Effective Online Advertising Options Other Than Google

The shift away from traditional print advertising to the Internet has been decisive, rapid and with good reason. We recently spoke to our friend over at Anonymous Ad Guy, a top executive in the advertising industry regarding the change and he said, “Put yourself in the shoes of the typical Marketing Director who has to justify every dollar spent. With online [advertising], he or she can track the results of each placement, and optimize on the fly. You can’t do that with any other media. And with the economy tanking, it’s more important than ever to show you’re getting your money’s worth.”

Advantages to Advertising Online:

• The reach of an online advertisement is comparable to if not greater than a print ad. Journalism.org estimated that almost 70% of Americans were online in 2005

• Online advertisements can be targeted to users based on their age, gender, interests, political affiliation, geographic location, socioeconomic status, level of education and more.
• The recipients of online ads are often more qualified because they are being exposed to advertisements that are relevant to them. And ad relevance increases an ad’s effectiveness by maximizing conversion rates and advertiser’s ROI.
• Adjustments to online advertisements can usually be made in real-time, allowing advertisers to tweak their ad to further its effectiveness.
• Detailed reports about the type and frequency of interaction with an online ad and the profile of the people who engaged it are delivered to advertisers, often as it happens. This type of data is not typically available in a traditional ad campaign and therefore is often estimated.
• Advertising online is usually far less expensive. There are no raw materials being consumed and the space being used by the ad is virtual, reducing the cost to the advertiser.
• Advertisers can elect to pay for their ad only when it is seen and / or clicked on. They also have more control over the amount they are willing to pay per click and can end their campaign when their budget for that month has been spent.
• Advertisers have control over where consumers are directed after clicking on the ad, reducing the distance between the advertisement and the actual product or service being sold.

An Emerging Community

The abundance of people online and the seemingly impersonal nature of the Internet has created a social dynamic much like we are seeing in the “real world.” People are gravitating away from companies and towards other like-minded people to provide them with their news, entertainment and consumer advice in an effort to seek genuine value. This dynamic has contributed to the success of blogs, YouTube, and all of the social sites that let people network based on similarities and voice their unedited opinions to their network and / or the entire internet.

Social Networks

Yesterday, MySpace.com, the #1 social network with an estimated 180 million registered users launched a new platform that allows small businesses to easily advertise to the users on their site. The platform titled, MyAds, lets business owners create or upload their ads directly to MySpace and specify the age, gender and geographic location of the users their ad will be displayed to. Advertisers do not have to have a MySpace page, can have users directed to any location online after clicking the ad and can start a campaign with a minimum of $25. Like Google’s AdWords model, advertisers are unable to decide on the exact placement of their ad, but can increase their ad’s longevity by increasing the cost-per-click.

Facebook boasts over 100 million registered users of its own and also offers a similar tool to business owners that allows them to target ads based on political affiliation, interests and level of education in addition to the user’s age, location and gender.

Public Opinion Sites

CitySearch.com and Yelp.com command a strong following. Both sites have been embraced for their effectiveness in providing every day people with an outlet to rate and detail their experience with a business. People online are increasingly relying on the opinions of others to help them decide where to spend their money and are shying away from previously established authorities on such matters. The quality-rating of a company has been democratized.

Advertising on a search engine result page has been so successful for advertisers because users are actively seeking information about the same topic being advertised to them. In their search, they are more receptive to relevant ads because it is viewed as a source of information rather than an advertisement. Advertising on a public opinion site takes advantage of the open mindset of the user searching for information and then reinforces the ad with the public’s unbiased opinion (provided they are in agreement).

For an example of this, let’s look at CitySearch’s page for Fronteras Mexican Grill & Cantina in Alhambra, California. The restaurant is receiving 4 1/2 out of 5 stars from 8 users and directly below the rating is a high-quality video ad produced for the restaurant. The video is engaging, provides a quick idea of the feel of the restaurant and most importantly, the claims of quality are confirmed by people unaffiliated with the restaurant but have rated it favorably.

Both Yelp and CitySearch let you list your business for free and Yelp allows registered business owners to feature a review at the top of all the reviews, helping you create a positive impression of your company. Advertising options on Yelp include listing your business at the top of a search for similar businesses and appearing on competitor’s pages. CitySearch offers similar services as well as videos like the one on Fronteras’ page to give your audience a more dynamic idea of what your company is about.

Do you need Google’s AdWords?

Google’s AdWords advertising campaign is a viable solution for most businesses but understanding your demographic and their online tendencies will help you craft an effective, often multi-pronged approach to reach them. AdWords is extremely effective in terms of the immediacy and quality of its results and ROI, but Google’s pricing and targeting model has now been replicated by other companies. It is in your best interest to consult with your marketing expert to determine whether AdWords is the most effective solution for your business or whether it is better replaced or used in conjunction with a comparable one.

We are always interested in hearing what is working for you and welcome any questions you may have. Please reply to this article or contact us directly.

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