We live in a world where there’s literally an application for anything and everything. Those of us who have smartphones probably use at least one app on a daily basis, and others likely use more than one app – more than once each day. For advertisers, this opens up an entirely new market with an entirely new platform to advertise onto full of different and unique content that are used by millions of people all over the world over and over again.

Mobile applications and games are so diverse and are so widely used that almost every type of business could benefit from advertising on mobile devices, and you don’t need to have any knowledge of application development to get your ad or banner integrated into an application or a game. There are a handful of sites that make advertising on mobile devices easy and simple, offering all of the same options for your advertising campaign that standard online advertisers such as Google Adwords has to offer.

Unlike traditional online advertising, mobile advertising can offer many more customizable options for your advertising campaign, such as targeting specific mobile devices like Apple and Android mobiles or targeting specific global demographics – perfect if you’re a local business. This type of advertising puts your advertisement right in the palms of new clients or customers that may or may not have considered your services or product before. Probably the best part about advertising on mobile devices is the fact that your advertisement is pretty much in everyone’s pocket, waiting to be displayed the next time they use an application on their phone or tablet.

Not only is mobile advertising a fantastic way to potentially reach new customers, it’s also a great way to encourage users to interact with your advertisement. Since the majority of the devices that display your advertisement will often have touch screens, some advertising companies offer the option to create an interactive advert that – for example – could potentially show off your product in an interactive 3D area giving the user a pseudo “hands on” feel with your product. Yet another great feature of mobile advertising is the ability to choose what your advertisement does when the user taps on your ad – this could be anything from opening your website on a specific page or calling your company’s customer services, or taking the user to the App Store if you’re advertising your own application. The opportunities and possibilities are many!

Aaron Richardson is a techno nerd, musician, an aspiring tech/gaming writer and a contributor to Mobile Ad Comparison.