, applications, etc.) among Web advertisements.

Listing advertisements basically employ a cost-per-click (CPC) fee structure, in which advertising costs are incurred for each click.

Advantages of Listing Ads | Easy to reach target audience

Listing advertisement

As an example, we have included a listing ad that appears when searching for the keyword “cheap insurance. Since it comes at the top of the search results, not only does it have a high CTR (click-through rate), but it also has the advantage of being able to post ads that correspond to the actions and interests of the target user base.

In addition, listing ads are placed above natural search results, and unlike SEO, they have the advantage of being displayed immediately after submission, which would have an immediate effect compared to SEO, which requires more time.

Disadvantages of Listing Ads|The number of users targeted by ads is limited.

However, listing ads are dependent on Google and Yahoo search results, so if the number of keywords related to the ad is small or the number of searches is limited, the number of potential customers will decrease.

It is true that listing ads are the easiest Web advertising to obtain conversions, but since the number of ads delivered is limited if listing ads alone are used, it is a good idea to operate other Web advertising media as well.

Types of Online Ads2| Display Advertising

People searching on Google

Display Advertising is another type of Web advertising that is widely used on websites and in applications. Display ads are also called banner ads because banner images are often used in display ads.

When submitted to Google, they are displayed on the Google Display Ad Network (GDN), and when submitted to Yahoo, they are displayed on the Yahoo Display Ad Network (YDN).

  • For GDN: Livedoor Blog, YouTube, Gmail, etc.
  • For YDN: NAVER, Yahoo News, etc.

In some cases, we operate on both GDN and YDN, since ads can be placed on each partner site.

Advantages of Display Ads | Reach a wider range of users

With Display Ads, advertisements can be placed in a wider range of locations than with listing ads, such as the top pages of blogs and websites and the websites of related services, and thus play a role in making your products and services known to a variety of users.

Also, it is easier to lower the cost-per-click (CPC) than listing ads, making it an easy type of advertising to try for the purpose of expanding recognition and branding. In addition to image banners, display ads can also be submitted with text and video creatives, making it possible to use different creatives according to the target audience and the service you wish to advertise.

Disadvantages of Display Ads

However, while display ads offer a wide variety of placement options and creative types, they also have the disadvantage of not leading to conversions because of the difficulty in targeting only prospective customers.

The conversion rate (CVR) is low, and there are many points where advertisements must be improved and analyzed, making efficient operation difficult. However, display advertising also has the advantage of remarketing distribution, which can be set to advertise to users who have visited your page once, so you can lower your CPA (cost per acquisition) by continuing to operate your ads.

Types of Online Ads3 | Social Media (SNS) Advertising

SNS Advertising is also growing in demand in Japan, and its strength lies in its highly accurate user targeting. Not only the age and gender of users, but also their occupation and income can be identified from their SNS profiles, making it possible to narrow down user demographics through demographic targeting.

However, the user demographics and purpose of use of SNS advertising vary greatly depending on the media, so it is necessary to use different media for different types of advertising in order to effectively deliver ads. It is a good idea to check each medium to prevent mismatches in approach.

Twitter Ads – An excellent medium for spreading advertisements

As one type of SNS advertising, Twitter Ads are displayed on the timeline on Twitter, and since likes and retweets can be obtained in the same way as regular posts, they are highly effective in spread ing the message.

Twitter ads are effective in generating more reach and impressions than the original advertising budget, but unless the content of the ads and creative is creative, the ads will be skipped just like regular timeline posts and the click-through rate (CTR) may drop. Therefore, it is a good idea to consider the content according to the tastes and interests of the target audience.

LAP (LINE Ads) – High frequency of use and active rate

LINE is widely used as a communication application tool in Japan, and advertisements can be placed on LINE Timeline, LINE NEWS and related media.

Compared to Twitter and Instagram, LINE has more users in Japan, so you can expect a higher number of ad views. However, targeting users is relatively segmented, so it is recommended to use this service for branding and awareness expansion first.

Instagram Ads – Suitable for advertising to women in their 10s~20s

Due to the purpose of posting photos and videos, Instagram can be used to effectively advertise products and services for young women. There are feed ads that can be placed within posts on the timeline, as well as Stories ads, which are often placed for services such as beauty and travel, based on user trends.

