Be sure to "Click On Photo To Enlarge"
to better see the date of the 1st Edition reproduction of "The Buyers' Guide" that I marketed off-line and online advertising in for many years. Of course, when my independent contractor, publisher's rep firm represented that publisher, the print version was much larger as seen partially on the right. The "Yellow Pages" got its start in 1886 by Reuben H. Donnelly. Yahoo's online only history started in 1995, but their "human editor" directory search engine has a lot in common with both other publications when it comes to relevance.
"Relevance" is defined in Wikipedia by three keywords: "pertinent", "connected", and "applicable". The antonym of relevant is irrelevant. A good example of an irrelevant ad is in the above "Yellow Pages" link to an About.com page with a Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 Flash Ad. You may not be able to see the same ad, so I'll describe the situation; I accidentally rolled my cursor over the "Roll over to replay" text, and it took me to another flash ad that had an "X" box to cancel. But, instead, that deceptive icon took me to Microsoft's landing page to sell me. This annoyed me as my intent in going to that "Yellow Pages" About.com page was not to buy accounting software. The ad was totally unrelated to the matter being considered!
"Relevant Advertising" can have different meanings to different people, but I believe that it must relate to all three factors of "time", "place", and "content". Ads designed to stimulate "impulse buying" are not truly relevant to me, no matter where the "place" or how related the "content" may be. This is true, since the buyer's timing was not in sync with the ad. If the viewer of the ad was not even in a "buying cycle", he may get an impulse to do so. But, it is a lot harder to educate a viewer to an opportunity if his personal timing is off in many ways. The old axiom of "People love to buy, but hate to be sold" is more true today than it ever was with all the saturation, clutter, and intrusiveness in most advertising formats.
Therefore, for me, relevant advertising started in 1886, and means a "buyer's guide directory", a "Yellow Pages", or an online search with a search engine. Why? Because in all three the viewer is "SEARCHING" to find information or products or services. This proactive role means that in the world of search, it is the online buyers who decide when they are ready to buy, rather than the online sellers deciding when they want to sell the buyers. Contextual Advertising on search engines are fine for now, since they are not too intrusive if they are kept small, don't clutter the page, yet, alongside possible future display ads, and are not, yet, at a saturation point on the SERP. Do you want to see more advertising on the SERP's?
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