Businesses fail to see advantages of Internet advertising

Businesses are failing to understand the many benefits that an internet presence can provide. People have become very cautious about this medium after the dot.com bubble burst in 2000 and are unaware of its power. Companies are willing to spend thousands of pounds on a single day’s advertising for national press, radio or television but are not considering the internet as an equal alternative. When it has the ability to reach a worldwide audience for a longer period and often for considerably less money, surely the benefits of advertising businesses and services through this media are worth considering? Here Derek Preston, Chief Technology Officer at UK search listings provider Mirago, discusses the reasons why businesses should look to the internet for their advertising needs.

Mirago Viewpoint

Many businesses are still failing to see the benefits of an internet presence. A large proportion of this is due to people failing to understand how to commercially justify a website and measure the business that can be reaped from an internet presence. There is a misconception that only companies that sell goods online see any return on investment from a website.


For instance, a business that takes out a full-page advertisement in The Times, doesn’t necessarily expect to see a sale result via the paper. People can’t buy the goods advertised direct from The Times and often it is purely a brand building exercise. However, there is an idea that because you can buy direct from the internet, a business only needs an internet presence for this purpose. It is the sole media that people expect to see an immediate conversion from advertising to a purchase.


People do not perceive the internet to bring any other benefits than online sales and if a business doesn’t have the capacity or need for this service it is frequently ignored. A recent survey* found that 76 per cent of adults use the internet to find out information about goods or services and 61 per cent used it for general browsing. While 38 per cent of adults use the internet to order goods, tickets or services or to search for information on education.

Compared with the number of businesses in the UK, the number taking advantage of the internet as an advertising medium is minute. An internet presence and visibility via search engines is beneficial in many ways. Of course it can be used as a means of generating immediate online sales. It should, however, also be considered as a way of developing brand recognition and confidence. Increasingly, the man on the street expects to be able to find the website for a business. Failure to do so may well have a negative effect on confidence and profits for a business.


The restrictive view of internet advertising also means that businesses may be failing to take account of offline sales. Many individuals use the internet to research products and services but prefer the comfort factor of speaking to a human when actually completing the purchase. The value of such sales should be considered a return on investment for the internet marketing campaign. Rarely, though, is this the case.


With all other forms of advertising through television, radio, national press and so on, conversion cannot occur directly but the internet can offer the complete solution from awareness through to conversion. Perhaps this factor has led to the blinkered perception of internet advertising. However, with an online population of over 28 million in the UK alone, I cannot believe the lack of uptake from advertisers in this area. Businesses need to explore the host of possibilities available if they are to capitalise upon this opportunity or be willing to lose out to the competitors that are.

Email: derek.preston@mirago.com