In addition to being used for branding and awareness expansion for women, Stories ads can also be used to guide users to websites and attract customers, which can be expected to increase CVs. However, services with many users other than young people will be a mismatch, and Instagram ads will be less effective.

Facebook Ads – Amazing targeting capability and similar audiences are strong points.

Facebook Ads can target the interests and attributes of registered users with reference to their personal information, and if you have customer data, you can optimize your ads by targeting similar audiences to your existing users.

If the direction of targeting is clear, Facebook can efficiently deliver advertisements. However, there are some disadvantages, such as the difficulty of managing and verifying the effectiveness of detailed settings, and the fact that CPA (cost per conversion acquisition) does not drop easily in the beginning due to machine learning involved in the targeting process, This gives the impression that the degree of difficulty is high.

Types of Online Ads4 | Video (YouTube) Advertising

Ads appearing on YouTube

Video advertising is another recent trend that is rapidly increasing, and the main type is video advertising on YouTube. One of the reasons for the increase in demand for video viewing is the next-generation communication standard 5G, which will be in service in Japan from March 2020.

It is said to be 100 times faster than 4G. 5G-compatible smartphones have already been deployed in the U.S., European countries, and South Korea, and will be released one after another in Japan in the future.

Advantages of YouTube Ads – Highly appealing and reaching potential customers

You may have the impression that advertising costs will be high when videos are posted on YouTube, but in the case of YouTube ads, it is possible to distribute them with a relatively low budget. In addition, creative videos have the advantage of expressing and appealing the merits and advantages of services that cannot be conveyed in text or images in an easy-to-understand manner.

Another difference from listing advertisements is the feature of being able to distribute advertisements to low-interest or potential customers who are relatively uninterested in the service. Therefore, it is recommended to first appeal to the main user base with listing ads and display ads, and then use YouTube ads to cultivate a new user base.

Disadvantages of YouTube Ads – CVs are difficult to obtain and creative production costs are high.

On the other hand, although YouTube Ads have high visibility, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to obtain CVs, making it difficult to induce users to visit a website or purchase a service using only YouTube, so it is recommended to use YouTube in combination with other Web advertising.

Another bottleneck is the high production cost of video creatives,

  • Have an in-house designer produce the video
  • Hire a production company to shoot the video for you.
  • Introduce skill-less video production tools.

The disadvantage is that it is more expensive and time-consuming than image banners. Recently, there are more and more video editing tools that can be easily created by people without video editing skills, but in the end, the number of editing templates is limited, so it is unlikely that you will be able to produce the video you want.

Types of Online Ads5 | Affiliate Advertising

Affiliate Advertising is another type of online advertising, which is promoted through bloggers’ websites and social networking sites.

Generally, affiliates can advertise through an affiliate service provider (ASP), but it is also possible to sign a contract directly with an affiliate if you have your own affiliate system in place.

The advantage of this is that the CPA (cost per conversion) can be clearly defined, as you will be charged on a performance-based basis when an application or purchase of service occurs as a result of an affiliate’s promotion.

However, there is a risk that conversions may not occur easily depending on the affiliate’s advertising method, or that the service or brand image may be damaged because it is difficult to check all the places where advertisements are placed.

Types of Online Ads6 | Native Advertising

Native Advertising is delivered on news sites and social networking sites between content, posted images, and tweets. Native advertising has the advantage of high CTR (click-through rate) because it does not look like an advertisement in a good sense and is displayed in a natural design, making it easy to lead people to your site.

In addition, since the destination sites and media can be selected, advertisements can be posted according to user demographics, but compared to other Web advertising, advertising locations are limited, so it is difficult to use this as the main type of advertising to operate.

As an experienced ad manager, I would not recommend native advertising as a priority, so you should only be aware of native advertising as a means to achieve this.

Summary of Web advertising operation methods|Consider other means of attracting customers!

Web advertising meetings

We have introduced the different types of Web advertising, but if your advertising budget is small (~$1,000), you can expect to attract more customers with listing ads alone. If you want to increase your advertising budget and expand your promotions, you can use display ads and SNS ads to broaden your targeting.

  1. Appeal to users close to conversion with listing and search ads
  2. Expand targeting with SNS ads
  3. Expand awareness and prepare to attract new users with display ads and YouTube video ads

However, since there are also tools such as e-mail sales and SEO measures to attract web customers, it is important to expand the search inflow for long-term branding rather than short-term customer acquisition.

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