Paid digital advertising has come a long way since the first banner ad appeared on the web in 1994. From the early days of pop-ups and static banners to today’s sophisticated, AI-driven campaigns, online advertising has reshaped how brands reach and engage audiences. This timeline highlights the pivotal moments, platforms, and innovations, from Google Ads and Facebook to TikTok and connected TV, that turned the internet into the world’s most powerful advertising medium.
October – The first banner ad appears on HotWired.com, promoting AT&T, and achieves a 44% click-through rate.
– Pop-up ads are invented at Tripod.com, quickly spreading across the web.
February – Goto.com launches pay-per-click search advertising, pioneering keyword bidding.
October – Google AdWords launches with self-serve ads and cost-per-impression pricing.
– Google AdWords transitions to cost-per-click auctions, factoring in ad relevance.
– Google launches AdSense, enabling contextual ads on publisher websites.
– Google introduces Quality Score in AdWords, rewarding relevant ads with better placements and lower costs.
November – Facebook launches its Ads platform, combining Pages, targeting, and Social Ads.
– Google introduces remarketing, enabling advertisers to retarget past website visitors.
April – Twitter launches Promoted Tweets, entering the paid social advertising market.
March – Facebook introduces Custom Audiences, letting advertisers target uploaded contact lists.
October – Instagram launches sponsored posts, integrating ads into users’ feeds.
September – Instagram Ads open globally to all advertisers via Facebook’s platform.
June – Google rebrands AdWords to Google Ads and unifies its advertising products under Google Marketing Platform.
April – TikTok launches its self-serve ad platform, allowing brands to create in-feed video ads.
March – COVID-19 accelerates digital ad spending as businesses shift online during lockdowns.
April – Apple launches App Tracking Transparency, reshaping mobile advertising and attribution.
July – Twitter rebrands to X, signaling ambitions beyond social media.