But Internet advertising jumped 17 percent from the first quarter 2006 to the first quarter 2007, Universal's report noted. Online advertising and search engine marketing, which were hardly considered several years ago, "have violently impacted many established media." Web advertisers can improve results from their growing expenditures by advertising across multiple online publications and not necessarily crediting the last ad seen, Jupiter Research reported.
Before clicking an advertisement and converting to a sale, Internet users first are influenced by the advertiser's message displayed elsewhere, Jupiter wrote. But most advertisers incorrectly attribute direct responsem to the last ad viewed by the user.
An analysis from the Atlas Institute seemed to support Jupiter's findings. Advertising campaigns are a success or a failure depending on the interaction, synergies and overlap of multiple online channels including banner advertising, paid search and sponsorships, Atlas found. Because advertisers attribute the buyer's behavior to the last ad seen, they are blind to the implications of users who saw their ad over multiple publications and mediums.
Atlas noted of consumers who converted, two-thirds viewed the ads across multiple publishers while 86 percent saw the ad somewhere else before converting. The report suggested analyzing campaign results based on the overall mix.
