Web Advertising Services for 2012
If you’ve only been advertising in places like Yellowpages, SmartPages, or other “phonebook” sites, and just aren’t getting results I can tell you why. Those companies have seen over 40% of their users drop off over the course of the last year.
Why? It’s because information technology has significantly progressed and consumers are using Search Engines to find what they need. Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo are where everyone goes to find what they need.
People also respond to email marketing and social networking is starting to gain some ground.
I’ve put together a list for you for what you should be doing in 2012 to increase your exposure and brand awareness for your company. Take a look at the items below. If you’re doing them already, good for you! If you’re not, you’re missing out on exposure for your company and generation of new clients.
Search Engine Marketing
Pay Per Click Campaigns: This is the fastest way to start exposing your company on the internet. This is where your ad is visible when someone types in a keyword in a search engine and you get charged each time someone clicks on it. The exposure you get is either in the top left of the page or right hand side of the page where it shows “sponsored results” and maybe lightly highlighted. It is an immediate way to generate prospective clients to your business.
Pros: Fast implementation, Fast exposure to customers, Exposure where people really are looking for your product or service
Cons: Campaign setup can be time intensive, Learning curve to systems involved, variable costs due to bidding requirements of competition
Summary: A good way to start quickly, with proper management it can be very effective for generating customers but you must write good ads and have good landing pages that convert.
Local Search: This has become a quite important part of being found by consumers and has been a focal point for at least the last 2 years. The search engine companies (ie. Google, Bing, etc.) want to produce “Quality” search results and because consumers utilize services, and buy larger item products that are near them (such as finding a plumber or electrician – or buying a water heater or stove) the results are displayed prominently underneath the sponsored listings at the top and in maps on the right side of the page.
Pros: You will show up as a local business which gives consumers a peace of mind in dealing with you and a sense of increased trust. You can appear near the top of the page (depending on the number of competitors in your space). You won’t appear to consumers aren’t interested in using your service or purchasing your product.
Cons: There are no cons to this. If your business isn’t listed you’re not doing yourself any favors.
Summary: You need to get listed locally. You also can work on getting highly ranked if there are a lot of competitors under the search terms you should appear under.
Organic Search: Some people call this “natural search engine” rankings. This is an important part of establishing yourself on a long term basis for being found by consumers. These search engine results are displayed on the left side of the page and typically under the “local results” (if local results appear at all). Organic search is extremely useful as it was the basis of search engines and consumers tend to place a fairly enhanced sense of trust on organically ranked businesses.
Pros: Great exposure, Enhanced trust from consumer, shows you are an established company
Cons: Can be more expensive to achieve, Usually takes a longer time to obtain ranking and results
Summary: If you’re not working on this, you should be.
Directory Advertising: Directories are something you’re already familiar with. Yellowpages is the most known since its inception spurred the big fat yellow book landing on your doorstep for years. Almost any of the companies involved in directories have taken to placing them online. This is a result of the Internet and its increased usage. Directories can either be generalized (like Yellowpages) or specific (like Martindale-Hubbel Law Firm directory).
Pros: Exposure can be potentially widespread, Many consumers still search a bit by brand (ie Yellow pages), Possibilities of obtaining top rankings through the search engine directory result if your market is niche,
Cons: You are usually lumped with other companies so you’ve got to stand out more to get noticed, Major directory brands have lost over 40% of their traffic in the last year.
Summary: It’s CHEAP to get into the online directories (you can get into over 200 of them for less than $200/year) and there still are consumers going to them. This is a must due simply for economical traffic. If you’re not there you will miss some potential customers.
Email Marketing: This type of exposure is available in two areas. These are Opted in lists that you generate yourself (from consumers agreeing to you marketing them by signing up for your newsletter) and paid Opted in lists that you can purchase access to through professional marketing companies.
Pros: Bulk exposure directly into mailbox, Search Engine benefits if you are sending them to your website, Many options for targeted businesses
Cons: Possible delivery into junk mail, Conversion rates usually lower (but can still be beneficial)
Summary: The best way to email market is to utilize a Opted in list to obtain opt-ins to your own list and consistently market to them yourself.
Daily Deals: This exposure is web based with email marketing and is geared towards offering a substantially discounted rate on something you provide which is then emailed out to all subscribers of the deal company as well as being displayed on their website. They market their own optin subscribers as to the deal they are offering as well as picking up whatever users come to their websites through the search engines and referrals.
Pros: Your product or service is placed in front of people who are usually local, You receive brand recognition, orders are placed directly with the deal company and you receive notification on numbers purchased
Cons: These companies usually take 50-70% of the sale price for their profits and are notoriously difficult to connect with and are especially picky about who is marketed on their site, You get paid by the deal company and not by the consumer.
Summary: This is actually a great way to market your product as it’s a CPA (cost per acquisition) service. You should definitely do it if you have a good margin you’re able to maintain on the discounted rate of your product or service.
Social Networking: This is an up and coming marketplace for your business. The social networks like facebook, twitter, etc offer pay per click campaigns as well as just being a part of their community.
Pros: Easy networking and sharing between friends and associates allowing you to get your business referred without ongoing costs, ability to market directly to consumers joined up in your community, potential for making business go viral
Cons: You have to be involved and responsive in your community to make this work. If you’re not engaging people they have no reason to refer you.
Summary: You should at the very least have a facebook page so people can understand what you do and have a way to share it across the network. The page should be custom so you can brand yourself.
If you would like to increase your business and get effective advertising contact us today. We’ll show you how!