Search

Advertising expenditures online are now dominated by text search ads rather than display ads. Despite the importance and growth of text search ads, little research has been conducted concerning how search and display ads may be jointly deployed or how a text search ad strategy can be maximized. In this article, a model for the joint deployment of search and display ads is presented. On the basis of this model research hypotheses are tested concerning factors that influence text ad effectiveness. The research shows that text ads can be very effective in driving response especially when the text ad format is consistent with the search motives of the visitor. Implications for marketing in this environment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct appeals such as Click Here! Buy Now! are commonly used in promotional programs online. The purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical model and empirical test of how direct appeals impact the clickstream and response. An experiment was conducted using a real web promotional program. Prospects were invited to a promotional website. Direct appeals were systematically either shown or hidden. The resulting clickstream and response were recorded for tests of the hypotheses. The findings support the proposed model and show that direct appeals work by inducing a direct clickstream by heightening or changing visitor motivation to an implemental state. As a result, more responses are received via a direct rather than an indirect clickstream path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]