IA and Web Advertising

From:Amit Sharma

Information Architecture – 1, Fall 2005School of Information

Available at : http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~amit/webads.ppt

Contents

Introduction. Types of Web Advertisement. How to choose a Web Ad ? What makes a Good Website? Why Plain Text-Ads Rule? Examples of Good and Bad IA. What’s new In Web Advertisement. References.

What is Web Advertisement?

Web Ads are nothing but information devoted to promote, market, sell or provide specific information about a product, service, commercial event on World Wide Web.

Types of Web Advertisement (1)

1) Banner Ads In the early stages of Internet,

"advertising" on the Internet meant "banner ads"

2) Pop-up and Pop under Ads

A pop-up ad is an ad that "pops up" in its own window when you go to a page.

Types of Web Advertisement (2)

3) Floating Ads These are ads that appear when

you first go to a Web page, and they "float" or "fly" over the page for anywhere from five to 30 seconds.

4) Unicast Ads Unicast ads are TV commercial that runs in a pop-up window. It is animated and it has sound. The ads can last anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds.

Types of Web Advertisement (3)

5) Streaming Sidebar Ads A small video ad appears in the right

sidebar on this CNN page, with sound, and plays for 30 seconds. The reader can control the ad with the three buttons (Play, Pause, Stop) underneath the ad.

6) Pull Down Banner Ads Their operation varies depending on the

site. On some, when you mouse over the banner ad, it expands to fill much of the page. On others, the banner ad is expanded-size initially, then shrinks to normal size after several seconds.

From: http://www.howstuffworks.com

How to choose a Web Ad?

Mechanism of Interactive Web Ad. :

By : Lai and Yang

How to choose a Web Ad?

In today’s world, the most important problem that an average IA professional deals is with the placement of Web advertisement on any Web Page without disturbing:

1) The flow of Navigation (Content)

2) The theme of the site (Context)

3) The type of users visiting (User)

These 3 principles as discussed by Rosenfield and Morville are the basics that any IA Professional should apply while developing or maintaining any Web site.

Why Plain Text – Ads Rule?

Exceptions:

- Classified ads work because as far as users are concerned, they are content, not advertising.

- Search engine ads work because search engines are the one type of website that people visit with the explicit goal of finding someplace else to go.

From Banner Blindeness to Box Blindeness

Communicative Content.

By – Jacob Nielson

What makes a Good Website? (1)

Provide credible, original content in as many forms as possible.

Provide valuable, timely information to the user, not lots of data.

Share everything you learn.

Custom-tailor the information to user preferences.

What makes a Good Website? (2)

Be responsive on a 56 Kbps modem (the typical Web user).

Use graphics sparingly Break up your tables vertically for a cascading load to appear more

responsive Optimize graphic file size for Web display Optimize your HTML by removing excess spaces, comments, tags and

commentary

Be easy to read

What makes a Good website? (3)

Be interactive; good interactivity engages the user and makes your site memorable

Be well-organized

- Balance the number of levels with page length to minimize scrolling and display time.

Use an appropriate metaphor (like Zima's fridge or Ragu's Mama , Cuchino Kitchen).

- Using a good graphic metaphor for your interface makes the user feel more comfortable navigating your site.

Good and Poor IA

Worlds Worst Website:

This site has been designed in order to point out some common mistakes that IA make when developing a website.

Poor IA Examples

www.aol.com/shopping : Ever tried to actually FIND and BUY something there?

shopping.yahoo.com : Ditto for Yahoo's shopping section, although the e-wallet is helpful you say.

www.airmac.com www.oceanside-ca.com www.sirchie.com/products.htm www.shopping.com/ibuy www.loopnet.com www.merck.com www.bluemountain.com Good on some lists, too busy on others.

Source: http://www.webpractices.com/samplesites.htm

Good IA Examples

www.bluefly.com www.thetrip.com www.crutchfield.com www.dockers.com www.gap.com www.virgin-clothing.com www.3dshopping.com www.expedia.com www.fitfinder.com

Source: http://www.webpractices.com/samplesites.htm

Good IA: www.theblufly.com

Good IA : www.bluefly.com

1. Easy Navigation

2. Target Audience identified

3. Prices well defined

4. Images

5. Standard Template

6. Easy Search

What’s new in Web Advertising:

Location Based Advertising: According to Kolmel and Alexakis Location based

advertising brings the power of technology and web advertisements together.

e.g. a user living in Austin can be shown the promotions and advertisements for companies that operate in Austin area.

References: Rosenfield L. and Morville P. (1998) – Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. O’RIELLY Associatec Inc.

Nielsen Jackob (2003) – ‘Will Plain-Text Ads Continue to Rule?”. Retrieved from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030428.html

Frankel Rob (2004) – ‘Your graphic design strategy needs principles and rules.” Retrieved from http://www.carnrightdesign.com/design_rules.htm

Lai H. and Yang T. – An architecture of Interactive Web advertising. Retrieved from http://140.128.14.102/george/person/cpaper/dsi99.pdf

Source: http://www.howstuffworks.com

Source: http://www.webpractices.com/samplesites.htm

Source: http://webreference.com/greatsite.htm

Thank You