Day-part Targeting when Working with Internet Marketing

Prime time is a concept that has been understood by television advertisers for years. There are simply times of day (or night) where more people are tuning in, and advertisers covet those times since their ads will reach more people if they are aired during those times. Furthermore, advertisers also know that different types of consumers are watching at different times. People watching at 3 a.m. are better candidates for sleep aid and mattress ads. Those watching at noon may respond better to ads for vocational schools. Advertisers try to find time-slots on the television schedule appropriate for the products they are selling.

“While prime time for television is in the evening, prime time for the Internet is during the day, when people may be surfing at work.”

Day-part Targeting for Internet Advertisers
What time-slot placement is to television advertisers, day-part targeting is to Internet advertisers. The idea here is that a website will have different ads on its pages depending on what time of day it is. This is a boon for both advertiser and hosting site. The hosting site can have more ads on its pages, while the advertiser doesn't need to pay for having its ad on the site at a time when no motivated consumers will be browsing. The hosting site may also gain some consumers across time periods who come back to see the new ads that appear later in the day, which benefits both the host site and the advertiser.

How Day-part Targeting Works
Just as with television, there are certain prime times for Internet advertising and certain times that are appropriate for specific products or targeted demographics. While prime time for television is in the evening, prime time for the Internet is during the day, when people may be surfing at work.

Day-part Targeting Issues
Since the idea of day-part targeting is relatively new, a good cost-model has not yet been generated. Those prime daytime hours may at some point need to generate a higher cost per click than ads posted at a less favorable time. As day-part targeting becomes more popular, advertisers and web hosts are likely to try out a number of cost-models until the most effective one is found.