Internet Ad Potential Underestimated (by Analysts and CPA Marketers)

The rapid rise of the online ad industry in the past decade has been widely discussed and hyped in a media environment where offline spending is decreasing while online spends (and ROI) continue to grow.  According to Terry Semel, CEO of Yahoo, the valuation that most analysts have placed on the internet ad industry for 2007 are underestimated…

The growth potential of Internet advertising has been underestimated because the predictions did not include advertising on video, social media or mobiles.”

Video as you all know will become a major factor on the Internet.  It will be everpresent throughout the Internet and it will find its proper way to advertise.

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So whether it’s mobile or whether it’s video or whether it’s more and more community (social networking sites), these factors have not gone into those numbers, so we think the actual growth potential of advertising online is really being understated.”

Google has already recognized and cannonized this insight in the purchase of such properties as YouTube and JotSpot (wiki platform).  Yahoo seemed to be recognizing and acting on this trend last year with the purchase of Flickr and del.icio.us.  However, Google seems to be much more adept and willing to make the moves necessary to capitalize on the emergence of social media.

Farther down the food chain, networks in the affiliate, CPA and partnership marketing space have not moved as fast (or at all) to secure their footing in the emerging social media opportunities present.  CPA marketing has an incredible potential to make relevant ads useful and profitable to individuals and consumers.

Will 2007 bring the first toe-dippings of CPA networks into the social media pool?

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