A Practical Guide to Retail Media
AI-generated ad creative tools are standard on major retail platforms, Walmart's connected-TV inventory is coming online and clean rooms are going mainstream.
Paid Advertising
Paid Ads
Paid advertising strategy across search, social, programmatic and retail media: spend that turns into profit.
How Retail Media Changed Digital Marketing in 2025
How retail media matured in 2025: off-site expansion, AI-driven ad creative and the push for standardized measurement across a crowded field of networks.
A Practical Guide to Retail Media Networks
Walmart's pending Vizio deal and Instacart's expanding ad tools show how fast retail media networks are maturing, and how to allocate a limited budget.
How Retail Media Networks Changed Digital Marketing in 2024
How Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect and a wave of new retail media networks reshaped ad budgets in 2024, and why brands started calling it the third pillar.
Building a Podcast Advertising Strategy From Scratch
A step-by-step guide to launching a podcast advertising campaign in 2018: picking shows, choosing ad placement and setting up attribution.
Common Podcast Advertising Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The mistakes that undermined podcast ad campaigns in 2018, from skipping attribution setup to judging results after a single episode.
Why Programmatic Audio Matters for Your Bottom Line
The business case for programmatic audio in 2017: what it costs against terrestrial radio, and where the real returns show up.
Programmatic Audio: What Every Business Needs to Know
A decision framework for whether programmatic audio, on Spotify, Pandora and podcasts, made sense for your business in 2017.
Common Messenger Marketing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The mistakes businesses made rushing into Messenger bots after Facebook's April 2016 platform launch, and how to run the channel properly.
Case Study: Winning With Programmatic Advertising
An illustrative look at how a regional retailer used header bidding and private marketplace deals in 2016 to raise both yield and ad quality.
Case Study: Winning With Messenger Marketing
An illustrative look at how a small business used Facebook's newly opened Messenger platform in 2016 to handle support and drive repeat orders.
Programmatic Advertising Trends Shaping 2016
The developments that defined programmatic advertising in 2016, from header bidding's rapid adoption to mobile overtaking desktop volume.
A Practical Guide to Native Advertising
Native ad spending is booming, content recommendation widgets are on nearly every major publisher and the FTC has signaled formal disclosure rules are coming.
Native Advertising Trends Shaping 2015
The developments that pushed native advertising forward in 2015, from Snapchat Discover to the first FTC guidance on disclosure.
Case Study: Winning With Retargeting
An illustrative look at how one online retailer used segmented retargeting to recover abandoned carts in 2014, and what made the difference.
A Practical Guide to Real-Time Bidding
How real-time bidding auctions work under the hood: exchanges, DSPs, bid requests and the second-price auction that sets what you pay.
Mastering Programmatic Advertising: A Marketer's Playbook
An operational playbook for running programmatic advertising in 2014: choosing a DSP, using data management platforms and buying beyond the open exchange.
Building a Social Advertising Strategy From Scratch
With organic reach on Facebook Pages sliding fast, a paid social budget has gone from optional to necessary this year. Here's how to build a strategy from zero.
Retargeting Trends Shaping 2014
Five concrete developments that defined retargeting in 2014, from dynamic product ads to the early backlash over ad frequency.
How Real-Time Bidding Changed Digital Marketing in 2014
A year-in-review look at how real-time bidding auctions reshaped display advertising in 2014, from private marketplaces to viewability standards.
A Practical Guide to Programmatic Advertising
Real-time bidding now moves a huge share of display dollars through automated exchanges, but a comScore study found over half of display ads are never seen.
Building a Remarketing Strategy From Scratch
A hands-on setup guide to remarketing in 2013: tagging your site, segmenting audiences, capping frequency and getting your first campaign live.
Building a Native Advertising Strategy From Scratch
A step-by-step build guide to native advertising in 2013: picking the right platform, matching editorial voice, handling disclosure and measuring beyond clicks.
Common Remarketing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Where remarketing campaigns went wrong in 2013, from creepy over-frequency to sloppy list segmentation, and how to fix each one.
Common Native Advertising Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The native advertising mistakes that tripped up brands in 2013, from disguised ads to unmeasured campaigns, and what to do instead.
7 Facebook Ads Strategies That Work
Seven Facebook advertising tactics built around 2012 launches: Custom Audiences, Facebook Exchange, Timeline for Pages and the post-IPO push into mobile.
Why Facebook Advertising Matters at 800 Million Users
Facebook just crossed 800 million users, and its ad platform lets you target by real demographic and interest data most other channels can only guess at.
Facebook Advertising: What Every Business Needs to Know
A 2011 framework for deciding whether to advertise on Facebook, covering Sponsored Stories, Power Editor and the questions worth working through first.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising Trends Shaping 2010
The year search advertising split: Yahoo handed paid search to Microsoft, Google pushed into display through an acquisition and Google Instant changed search.
