The Small Business Guide To Online Advertising - Small Business ...

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don?t know which half. ~John Wanamaker

Where to spend your advertising dollars can be one of those areas that can drive a small business owner batty.

Marketing and advertising made perfect sense before you started your own business. ?Some newspaper ads, a direct mail campaign, sprinkled with some clever online advertising?.and then you sit back and wait for the customers to come pouring through the door.

Yeah??it doesn?t work like that.

Who knew it could be so hard? ?You learn pretty quickly that everything you thought you knew was wrong and everything you thought would work, doesn?t. ?At least not without a lot of effort. ?One of the areas that new business owners find both exciting and confusing ?is online advertising. ?There are so many choices and sometimes it can be intimidating.

People are quickly moving towards the internet for everything from research to online purchases, so if you?re not advertising in that space you?re missing out on a pretty big chunk of your potential market. ?This article will hopefully demystify some of your advertising choices and help you get started in the online advertising space without losing your shirt.

Every business is different, the advertising that works for one business may not work for another. ?The good thing with online advertising is that you can usually start small and gradually expand your budget if you like the results your seeing.

Adwords is the dominant player in the online advertising space. ?Their search engine market share is so big that most new advertisers start here as a safe bet. ?For small business owners, they offer 3 main services:

Search Marketing ? When you do a Google search, on the top of the page, and along the right side of the page (see image below), you?ll see several text ads included in the results. ?This is search based marketing where Google pairs the search query from the user to the keywords that you would like your ad triggered for. ?You only pay when a user clicks on your ad and they are taken to your website. ?A basic example would be if someone typed in the term ?Pizza in Charlotte?, and one of the keywords you were bidding on were the keywords? pizza? and ?Charlotte?, your ad may appear in the search results in the paid advertising section of the page.

When and where your ad displays is a combination of how much your bidding on a keyword (it?s run as an online auction where you compete with other?advertisers for a given keyword), the relevancy of your ad, and the actual keywords that you?re bidding on. ?One of the biggest advantages of this type of advertising is that it?s one of the only forms of advertising where the consumer is actually trying to find what your offering. ?This makes these ads much more relevant than other forms of advertising, where it?s seen more as an intrusion.

Who should consider this

If you?re just getting started with advertising online, this is a great place to start. ?You have total control over your budget and can start small and expand as you start to see results. ?Word of caution. ?Despite what Google might say, it can be complicated to set up properly and can be very expensive if you don?t know what your doing and aren?t?monitoring?your campaigns closely. ?Best advice is to hire someone to manage your campaign, or to at least pay for someone to set it up properly for you and maybe do some quarterly maintenance.

Display Ads ? In addition to their search advertising platform, Google has partnered with thousands of websites and have essentially rented ad space on these sites. ?In display advertising, you can advertise using image based banner ads, video, text, ?and dynamic ads such as animated GIF?s.

When you setup a display campaign with Google, you can enter criteria as to where you want your ad shown. ?It can be targeted geographically, by audience type or by the category of websites that you prefer. ?While it?s not as an exact match as search advertising, display ads let you reach a much wider audience than search ads and in a more visually appealing way. ?Since it?s not as tightly targeted as search ads, the costs are usually a bit lower.

Who should consider this

I usually suggest to start with the search ads first. ?If your finding success with your search ads but want more reach, or your not getting enough clicks with your ads, display advertising is a great place to get into broader advertising without breaking your budget. ?Like search ads, you can start with a small budget and expand if you find it?s working for you. ?You?ll need to find a graphic designer to create banner ads for you in several sizes?as explained here.

Remarketing ? Ever go to a website to do some comparison shopping and then find over the next several weeks that their ads are everywhere? ?They didn?t?immediately?start a massive online advertising campaign after you left the site, they are remarketing to you. ?The way remarketing works is that when a visitor visits your website (or a particular page if you like), Google drops a ?cookie? on the visitors computer and you will be able to directly market to them for a set period of time after they leave your website. ?They use their massive display ad space inventory to serve your ads while the?unsuspecting?user surfs the web. ?It may sound a little creepy, but it?s a very effective form of advertising as you?re able to stay top of mind with a potential customer while they think about (or comparison shop)?a purchase.

