Online Advertising - How Does It Actually Work?

We're very aware that not everyone who's using adCenter Analytics or reading this Web Analytics Blog is necessarily interested in online advertising. We’ve made a conscious to make sure the content here is not too advertising-heavy as there’s nothing worse than getting sold stuff you don’t need, especially if you’re quite happy with the rich information the tool is providing you with.

However, Microsoft Advertising’s flurry of activity over recent years in the online advertising space, buying companies and doing deals with the likes of Facebook and Digg.com, has meant we get asked more and more about the business we’re in.

It’s not just the people I meet at conferences and in the pub that are asking, but people in our own company who are really interested in the direction we’re headed and want to know more.

As an avid reader of LiesDamnedLies.com – Ian Thomas’s Blog – I picked up that the English guy who first brought Microsoft Gatineau into Beta has started a series of 101 or “beginner” posts about online advertising that have got quite a bit of attention.

So far there are 3:

The Online Advertising Value Chain

How Does Ad Serving Actually Work?

Ad Networks

They’re pretty detailed and accessible so do take a peek............if you’re interested in how online advertising works of course!