You see them on just about every Web site. They lurk at the side or the top of the page. Some are static, others blink, flash, even float across your monitor. Some pop up, blocking your view of the Web site you’re trying to visit or sticking around after you’ve closed a site.
Online ads are everywhere, and while they might seem annoying, they’re often effective. Moreover, Internet advertising is often cost-effective. With online ads, you can get detailed information on how many people have seen your ads and how many have clicked through to your Web site. In fact, with some types of Web advertising, you pay only when someone clicks through to your Web site, meaning you’re definitely getting attention for your bucks.
Even if you dislike the type of ad that pops up or floats across a Web page, it’s a good bet that there’s lots of other online ads that you are actually glad to see. Keep in mind there are lots of different advertising opportunities on the Web — many of them extremely affordable for small businesses.
Two of the best choices on online advertising options for small companies are portal or directory ads and search-engine marketing.
Web portals/directories listings: Let’s say you’re looking for environmentally sensitive products. You want to find solar-powered heating, energy-efficient lights or recycled building materials. When you come across a Web site with lists and descriptions of environmental products you can buy, you’re thrilled. You don’t care that these companies have paid to be listed; you’re just glad to have all these resources in one location.
Portals and directories are online hubs where users come to look for specific information, products or services. For small businesses, these can be effective and affordable places to advertise your product or service, especially if you have a clearly defined target market and a portal/directory site that does a good job of generating Web traffic.
A couple of examples: www.deliciousitaly.com, a portal attracting visitors interested in Italy, and www.vrbo.com, a directory listing vacation properties rented out by owners.
Search-engine marketing: By far the most popular type of online advertising for small businesses, search-engine marketing enables you to pay to have your site appear adjacent to search results when someone types a keyword or phrase into a search engine. You get to choose the keywords you think are most likely to lead prospects to you, and a sponsored link comes up on the side or the top of the search results.
One of the great things about SEM ads is you pay only for results. You’re charged on a pay-per-click basis — just for those who’ve actually clicked on your ad. The search engines provide tools to help you choose keywords, and they also provide data to help you refine your ads for effectiveness.
Pricing is done on an auction basis, with advertisers bidding on keywords in order to get higher placement in search results. Generally, you’ll pay from 10 cents to $1 per click-through, which sounds cheap (and is) but can feel like a lot if very few of those who are clicking through actually make a purchase. You can also set a monthly limit, so you can budget exactly how much to spend.
But search-engine marketing takes time and attention to be successful — a lot more attention than putting up a banner ad on an appropriate Web site or getting a listing at a portal or directory.
If you’ve never looked at online advertising, perhaps now’s the time to give it a try.
Rhonda Abrams is the author of “Six-Week Start-Up” and “What Business Should I Start?”
