From SEO and social media to freebies and emails, we’ve covered them all. Most of these strategies are essentially free, unless you want to pay for additional services. But in today’s post, we’re going a step further.
If you have a budget for marketing expenses, I highly recommend that you put some of it to good use for paid advertising online. Paid marketing has proved to be very effective in numerous instances, and it’s sure to bring you tons of traffic with a meager effort.
Why Opt for Paid Advertising?
Here are four reasons why you should opt for paid advertising methods.
1. Faster Results
While other marketing tactics like SEO and freebie marketing are quite effective, they don’t give you instant results. It takes a while to build up an online presence and get more people to visit your website.
With paid advertising, your target audience is urged to immediately click through and land on your site. So, once your ad campaign is live, you can expect to see an immediate surge in traffic.
2. Budget Friendly
No matter what your marketing budget is, you’re sure to find an advertisement model that fits it. While the reach may be less with a low budget, it will still bring a significant amount of traffic to your site.
3. Mostly Automated
Ad campaigns are mostly automated. You’ll only have to do the initial set up, make the payments and finalize how long it will run.
4. Predictable Growth
There’s an unknown element in all other forms of marketing. There’s no guarantee that people will click through the links you share on social media, or that more people will sign up for your email list.
Not so with paid advertising. There is a greater degree of predictability, and you can be assured of a good return on your investment.
Types of Paid Advertising
Having established why paid advertising is an effective method of marketing your website, let’s now look at the different mediums you can choose from.
1. Website Ads
You can find popular websites that your target audince are likely to frequent and place ads in prominent places. Most sites with sponsored ad space allow you to place the following kind of ads:
- Banner – A rectangular image that is placed at the top/bottom of the page, or between the content.
- Sidebar – Smaller boxes where you can place an image linking back to your website.
- Text – These are just keywords or phrases that are linked back to your website.
2. Google Adwords
You can use AdWords to target specific keywords, and even customize your campaign based on your budget. This works on a PPC (Pay Per Click) model, so you will only be charged when visitors click on your advertised link in the search results and land on your website.
3. Social Media Ads
Here are some avenues you can try out:
4. Newsletter Ads
Many popular online websites have a large number of newsletter subscribers whom they stay in touch with on a regular basis. You can pay to have your website ad inserted in their newsletters.
Depending on your budget, you can have banners or text links inserted in their newsletters. Since these emails go right to the inbox, there’s a higher possibility of people clicking through to your website.
5. Sponsored Email Broadcasts
Another way to get into the inboxes of your target audience is by sponsoring email broadcasts. Look out for popular blogs/websites in your niche that also have a large email following.
You can offer something special on your website (a freebie, coupon, interesting article, etc.) and pay to have the link sent out in an email. The cost of a sponsored email broadcast may be significantly higher, but since it contains information pertaining to your website alone, you might get more clickthroughs.
6. Paid Directory Listings
7. Sponsored Reviews
A sponsored review can also be combined with a giveaway, to encourage more people to visit your website and see what you have to offer.
8. Sponsored Articles
A sponsored article is a great way to present helpful information to your target audience that contains discrete links back to your website. Many large blogs allow other websites to submit articles for a specified price. The cost usually allows you to add a couple of relevant links back to your website.
9. Paid Press Releases
10. Ad Retargeting
Retargeting is one of the best ways to market to a target audience that is actually interested in your website. These ads follow them around on various other sites until they click through and take action on your website.
Some websites that provide ad retargeting services are:
Tips for Better Paid Ad Campaigns
Just like any other marketing campaign, paid advertising is very content-centric. Here are a few tips you can follow for an effective ad campaign.
- For image ads, use graphics that stand out but are not too gaudy. They should entice people to click on them and not turn away.
- Make sure the ad copy is compelling and urges site visitors to click on it right away.
- Ensure that the ad is placed on a website that is relevant to your niche, so there’s a high possibility that your target audience is hanging out there.
- Once the campaign ends, analyze your site statistics to measure how effective the campaign was.
- Before running another new campaign, refine your strategy based on your analytics to get better results.
In summation, my suggestion is that if you can set aside a small amount for paid advertising, it’s definitely going to help skyrocket your website traffic.
As you get more traffic and better conversions, you can increase your budget and get a better return on your investment. It will definitely be money well spent!
Click on the image below to access all the posts in this series!
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