BannerSpace.com recently announced the development of AreaPoint, an exciting new technology that will allow both high-budget and low-budget advertisers alike to target their advertising to specific regions as small as a single zip code. This marks a huge improvement over any previous attempts at regionally specific advertising which usually resulted in wasted time and more importantly wasted advertising. Although BannerSpace.com is using a radically different approach to developing a more relevant advertising option, the philosophy behind AreaPoint matches that of Google AdSense and Overture Content Match systems: all of these programs are looking to increase the relevancy of ads displayed.

These new programs, which all focus on increasing the relevancy of ads that are displayed to web surfers, are a far cry from the mantra that publishers were pronouncing just 1-2 years ago. Before relevancy became the focus of publishers, developing page popping, obtrusive ads to grab the attention of surfers seemed to be the only option to leverage an effective advertising campaign. Although many of the methods developed during this time are still in wide use today, their effectiveness is dropping as users are learning to either ignore these ads or implement software to block these ads.

Although most advertisers loathe Overture’s high prices and publishers find themselves competing with their effectiveness, all web users should stop and thank that company for bringing relevant advertising to the Internet. It is not that advertisers and publishers were not trying to find ways to develop ways to deliver more relevant ads, its just that no one succeeded. In fact, DoubleClick was sued over privacy issues as they collected information on web surfer’s habits. Overture, by employing a simple keyword triggered ad, was able to place advertisements in front of surfers that were ready to take action. Thousands of other businesses followed Overture’s lead, but no one company seemed to take the concept any further until Google launched AdWords. AdWords blended text-based and keyword-based advertising with network publishing across non-search based websites. Using a spider which could “sense” the concept of an individual page, AdWords would display ads that matched the concept of a site. The effect was overall positive.

Google recently announced a few changes in their AdWords program that shows an even higher level of targeting advertisements. AdSense, the publisher side of the AdWords program, no longer simply understands the overall meaning of a webpage. AdSense is now determining the relevance of concepts on each and every page. This means that AdSense not only will determine that a page is about digital cameras, but it will determine how the site treats the topic. Is it a review of different digital cameras or simply a site that deals with photography tips for digital photographers? The first of the two would generally lead to a more effective ad if you are showing ads selling digital cameras.

With this newfound knowledge of individual web pages, Google will now attempt to alter the price of an ad based on the relevant concepts within that page. In other words, the exact same ad may cost more on a page offering reviews of digital cameras over an ad that offers photography tips. The idea here comes back to relevancy. How can publishers place the most relevant ads in front of web surfers? Or, on the flip side, how can publishers place their advertiser’s message in front of the right people at the right time.

BannerSpace.com’s AreaPoint answers a problem not yet answered, even by Google. How can an advertiser limit their advertising to one specific local? Or, possibly more importantly, how can an advertiser deliver locally specific messages that vary from city to city? The fact is, before AreaPoint it was impracticle. With AreaPoint, advertisers can purchase advertising over a wide range of well known websites and tailor their message to meet the demographics of individual localities. This is obviously a benefit to companies that are limited by geography in who they can practically offer services. But the benefits extend beyond these companies. Regionally specific messages has long been a means of branding the image of a large company as well as giving extra incentives in a call to action advertisement.

It is a good time for the Internet’s advertisers and web surfers. As advertisements become more relevant, the need and demand for obtrusive advertising will likely slow. Web surfers will be able to find relevant information more quickly and advertising on the Internet will finally live up to its true potential.

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Mark Daoust is the managing editor of Site-Reference.com. He can be reached at mark@site-reference.com
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