Who should consider this

If you?re already running display ads with Google, a remarketing campaign is a great way to get extra?mileage?out of all those visitors. ?You?ll also already be familiar with the display ad interface. ?If you do run a remarketing campaign through Google, you will need someone to help set it up for you as it requires some computer code to be placed on your website. ?You?ll also have to adhere to Google?s privacy policy guidelines.

**If you?re interested in creating your own Adwords campaign, check out this article by Hubspot.

Bing is the Microsoft version of Google Adwords search marketing. ?While Bing has a much smaller slice of the search engine market, they still reach a wide audience. ?Their partnership with Yahoo also allows your ads to be shown in the Yahoo search results. ?The nice thing with advertising on Bing is that there is a lot less competition for advertising, usually resulting in advertising costs lower than you would find with Adwords.

Through their Microsoft Advertising arm, you can also get into display advertising. ?Be warned, like in typical Microsoft fashion, they do not make it easy to navigate their site. ?You may find yourself just going around in circles trying to find what you?re looking for.

Who should consider this

I usually recommend Bing advertising if you?re reaching your maximum potential with Adwords and you want additional reach, or you?re finding the cost per clicks in Adwords is just too expensive for your industry. ?Insurance, lending, legal and travel are just a few of the industries that may find Bing a less expensive alternative as the costs on Adwords may be too high to make it worthwhile.

Facebook advertising can be awesome for the right business. ?You see a lot of dieting and gluten free businesses advertising in this space as it?s very profitable for them. ?With Facebook ads, you can create small display ads that show up while a user is browsing through their streams. ?You can target your ads based on geography,?interests, and demographic data. ?You ?thought all of those ?Likes? you create every day on Facebook is just for fun? ?Facebook uses that data to build a profile of you so they can then serve ads against your interests.

Typically you?ll find that the cost per click is lower than Adwords, though the traffic you get isn?t as targeted. ?A good practice is to use ads that direct to your?business?s Facebook Fan page to build an audience there so you can create a direct line of communication with your customers.

Who should consider this

Your marketing to a different audience than you find on Adwords or Bing. ?You have the ability to control your budget so it may be a good idea to test the Facebook waters and see what kind of response you get. ?If you?re just launching a Fan Page for your business, this is a good way to build up Fans in a hurry

** If you?re interested in giving Facebook advertising a try, check out this article from Kissmetrics

Twitter recently rolled out Sponsored?Tweets and Sponsored Accounts to most advertisers, allowing small businesses to get into the Twitter advertising mix. ?You have two advertising options as a small?business?owner:

Promoted Accounts ? Twitter will search through your current followers and ?will then search out similar accounts not following you, adding you a recommended account when they are looking to follow people.

Promoted Tweets ? When you traditionally send out a Tweet from your account, it will be broadcasted to the people that are currently following you. ?With Promoted Tweets, your Tweets can reach an audience outside of just your followers, allowing you greater reach than you currently have.

Who should consider this

If you?re currently very active on Twitter and you?re finding success with it, Twitter advertising can potentially supercharge your growth on the platform. ?If you aren?t using it, or just getting started, I would recommend that you start building a loyal following before you attempt any sort of paid advertising on the platform.

** If you?re interested in advertising on Twitter, check out this guide from Search Engine Watch.

LinkedIn offers ad targeting very similar to what you would find on Facebook. ?You can target your ads based on industry, job titles, LinkedIn groups or company size. ?You pay on a cost per click basis, meaning you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. ?The cost per clicks are higher than you would find on Facebook, and even Adwords (depending on the industry).

Who should consider it

If you?re business is BtoC, don?t bother. ?If you?re in BtoB and target specific industries and professionals, LinkedIn ads can be a laser targeted way for you to reach that specific audience. ?Like most of the other platforms, you can set an initial budget and run a test campaign to see how effective it is. ?Like with Twitter, I would only recommend using it if you are active on LinkedIn as many people might look up your personal/company?profile to find out more about you. ?You want to give the impression that you are active on the platform.

** If you?re interested in advertising on LinkedIn, check out this guide from Hubspot.

Directory Listings

Directories are everywhere and come in all shapes and sizes. ?You have general directories with no specific audience, niche directories, which target a specific industry, location specific directories, which only serve a single city or town, as well as dozens of other types of directories.

