AMITY UNIVERSITY KOLKATA
Digital Business
A Complete Semester Course · Strategy, Search, Advertising & the Web
MKTG106
3 Credits (L2·T1·P0)
Undergraduate
5 Modules
Dr. Indraneel Mukhopadhyay · Professor
Amity Institute of Information Technology · Amity University Kolkata
Delivery: Classroom + PSDA · Assessment: 40% Internal + 60% End-Term
MODULE II
II
Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
Weightage: 20% · Approx. Weeks 4–6
Digital Advertising — Overview
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Frame paid advertising as controllable, measurable reach.
Digital advertising is paid promotion delivered through online channels — search, display, social, video and more. Its defining strengths over traditional media are precise targeting, real-time measurement, and flexible budgets you can start and stop instantly. Where SEO earns attention slowly, advertising buys it immediately, making the two complementary. This module teaches how ads are bought, targeted, priced and measured, so you can plan campaigns that deliver a positive return on investment.
WHY ADVERTISE
?
DISCUSS When would a business choose ads over waiting for SEO to mature?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
50 / 200
Module II — Learning Outcomes
LEARNING OBJECTIVE State what you will be able to do after Module II.
1
Explain Ad Types
Distinguish search, display, social, video, native and affiliate advertising.
2
Map the Ecosystem
Identify advertisers, publishers, networks, exchanges and DSP/SSP roles.
3
Apply Buying Models
Compute and choose between CPC, CPM, CPL, CPA and sponsorship models.
4
Target Precisely
Use contextual, remarketing, demographic and geo/language targeting.
?
DISCUSS Which outcome would most impress an employer hiring a junior media buyer?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
51 / 200
Advertising & Its Importance
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Explain why advertising remains central to business growth.
Advertising is paid, non-personal communication designed to inform, persuade and remind audiences about a product, service or brand. It matters because attention is scarce and competitive: even a great product fails if no one knows it exists. Advertising builds awareness, shapes perception, drives demand, and supports the entire funnel from first impression to repeat purchase. In digital form it adds accountability — advertisers can prove which messages, audiences and channels actually generate results.
FUNCTIONS
?
DISCUSS Name an ad that changed your perception of a brand. What made it work?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
52 / 200
Traditional vs Digital Advertising
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Contrast legacy and digital advertising on key dimensions.
Traditional
Digital
?
DISCUSS Is there still a role for traditional advertising in 2026? For which businesses?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
53 / 200
Types of Digital Advertisement
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Survey the main formats of online advertising.
Each format suits different goals, funnel stages and audiences — most campaigns blend several.
S
Search Ads
Text ads on results pages, triggered by keywords. High intent, bottom-funnel.
D
Display Ads
Banners and images across websites. Great for awareness and remarketing.
O
Social Ads
Native ads in social feeds with rich targeting by interest and behaviour.
V
Video Ads
Pre-roll, in-stream and short-form video (YouTube, reels). High engagement.
N
Native Ads
Ads that match the look of surrounding content (sponsored articles).
A
Affiliate Ads
Partners promote you and earn a commission per sale or lead.
?
DISCUSS For a new mobile game launch, rank these formats by likely usefulness.
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
54 / 200
Search Advertising
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Understand keyword-triggered ads that capture active intent.
Search advertising places text ads on the results page when a user searches for chosen keywords. Because the user is actively looking, search ads capture high commercial intent and typically convert well. Advertisers bid on keywords in an auction; the ad's position depends on both bid and quality (relevance and expected click-through). You pay per click (CPC). Search ads are measurable to the keyword level, making them a workhorse of performance marketing and the natural paid complement to SEO.
STRENGTHS
?
DISCUSS Why might you bid on a keyword you already rank #1 for organically?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
55 / 200
Display Advertising
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Introduce visual banner ads across the web.
Display advertising uses visual ads — banners, images, rich media — placed on websites, apps and platforms within ad networks like the Google Display Network. Unlike search, display targets users who are not actively searching, making it ideal for building awareness and for remarketing to past visitors. Success depends on eye-catching creative, relevant placement, and strong targeting. Display is usually priced per thousand impressions (CPM) or per click (CPC). Module III explores display formats and campaigns in depth.
BEST FOR
?
DISCUSS Why does display often have lower click-through than search?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
56 / 200
Social Media Advertising
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Leverage rich audience data on social platforms.
Social media advertising delivers ads within platform feeds and stories (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube). Its distinctive advantage is targeting depth: platforms know users' demographics, interests, behaviours and connections, enabling precise audience definition and lookalike expansion. Formats are native to each feed — images, carousels, video, stories — so ads blend into the experience. Social ads support the full funnel, from awareness to direct-response conversions, and offer powerful A/B testing to refine creative and audiences quickly.
