:: adgruntie :: Can the web pay off?

+ There's still a long way to go with web advertising.

Of course, a direct-mail campaign would cost quite a bit more than keyword advertising. But the Internet was supposed to far outshine, not merely equal, traditional marketing approaches, thanks to its unique ability to target consumers based on their specific, immediate interests exposed during Web activity. That revolutionary relationship with potential customers, alone, was expected to make the Web the most lucrative marketing medium yet. Now, however, even Internet marketing partisans concede that new ways to deliver online messages and accurately identify potential customers—many of which are in development or just beginning to emerge—are desperately needed before advertisers can realize an acceptable payoff.

"We're just in the first inning of Web advertising," says Matt Moog, president and CEO of Q Interactive, a Chicago-based online ad agency that specializes in generating leads through discount coupons and promotions. "Web advertising has a long way to go before it reaches its potential and provides the sort of returns advertisers want. We have to get response rates well over 10 percent before Web marketers can claim that we're doing a good enough job."