The 2010 Pay-Per-Click Playbook: Quality Score and Bids
A working operator's routine for running a PPC account well: how to structure it, which tools handle bidding and the habits that keep accounts profitable.
Mastering Retargeting: A Marketer's Playbook
A working playbook for retargeting in 2009, when it ran through third-party ad networks and cookie pools rather than a built-in Google or Facebook feature.
The State of Social Media Advertising in 2009
By 2009 Facebook had passed 300 million users and opened self-serve ads to any business, while Twitter's audience kept growing with no ad product of its own.
A Practical Guide to Retargeting
With budgets squeezed by the recession, marketers are turning to specialist vendors that follow visitors around the web and bring them back. Here's how.
A Practical Guide to Display Advertising
Google's DoubleClick deal and automated ad exchanges are changing how display inventory gets bought, as a shaky economy forces advertisers to justify spend.
How Display Advertising Changed Digital Marketing in 2008
2008 closed the Google-DoubleClick deal, tested Facebook's Beacon into a lawsuit and shutdown, then hit a recession forcing advertisers to prove real return.
Case Study: Winning With Display Advertising
An illustrative 2007 scenario of a mid-size retailer moving from static banner buys to targeted, frequency-capped display advertising that moved the numbers.
The State of Facebook Advertising in 2007
Facebook Ads launched in November 2007 alongside Social Ads, Pages and the controversial Beacon tool. Here's what was available and why caution made sense.
Building a Pay-Per-Click Strategy Around Quality Score
A step-by-step guide to setting up a pay-per-click account in 2007, from keyword research through account structure, ad copy, landing pages and bid management.
Display Advertising Trends Shaping 2007
2007's display advertising market was reshaped by acquisitions like Google-DoubleClick and Microsoft-aQuantive, plus the rise of rich media and pre-roll ads.
Why Facebook Advertising Mattered Before Its Ad Platform
In early 2007 Facebook advertising meant Microsoft-sold banner inventory, not sophisticated targeting, but the growth curve was reason enough to pay attention.
How Pay-Per-Click Advertising Changed Marketing in 2006
2006 was the year pay-per-click advertising grew up: Yahoo's Panama overhaul, wider analytics adoption and click fraud settlements advertisers took seriously.
The Rise of Pay-Per-Click Advertising
From Bill Gross's 1998 pay-for-placement search engine to Google's auction-based AdWords model, how pay-per-click became digital advertising's dominant format.
Pay-Per-Click Mistakes in 2005: Click Fraud and Budget Leaks
The pay-per-click mistakes that drained budgets in 2005, from unchecked click fraud exposure to bidding wars on broad match, and the fixes for each.
Case Study: Winning With Contextual Advertising
An illustrative look at how a publisher used the 2005 arrival of Yahoo Publisher Network to test running two contextual ad networks side by side.
Case Study: Pay-Per-Click Success via Quality Score in 2005
An illustrative look at how an advertiser restructured an account around Google's new Quality Score in 2005 and cut cost per click without lowering bids.
Building a Pay-Per-Click Strategy in Google's IPO Year
A step-by-step build guide for launching a pay-per-click program in 2004, the year Google's IPO put search advertising's economics under wider scrutiny.
Common Affiliate Marketing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The recurring mistakes merchants made with affiliate programs in 2004, from unchecked cookie-stuffing to loose terms that let bad actors damage the brand.
Common Contextual Advertising Mistakes to Avoid
Publishers and advertisers kept repeating the same avoidable errors with contextual ad networks in 2004, from click fraud to overly aggressive ad placement.
6 Costly Pay-Per-Click Mistakes Advertisers Made in 2004
The costly, avoidable errors advertisers kept making with AdWords and Yahoo Search campaigns in 2004, from broad match bleed to ignoring conversion tracking.
Why Tracking Affiliate EPC Matters for Your Bottom Line
By late 2003, affiliate networks had matured enough that the real question was how to use earnings-per-click data to find your best partners.
Why Contextual Advertising Matters for Your Bottom Line
Contextual advertising, matching ads to content instead of a purchased placement, gave small advertisers a low-cost alternative to 2003's biggest ad networks.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising Trends Shaping 2003
The Yahoo-Overture deal, Google's auction refinements and the shift of small business budgets away from banner ads: what moved pay-per-click ads in 2003.
Case Study: Winning With Google AdSense
An illustrative look at how a small content publisher turned Google AdSense, launched in June 2003, into its first real revenue stream without a sales team.
Affiliate Marketing in 2003: Networks vs In-House
A decision framework for 2003: whether to join an affiliate network or build your own program, and how to structure commissions so the right partners sign up.