TARGETING DEPTH
?
DISCUSS What ethical concerns arise from such precise social targeting?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
57 / 200
Video, Native & Other Formats
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Round out the format landscape beyond search, display and social.
V
Video Advertising
In-stream and short-form video on YouTube and reels. High engagement and recall.
N
Native Advertising
Ads matching host content (sponsored posts/articles). Less intrusive, higher trust.
E
Email Advertising
Promotions to opted-in lists. High ROI when list quality and consent are strong.
A
Affiliate Marketing
Partners drive sales for commission. Performance-based, low upfront risk.
P
Programmatic
Automated, auction-based buying of ad space in real time (RTB).
I
Influencer Ads
Creators promote products to engaged followings with authentic voice.
?
DISCUSS Which format best balances trust and reach for a student-focused product?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
58 / 200
How a Digital Ad Is Served
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Trace the real-time process behind a single ad impression.
1
User Visits Page
A publisher's page loads with an available ad slot to fill.
2
Ad Request
The slot sends a request through the supply-side platform (SSP) to an ad exchange.
3
Auction (RTB)
Demand-side platforms (DSPs) bid on the impression in milliseconds.
4
Winner Selected
The highest eligible bid wins; the advertiser's ad is chosen.
5
Ad Rendered
The creative displays; impression, click and conversion data flow back.
?
DISCUSS How can an entire auction complete before a page finishes loading?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
59 / 200
The Ad Ecosystem: Players
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Identify who's who in digital advertising.
A
Advertiser
The brand buying ads to reach an audience and drive results.
P
Publisher
The site/app owner selling ad space (inventory) on their pages.
N
Ad Network
Aggregates publisher inventory and matches it to advertisers.
X
Ad Exchange
A marketplace where impressions are auctioned in real time.
D
DSP
Demand-side platform: advertisers use it to buy inventory programmatically.
S
SSP
Supply-side platform: publishers use it to sell inventory and maximise yield.
?
DISCUSS In this chain, who has the incentive to raise prices, and who to lower them?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
60 / 200
Display Advertising Media
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Understand where display ads appear and how inventory is organised.
Display media is the collective ad space (inventory) available across websites, mobile apps and video platforms. It is organised into networks — most notably the Google Display Network, which reaches a vast share of internet users across millions of sites and apps. Inventory varies by placement quality, audience and context. Advertisers choose media by relevance to their audience, brand-safety considerations (avoiding unsuitable content), and cost. Good media selection puts the right creative in front of the right audience in a trustworthy environment.
SELECTION
?
DISCUSS Why might a brand pay more to avoid certain websites entirely?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
61 / 200
Digital Advertising Metrics
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Know the core metrics that measure ad performance.
These metrics turn advertising from guesswork into an accountable, optimisable system.
I
Impressions
How many times the ad was shown. The reach denominator.
C
Clicks & CTR
Clicks, and click-through rate = clicks ÷ impressions. Measures relevance.
V
Conversions
Desired actions (sign-up, sale) completed after an ad interaction.
R
Conversion Rate
Conversions ÷ clicks. Measures landing-page and offer effectiveness.
$
CPC / CPA / CPM
Cost per click, per acquisition, per thousand impressions.
O
ROAS / ROI
Return on ad spend and overall return — the bottom line.
?
DISCUSS Which metric would you optimise for a brand-awareness campaign vs a sales campaign?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
62 / 200
Impressions, Clicks & CTR
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Compute click-through rate and interpret it.
formula
CTR = ( Clicks / Impressions ) × 100%
Example:
Impressions = 50,000
Clicks = 750
CTR = (750 / 50,000) × 100
= 1.5%
Typical: Search CTR > Display CTR
INTERPRETATION
?
DISCUSS A display ad has 3% CTR but 0 conversions. What's likely wrong?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
63 / 200
Conversions & Conversion Rate
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Define the outcomes that actually matter to a business.
A conversion is any valuable action an advertiser wants a user to take — a purchase, sign-up, download, form submission or call. Conversion rate is conversions divided by clicks (or visits), expressed as a percentage, and it measures how well the ad, landing page and offer work together after the click. Conversions connect advertising to business results, so campaigns are increasingly optimised toward them rather than clicks. Accurate conversion tracking (via pixels and tags) is essential to know what's truly working.
CONVERSION TYPES
?
DISCUSS Why can a campaign with high clicks still lose money?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
64 / 200
Ad Buying Models
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Learn the pricing models that determine what you pay for.
The buying model defines the billable event — impression, click, lead, action or a flat sponsorship.
M
CPM
Cost per mille — pay per 1,000 impressions. Best for awareness/reach.
C
CPC
Cost per click — pay only when clicked. Best for traffic and intent.
