Online Advertising
– Be part of the growing number of businesses who are advertising online, and start profiting from the power of the Internet –
The Internet has come a long way from the text-only newsgroup network it started as. Now, everywhere you look online, you see colorful ads, effective calls-to-action, and targeted search result advertising for businesses. Online advertising is one of the most targeted, measurable, and cost-effective ways to promote your business. Businesses that are not doing any sort of online advertising are missing out on a great opportunity.
The Trend is Clear: online advertising spending is increasing steadily. A recent Jupiter Research report estimates that on average, Internet advertising will grow by 11% between 2006 and 2011.
The Reason is Simple: online advertising is more targeted than traditional print advertising – you can advertise based on your target market’s preferences, Internet search trends and behaviors, ensuring your advertising expenditure is giving you a positive return on investment.
As a small or medium sized business owner (SME), you can advertise right alongside your big-business competitors, staying abreast of online advertising trends and profiting from the Internet.
Key Types of Online Advertising
1) Pay Per Click Campaigns (PPC) – Advertisers can pay Internet publishers based on the number of clicks a specific ad gets. PPC is an easy tactic for SMEs to use to kick-start their online advertising results.
2) Banner Ads – Businesses can purchase banner ad space, and when a viewer clicks on a banner ad for your business, they are taken to a page on your website. Well-designed and targeted ads can increase brand awareness and targeted traffic to your site.
3) Paid Inclusion – Businesses can pay search engines like Google and Yahoo! To guarantee their websites are listed in search engine results for certain keyword search terms.
4) Online Video Advertising – Online video advertising is predicted to be the fastest-growing area of online display advertising, but according to a July 2006 study by Jupiter Research, its best years are yet to come – 2009 or 2011 – when the medium is more predictable and targeted. While not many SMEs are embarking on online video advertising as of yet, it is sure to be an up-and-coming leading-edge tactic.
Maximize Your Online Advertising Spending
Before you embark on an online advertising campaign, you need to do one very important thing: research.
Research Your Target Audience – Your target audience is the people you most want to reach with your advertisements. Decide which demographics you aim to reach – How old are your best customers? Are they male, female, or both? Where do they live? Research what your target audience’s emotional or behavioural preferences are – What are their interests, attitudes and typical behaviours? The worst thing you can do in advertising is assume. Be sure to base your decisions on accurate research. By finding out who your target really is and what they actually think and want will make your advertising more targeted and effective, be it search advertising or banner advertising.
Research Your Keywords – With both Pay Per Click and Paid Inclusion advertisement, keywords should be well researched. Many businesses make the mistake of choosing the keywords they would use to describe their business, instead of the keywords their target audience actually uses to search. Don’t use your corporate catch-words if they’re not part of the common vocabulary of your target audience. The key to online advertising is engaging your reader – know what they’re looking for and supply them with it. By carefully researching your keywords, you can be sure that the traffic that finds your website is targeted traffic – they found what they were looking for through your accurate online marketing
The online marketing trend is one that is becoming increasingly easier for SMEs to take advantage of. Today, trained Internet Marketing experts are readily available to help your business prosper.
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