Contextual Advertising: What Every Business Needs to Know
A decision framework for evaluating contextual ad networks in 2003, from Google AdSense to smaller challengers like Kanoodle and where each fits your goals.
Pay-Per-Click Playbook 2003: AdWords vs Overture
An operational playbook for running Google AdWords and Overture campaigns in 2003, from account structure through bid management and landing page matching.
Google AdSense Trends Shaping 2003
A snapshot of how Google AdSense reshaped publisher revenue and contextual advertising in the second half of 2003, from launch through its fastest growth.
A Practical Guide to Banner Advertising
Banner click-through rates have collapsed from the 44 percent HotWired saw on its first one to a fraction of one percent today, as new sizes reshape what works.
The State of Affiliate Marketing in 2002
Affiliate marketing has spent three straight years growing while online advertising overall contracted. Here's the market now that it's a mainstream channel.
Case Study: Overture vs AdWords Pay-Per-Click in 2002
How a small software company split its budget between Overture and Google's new quality-based AdWords auction, and what the split taught them.
How Banner Advertising Changed Digital Marketing in 2002
Banner spending is stabilizing after two rough years, but the format recovering isn't the one that crashed: rich media replaced generic reach buys.
Why Affiliate Marketing Matters After the Dot-Com Crash
After the dot-com crash gutted ad budgets, affiliate marketing's pay-for-performance model became one of the few channels businesses could justify in 2002.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising Trends Shaping 2002
What's carrying over from 2001 and what's likely to change this year, from Overture's expanding deals to early signs Google may rework its own auction.
A Practical Guide to Online Advertising
A decision framework for where to put your online advertising budget now that the market has pulled back and spending has to justify itself.
A Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing Post-Dot-Com Crash
Affiliate marketing survived the dot-com crash better than most advertising, but bankruptcies and cookie fraud mean publishers must vet partners carefully.
A Practical Guide to Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Overture invented pay-per-click search, letting advertisers bid directly for placement. Here's how the bid-for-position model works and where it falls short.
A Practical Guide to Google Ads
How Google's year-old AdWords program prices, targets and ranks ads today, and why Overture's rival model is pushing the industry toward paying for clicks.
How Online Advertising Changed Digital Marketing in 2001
The year online ad spending fell for the first time, and why that shock pushed the whole industry toward accountability.
How Affiliate Marketing Changed Digital Marketing in 2001
Why pay-for-performance affiliate programs kept growing in 2001 even as the rest of the online ad market shrank.
The State of Pay-Per-Click Advertising in 2001
A snapshot of where keyword bidding stands three years after GoTo.com launched the model, and why it's outperforming the rest of the online ad market.
Affiliate Marketing in 2000: A Decision Framework
Before setting up an affiliate program, weigh what it costs, who it fits and where it quietly goes wrong. A decision framework for owners weighing it in 2000.
GoTo.com Pay-Per-Click Advertising: The 2000 Playbook
An operational playbook for running keyword-bidding campaigns on GoTo.com's syndicated network, from account setup through weekly optimization.
Why Banner Advertising Matters for Your Bottom Line
The ROI case for banner advertising now that click-through rates have fallen, and why reach still has measurable value even when clicks don't.
Case Study: Winning With Online Advertising Networks
How a mid-sized online retailer moved from buying banner space site by site to running its display budget through an ad network instead.
A Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing for New Merchants
How affiliate marketing works in 2000, from tracking links and cookie windows to how commissions get paid, for anyone launching a first program.
7 Pay-Per-Click Advertising Strategies That Work
Seven concrete tactics businesses are using to get more out of keyword bidding on GoTo.com and its growing network of syndication partners.
Banner Advertising: What Every Business Needs to Know
A decision framework for whether banner advertising still deserves a place in your budget now that click-through rates have fallen under 1%.
How Affiliate Marketing Changed Digital Marketing in 1999
A look back at what shifted in affiliate marketing over 1999: the networks that launched, the merchants that joined and what it meant for businesses watching.
Case Study: A 1999 GoTo.com Pay-Per-Click Win
How a small mail-order retailer used GoTo.com's new pay-for-placement model to outperform its banner ad budget in 1999.
Common Banner Advertising Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Most 1999 banner campaigns underperform for the same avoidable reasons: wrong placement, wrong landing page, wrong metric. What we see most and how to fix it.
The Rise of Affiliate Marketing
From Amazon Associates in 1996 to a full ecosystem of networks by 1999, the short history of how affiliate marketing became a standard way to sell online.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising Trends Shaping 1999
Why advertisers are quietly shifting budget away from banners and toward keyword bidding this year, and what's driving the change.
Case Study: Winning With Banner Advertising
A small catalog spent $4,000 on banner ads in 1999 and nearly quit after a bad first week. What changed, and what it says about that year's banner economics.