L
CPL
Cost per lead — pay per qualified lead captured. Best for lead-gen.
A
CPA
Cost per acquisition/action — pay per conversion. Best for sales/ROI.
F
Fixed / Sponsorship
Flat fee for placement over a period, regardless of performance.
?
DISCUSS For a startup with a tiny budget and a sales goal, which model is safest?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
65 / 200
CPC — Cost Per Click
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Calculate and reason about cost per click.
formula
CPC = Total Ad Spend / Total Clicks
Example:
Spend = ₹20,000
Clicks = 1,600
CPC = 20,000 / 1,600 = ₹12.50 per click
You pay ONLY when a user clicks.
WHEN TO USE CPC
?
DISCUSS Two ads have the same CPC but different conversion rates. Which is cheaper per sale?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
66 / 200
CPM — Cost Per Mille
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Calculate cost per thousand impressions.
formula
CPM = ( Total Cost / Impressions ) × 1000
Example:
Cost = ₹15,000
Impressions = 600,000
CPM = (15,000 / 600,000) × 1000
= ₹25 per 1,000 impressions
WHEN TO USE CPM
?
DISCUSS Why do brand campaigns favour CPM even though many viewers never click?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
67 / 200
CPL & CPA
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Compare lead-based and action-based pricing.
CPL — Cost Per Lead
CPA — Cost Per Acquisition
?
DISCUSS Why do platforms charge more for CPA than CPM? Who carries the risk?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
68 / 200
Fixed Cost & Sponsorship
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Understand flat-fee placements outside auction pricing.
In fixed-cost or sponsorship deals, an advertiser pays a flat fee to a publisher for a placement over a set period — a homepage takeover, a sponsored section, or an event partnership — regardless of impressions or clicks. This model guarantees visibility and premium positioning, and it suits brand campaigns, exclusive partnerships and situations where association with a publisher's audience is itself valuable. The trade-off is reduced measurability and no per-performance protection: you pay the same whether the placement performs or not.
GOOD FOR
?
DISCUSS When is a guaranteed, unmeasured placement worth more than a cheaper auction buy?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
69 / 200
Buying Models Compared
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Choose the right pricing model for a given goal.
Match the billable event to your campaign objective and risk appetite.
Model | You pay per | Best goal | Risk to advertiser |
CPM | 1,000 impressions | Awareness / reach | Higher (pay for views) |
CPC | Click | Traffic / intent | Medium |
CPL | Qualified lead | Lead generation | Lower |
CPA | Conversion / sale | Sales / ROI | Lowest |
Fixed / Sponsorship | Placement (flat fee) | Premium branding | Variable |
?
DISCUSS As you move from CPM to CPA, who absorbs more of the performance risk?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
70 / 200
Ad Targeting Methods
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Survey the ways advertisers aim ads at the right people.
Targeting is what makes digital advertising efficient — showing ads to those most likely to respond.
C
Contextual
Match ads to the content of the page being viewed (keywords, topics).
R
Remarketing
Re-target users who previously visited or interacted with you.
D
Demographic
Target by age, gender, income, education, life stage.
G
Geographic
Target by country, city, radius or store proximity.
L
Language
Serve ads by the user's language setting for relevance.
B
Behavioural / Interest
Target based on browsing behaviour, interests and intent signals.
?
DISCUSS Which targeting method raises the most privacy concern, and why?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
71 / 200
Contextual Targeting
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Match ads to page content rather than personal data.
Contextual targeting places ads based on the content of the page or the keywords a user is engaging with — a running-shoe ad on a marathon-training article, for example. It relies on the context of the moment, not on tracking the individual across sites, which makes it more privacy-friendly and increasingly important as third-party cookies decline. Contextual relevance also tends to produce ads that feel appropriate and timely, improving user experience and performance.
EXAMPLE
?
DISCUSS Why is contextual targeting making a comeback in a cookieless world?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
72 / 200
Remarketing / Retargeting
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Re-engage users who already showed interest.
1
User Visits Site
A tracking pixel/cookie tags the visitor (e.g., viewed a product).
2
User Leaves
They depart without converting — most visitors do on the first visit.
3
Audience Built
They join a remarketing list segmented by behaviour.
4
Ads Follow
Tailored ads appear on other sites, social feeds or search.
5
User Returns & Converts
Reminded and nudged, a share come back to complete the action.
?
DISCUSS Where is the line between helpful reminders and creepy 'stalking' ads?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
73 / 200
Demographic Targeting
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Aim ads by who the audience is.
Demographic targeting selects audiences by measurable population attributes — age, gender, income, education, occupation, parental or marital status, and life stage. It is a foundational layer that narrows a broad audience to those most likely to want a product: a premium stroller aimed at new parents, a student discount aimed at 18–24 year-olds. Demographics are often combined with interest and geographic targeting for precision. Care is needed to avoid unlawful or discriminatory targeting in sensitive categories.
