Since the early days of the world wide web, there have been advertising. At first, horizontal “banner ads” were all the rage, and were sold by the “impression” which meant that the advertiser could spend as much as $10,000 for a quarter million impressions. By the year 2000, it was generally apparent that people had conditioned themselves to ignore banner content, and the collapse of banner advertising contributed to the “dot com bust” in the same year.
The internet marketing model that replaced banner ads, and turned search engines like Google into economic titans, is Pay-Per-Click, or PPC. The reason that it became successful is that most PPC ads are triggered by online searches or relevant context. Ads that show up near online searches can have a conversion rate that beats similar spending on radio, newspapers, and television. Contextual ads (also known as content match) that show up near online articles, blog entries, or social media posts also can grab the visitor’s attention in a more cost effective way. An intelligent contextual campaign can be targeted for demographics like age, income, interests, and hobbies. For example, if you sell used video games online, there are settings in Google and other PPC services that can show your ads on a particular website about gaming, or even specific topic fields on that site. In a similar fashion, you can show ads on Myspace and Facebook in specific sections that are relevant to you target audience.
As an internet marketing tactic, PPC also functions as a form of audience response, since different messages can be tested at no extra charge. An online marketing campaign can rotate several different text advertisements or image-based ads, and quickly see which one gets the most clicks. Secondarily, conversion tracking tools can indicate how many of those clicks turn into sales. One of the reasons for the recent failure of large newspapers has been the shift from newspaper ads to online advertising. This is because effective internet marketing campaigns make it possible to generate revenue from actual demand, as opposed to buying a print publication presence that may or may not achieve results. Secondarily, the ability to gauge customer reactions in a real-time environment allows advertisers to modify their messages and campaigns until the most profitable model is achieved, and this could take years with traditional advertising.
Any discussion of PPC marketing should include natural search engine optimization. The search results presented in engines like Yahoo and Google tend to be more trusted by users, specifically because they are perceived as not needing a bidding system for positioning. In reality, it is possible to buy your way into Yahoo’s “natural” results with Yahoo Search Submit . In Google, search engine optimization is not used to buy your way into the top rankings, but it can be used to position your website as the best resource for a given search. By using advanced internet marketing tactics, you can create a website that becomes an accepted source for specific products and services, which will lead to revenue growth and brand equity.
No matter what your internet marketing initiative, you should be sure to nail down the tactics that are going to be used and the expected cost. One of the pitfalls of paid online marketing is that a badly run campaign can cost thousands (or even millions) of dollars in wasted clicks. PPC campaigns and other techniques require continuous real-time monitoring and adjustment. Any agency that manages your internet marketing should have experience and be able to show transparent results on a regular basis. A well run campaign will filter out the high volume of traffic that is unlikely to convert, while funneling qualified search engine traffic into your website. Simultaneously, you should be getting conversion advice regarding your website, so interested potential prospects can be turned into enthusiastic paying customers. Online and internet promotion strategies are helping many companies become profitable, even in a down economy, so now can be a great time to move your advertising dollars into a space that offers lower costs and a higher ROI.
