E-CommercialsOnline ads could benefit your business--but you have to know what you're doing.

The growing number of Internet users has caught the attention ofbusinesses both large and small, which are spending anever-increasing percentage of their advertising dollar on thisrelatively new medium. According to the Internet AdvertisingBureau, an industry trade group, Internet spending on advertisingin the first quarter of 1998 rose to more than $350 million, anastounding increase of 271 percent from the same period in1997.

There are some very good reasons advertisers are flocking to theInternet, says Pete Petrusky, director of entertainment and mediaat PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. "Those motivations include thetargeting potential of net advertising, its interactivity, the highlevels of user involvement, and the metering systems that are ableto measure the type of traffic being delivered," saysPetrusky.