When and How to Start Advertising Online

In our last SEO blog post, our SEO Specialist Richard, answered the question “What is SEO?” and discussed how the implementation of Search Engine Optimization can affect your business’s website. The use of good quality blog content and a comprehensive keyword strategy can do wonders for bringing visitors (and potential customers) to your site. But what if you want more traffic and even more online exposure?

 To effectively optimize your site for specific keyword terms, you need to keep that list focused – you can’t optimize your site for EVERYTHING. But if there are other terms you think would be relevant to your site, and you want to drive traffic to your site with them, then it’s time to consider online advertising.

What is online advertising?

Online advertising is the paid placement of advertisements that direct users to your website. If you have ever used a search engine such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo, you have seen online ads. In the case of Google, they appear across the top above your search results and to the right. Businesses often have paid ads placed on their website, whether they charge advertisers directly, or they allow Google to place them. Depending on the appearance and message of your ad, placing an ad on another website can be very beneficial if the site caters to the types of customers you desire. However, if you are just starting to advertise online, the best place to start is pay-per-click advertising through Google Adwords.

What is pay per click advertising?

Pay per click advertising is exactly what it sounds like: you pay a varying charge every time your ad is clicked. Ad placement is determined by selecting the keyword phrases you want your ad to show up for, and then bidding on the amount per click – businesses that set their maximum cost per click higher typically get better placement in search results, and as a result, get more clicks. Google allows you to not only set the maximum bid per click, but also set a maximum budget per day… so don’t worry, your online ads aren’t going to cost you $10,000 on the first day! (unless you set them that high, of course)

Social networks such as Facebook also present a unique advertising opportunity. Using a pay per click model that is similar to Google, Facebook can direct ads to your site or to your company’s Facebook fan page. You can set a maximum bid per click and a daily budget the same as you would using Google Adwords, but you can also set specific demographic information such as age, sex, location, employer, school, and interests/hobbies. Facebook advertising is a great way to build up your Facebook fan page with potential customers.

How effective your pay per click advertising campaign is depends on more than just what you spend. In addition to choosing the right keyword phrases to advertise for, you’ll need ad copy that entices people to click through and a landing page that helps convert that click into a sale. If you are new to online advertising, it’s best to have an SEO and SEM professional evaluate your site’s target clients and help you put together a comprehensive plan for advertising.

Contact MCM today for an evaluation of whether or not you are ready for online advertising and take your first steps toward an effective pay per click campaign!

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