Investing in advertising is always a wise choice in any business. More so today, as many people face tough competition, both locally in their community and nationally through online markets and companies. That is why besides traditional advertising, online advertising is becoming a key fact and procedure for a modern and effective marketing campaign.
Of course, if you are new to online advertising, it might be a fast and confusing place. There are so many options, so many tricks as well as so many dangers. Do not worry though. We have your hand here. If you are just starting out with online advertising, this quick start guide should show you how to start with online advertising, and the important guidelines to manage its execution. We will cover the main concepts and mindset that you need to know to be fully confident with what you are doing.
- Assessing the need for Advertising– The first thing that you actually need to do is to assess if you need advertising and if you can support online advertising. You cannot just jump into this blind of course. You have to know the real metrics of your business and its online character. In terms of assessing the need for advertising of your website, here are the important metrics to consider:
- Traffic – This measures how many people visit your site on a daily basis. The goal is higher traffic. If you get only 1 or 2 visitors a day (or a week) then definitely something is wrong with your marketing. Not only must you do some basic Search Engine Optimization when this happens, you should also seriously invest in Online Advertising.
- Target Market Demographics – Another important factor to consider when assessing the need for advertising is your target market and their demographic data. If your target is a bit on the older side, chances are, you do not need to invest heavily in Internet Advertising. However, if they are around 40 and below, it would be crucial for you to have an online presence. Review your targets accordingly and see if you do need to invest in online advertising.
- Avenues for advertising –If you think you are a go for online advertising, the next step is to consider what avenues for advertising must you invest in. Again this choice will depend on your current situation and market targets. However, below are your most effective methods of online advertising that you should probably invest in.
- Adwords and Ad Networks – These are the big ones in online Advertising. We have search based advertising from Google named “Adwords” and we also have the various advertising networks that can display certain types of ads to a wide variety of websites in their network.
Using these services can be more expensive, but they are the best ways to reach a lot of specific people. This is because networks like these allow you to only advertise to precise kinds of people that you want. In terms of Adwords, that is marketing to people looking for certain keywords. In terms of Ad Networks, you can set specific advertisements to appear only when a web surfer is from a certain location, or has a certain age, sex and other demographic attributes. Definitely, this is a must try for anyone starting out with online advertising.
(Read more about the importance of Google Adwords Here: http://www.optimum7.com/internet-marketing/pay-per-click/benefits-of-google-adwords.html)
- Direct Advertising/Sponsorships – Another way to do online advertising is by direct advertising or becoming a sponsor of a website. Many popular websites do offer direct advertising applications. If that website is indeed popular, or is the most popular in your niche market, then having an advertisement there, be it a banner image, a text advertisement of flash animation will bring your message directly to the people who can appreciate it. So if your market does have some choice popular sites that people go to, you might as well invest in advertising with them.
- Social Networks – Of course, the power of social networks in undeniable these days. It is one that you should also primarily invest in when it comes to online advertising and marketing. The great thing about social networks, is that your own advertisements can go viral to so many people because of them. You just need the right social content to share to people. If you do have some extra time and effort, you might want to go into this as well.
(Read More about Trends in Social Media Advertising from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/business/media/promoting-products-using-social-media-advertising.html?_r=0)
- Where to invest? – So the question becomes, where should I invest in? Which online advertising avenue should I go for? Well, the answer is again up to you here. However, as a guide, it is more recommended that you try the ad networks and Adwords first as they give you the most reach, with the easiest way to create advertisements. From there, you can branch out to more advanced types of online advertising. You can see the statistics of online advertising through this great infographic from go-gulf.com: http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-ad-spending
- How to improve – Of course, you cannot “just” invest in advertising. It is a dynamic process, and you must always improve your advertising to keep tabs on the competition, and continually gain new customers and opportunities. To do this, always have a method of measuring the performance of an advertisement. Some of the basic ad services do have their own statistic gathering mechanisms to measure if an advertisement is working or not. AB split testing is one example of this. From those results you can then plan to improve your advertisements the next day. Just make sure to keep at this as the trends in online advertising can change pretty quickly.
- Optional: Site monetization – Now, if you are already advertising, and still is not raking you any money, you might try to monetize your site through advertisement as well. Yes they can do that. By applying for “adsense”, registering for other Advertising networks, and of course, simply telling audiences to advertise with you, that extra cost for your online business can be offset a bit by those advertising banners. You will just need to specify of course that you do not want others of your field being displayed along with your ads from these services. The more extra money you rake in for your site, the better.
(Read more about ways to monetize your site: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/monetize-website-170346399.html )