CardMarketing 2.0

Should online advertisers chase the long tail of niche sites or focus their attention on the short head of sites that most people go to day in, day out? This is a question raised by the Internet Advertising Bureau in a recent article. Do you target traffic with a capital T or focus your efforts on smaller, but more relevant audiences?

First and foremost, the IAB reminds us how most people are creatures of habit and tend to regularly visit only six sites or less. They know what they want out of the internet, and tend to stick to a select few sites that reflect their interests. If advertisers can strategically target these dedicated audiences with products that sync with their interests and needs, they're quids in. There's no need to preach to these people, because they're already converted.

Special interest sites might not deliver massive audiences to advertisers, but can deliver more relevant audiences to the right advertisers.

But even within the top 10 sites, sites such as eBay, there are still opportunities to chase the tail. The reason for this is the 'Tardis Effect', i.e. on the outside, eBay is just one macrosite, but inside it opens up into a wealth of niche, or micro communities.

Consider eBay, for example. From the outside it would appear the auction site is just one site, but eBay has 212 million registered buyers and sellers and is segmented into a number of products and sub-products. In all intents and purposes it’s a number of niche stores under the banner of one auction site. From an advertiser perspective eBay can present you with a mass audience who might be looking for a new garden shed, for example, or alternatively you could target a niche market looking for Star Wars collectibles.

In many cases, then, the short head, once you break it down (and it can be broken down online), is a long tail itself. In this sense, it's not a case of either/or. It's target the niche, whenever or wherever you advertise/market online.

After all, what do all advertisers want? People who are more likely to react to their products and purchase them — 'relevant audiences'. Whenever you advertise online, look for relevant audiences. Don't settle for anything else, because you don't have to.