ATTRIBUTES
?
DISCUSS Give a product whose ideal demographic differs sharply from its actual buyers.
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
74 / 200
Geographic & Language Targeting
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Aim ads by where the audience is and what language they use.
Geographic targeting shows ads based on location — country, state, city, or a radius around a point — so a local restaurant reaches nearby diners and a national brand tailors messaging by region. Language targeting serves ads in the user's language, essential for reaching a culturally diverse, multilingual audience such as India's. Combined, they ensure relevance: the right message, in the right language, to people who can actually act on it. Both are vital for local businesses and for global brands localising campaigns.
USE CASES
?
DISCUSS How would a Kolkata cafe combine geo and language targeting for a festival offer?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
75 / 200
Budgeting & Bidding
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Understand how budgets and bids control campaign delivery.
A budget caps how much a campaign spends (daily or total), while a bid sets how much you'll pay for each auction event (click, impression, conversion). Bidding can be manual (you set bids) or automated (the platform optimises bids toward a goal like target CPA or maximise conversions). Together they govern how often and where your ads show. Effective media buying balances budget across campaigns, sets bids aligned to the value of a conversion, and lets data guide reallocation toward what works.
BID STRATEGIES
?
DISCUSS When should a beginner trust automated bidding over manual control?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
76 / 200
Campaign KPIs & ROI
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Tie advertising activity to business return.
ROI reframes spend as investment: the goal is profit, not clicks.
ROAS
Revenue ÷ Ad Spend
ROI
(Profit − Cost) ÷ Cost
CAC
Cost to Acquire a Customer
LTV
Lifetime Value of a Customer
?
DISCUSS A campaign has great ROAS but rising CAC. Is it still healthy? What would you check?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
77 / 200
Programmatic Advertising & RTB
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Understand automated, auction-based ad buying.
Programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of ad inventory using software and data, replacing manual negotiations. Its core mechanism is real-time bidding (RTB): every ad impression is auctioned in milliseconds as a page loads, with demand-side platforms bidding on behalf of advertisers based on audience data. Programmatic brings efficiency, scale and precise targeting, and it underlies most display, video and much social advertising today. Advertisers set rules and budgets; the system optimises delivery automatically toward the chosen goal.
TYPES
?
DISCUSS What advantages does automation give over manually negotiated ad buys?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
78 / 200
Ad Creative & A/B Testing
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Improve results by testing creative systematically.
Creative — the words, images and video in an ad — often has more impact on performance than targeting or bidding. A/B testing (split testing) compares two versions that differ in one element (headline, image, call to action, colour) to see which performs better on a chosen metric. By testing one variable at a time on a meaningful sample, advertisers learn what truly drives clicks and conversions, and compound those learnings over time. Strong creative is clear, benefit-led, on-brand, and matched to the audience and placement.
TEST IDEAS
?
DISCUSS Why must you change only one element per A/B test?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
79 / 200
Landing Page Optimization
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Turn ad clicks into conversions with strong landing pages.
A landing page is where users arrive after clicking an ad — and it decides whether a click becomes a conversion. Effective landing pages maintain message match (the page reflects the ad's promise), load fast, have a single clear goal and call to action, minimise distractions, build trust with proof, and work perfectly on mobile. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) improves these pages through testing. Since ad spend is wasted if the destination fails, landing-page quality is as important as the campaign itself.
CRO CHECKLIST
?
DISCUSS An ad has great CTR but the landing page has 0.5% conversion. What would you fix first?
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
80 / 200
Module II — Summary
LEARNING OBJECTIVE Consolidate advertising strategy before diving into display and video.
Module II turned visibility into a purchasable, measurable asset. You learned why advertising matters, the major ad types, the real-time ecosystem of players behind every impression, the metrics that measure performance, the buying models (CPM, CPC, CPL, CPA, sponsorship) that price it, and the targeting methods (contextual, remarketing, demographic, geo, language) that aim it. With KPIs and ROI as the compass, you can now plan accountable campaigns — and Module III applies all of this to display and YouTube in depth.
NEXT UP
?
DISCUSS Draft a one-line media plan (type + model + targeting) for a product you like.
Digital Business · MKTG106
Module 2 · Digital Advertising Strategies & Types
81 / 200
Course Complete
You can now get found (SEO · M1), get seen (advertising · M2), engage audiences (display & YouTube · M3), plan a website (M4) and build it in WordPress (M5) — a complete, measurable digital presence.
Keep the funnel in mind, keep measuring, and keep building. Best of luck in your end-term examination and your digital careers.
Digital Business · MKTG106 · Dr. Indraneel Mukhopadhyay · Amity University Kolkata