Many directories are free and it?s a great way to get your business name out there, as well as a link pointing back to your website (for search engine optimization). ?The question is, should I pay to be included in a directory? ?The answer is, it depends. ?For many directories, the real benefit you?re getting out of it is a link and citation from that directory for your website, which may in turn help your business rank higher in the search results. ?Sometimes a directory will rank higher than your website in the search engine results for your main keyword, in which case you may consider paying for inclusion to try and capture some of that traffic.

Who should consider this

When it comes to free listings, adding your business is generally a good idea, it?s free exposure for your business. ?When it comes to paying for being included in a directory, I would recommend that you be cautious, as many directories just aren?t worth it, even if the salesperson puts on a great show during their sales pitch. ?When I would consider paying for inclusion is when it?s an industry specific association for your businesses or something similarly specific for you, like the local Chamber of Commerce. ?If you are going to pay, contact some individuals already listed to see if they think it was worth the cost before you do so.

** If you want to learn how to get the most out of your directory listing, check out this article by Getlisted.org

Advertising on Blogs

Popular blogs often attract a loyal following. ?Some bloggers in turn, give advertisers access to the loyal following they have?amassed. ?If there are popular blogs that reach your target audience, or have an audience in your trade area, this can be a great (and low cost) way for you to advertise online. ?Here are 3 popular ways to advertise via a blog:

Banner ads ? Pretty straightforward, you place an image banner (can also be a text link) on their website in exchange for a monthly/yearly fee. ?The banner may show on every page of the site, or just specific pages, like the homepage. ?If the blog owner can prove to you that they generate a steady flow of traffic each month, and it?s your target audience, this may be a good deal. ?Prices are usually always negotiable as your not dealing with a large corporation here.

Sponsored emails ? If the blog owner has a large email list of loyal fans, you may have the opportunity to sponsor their email newsletter. ?Sometimes?this takes the form of a traditional ad at the end of each email, other times your business is mentioned somewhere in the body of the content, citing you as a sponsor. ?They might even include a call to action to check out your business. ?People who subscribe (and read) these newsletters are usually pretty loyal, so it could be a good choice. ?If you do decide to try this, be sure to ask for verification of the size of their email list (how many subscribers) as well as the open rate for their last several newsletters. ?Open rate is how many of those emails were actually opened.

Sponsored blog posts ? Sometimes a blogger will write a blog post specifically about your business or product, in exchange for payment.?Sometimes?it?s a monetary payment and other times it?s a free service or product. The very important thing here is that it?s?transparent?in the article that it?s a sponsored blog post. ?Sometimes?bloggers get in trouble for recommending something without telling their audience that they were paid by the business mentioned. ?It?s not common these days, but it still happens and can make your business look bad in the process. ?The most common way a small business gets involved in this is to offer the local blogger a sample of your product, or let them test out your service, in exchange for an honest review on their blog. ?Many bloggers are flattered by the opportunity, and as long as you?re running a good business, it should be a win/win for everyone.

Who should consider this

If you have a niche audience and there are popular blogs in your area/niche, it?s a great (and usually less expensive) way to reach them. ?One thing I have done in the past is to offer bloggers some free products or services that they can give away to their audience. ?They love the idea of rewarding their audience, it?s free to them, and it gives you some?valuable?exposure. ?A win all around.

Platforms I left out

There are other platforms available, but for the small business owner, especially if you?re new, probably best to leave out. ?I was going to include Yelp as an option (I never used it), but after doing research, it didn?t get very good reviews. ?There are also smaller ad platforms like 7Search and Chikita that can be used, but it?s generally best to start with the bigger platforms first as they reach a bigger audience and their user interface is generally easier to navigate.

Have you tried paying for online advertising yet?

As you can see, there are numerous paid opportunities to advertise your business online. ?Some are easy and straightforward, others may require some assistance. ?The main point is, there is a huge marketplace of potential customers waiting for you to find them online, hopefully one of these platforms will help you do that. ?Got questions? ?Leave them in the comments below, or feel free to contact me.

Gary Shouldis is a father, husband, business owner and blogger. He is the founder of 3Bug Media , a web marketing company that helps small business owners and service professionals get found online. You can give him a virtual high five over at Twitter or on Google Plus

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Source: http://www.thesmallbusinessplaybook.com/small-business-guide-online-advertising/

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