Advertising has been a standard practice of how a business can attract customers. And it is a tradition that translates well to the web. It can be done either online or off-line. On-line it would be with banner advertising, Pay per click campaigns, or with organic Search Engine Optimization efforts. Off-line it would be with business cards and literature with website addresses, sales and customer service collateral with website address, or with advertising like TV Commercials such as during the dotcom rush or Superbowl advertising.
Historically businesses have spent millions each year to obtain and keep their market share. It is a way to expose your message to people and to gain new customers. Additionally it is a way to “brand” or solidify an image to consumers. For websites it is a way to get visitors that may not yet know about you. Some campaigns have a guaranteed result like Pay per Action, but others have fewer guarantees, and rely heavily on the quality of the campaigns. It is not certain and it is not easy to determine the success your company will have over time. With advertising you can buy an exact amount of impressions or viewings by consumers. There are many ways to buy this, and many ways to specify your ultimate goal. Are you looking for traffic from anyone or is your customers exact so that you want to direct advertising? Advertising also allows you to push for certain events or specials.
1000 visitors for $12!
There are still great deals out there for Internet advertising. I recently purchased 1000 visitors for $12!! It is about tapping markets before others see the value. Can you do this? Well maybe, that was kind of an accident that it worked so well, but that is what is possible. If you work to understand your industry online, and words that might be searched for on search engines you have the best chance of getting high value.
Many industries have focused websites that have great rates on banner advertising. We look for trade sites or focused sites, which are a good match for your site.
Many search engines such as www.overture.com have many keywords for sale in your area. For some companies the list can be over 100 keywords! We can create a program where we manage the purchase of these words, handle the wording of the ads, and make bids for words based on your budget and goals. There are other search engines we can handle bids for. Contact us to get information.
If you sell merchandise there are malls, which offer good exposure to people in the buying mood. Some of our favorites are amazon.com, froogle.com, and bizrate.com.
The importance of advertising online is that your competitors are advertising online and that you do not want to let them get a head start on capturing and understanding on how to make money on the internet. It is a great tool for understanding markets, getting out your marketing message, making sales, and then finally giving customer service in a timely fashion that people like.
Additionally many research projects have found that internet users are often highly educated, have larger incomes and are often decision makers for their families and companies. Sounds like a great customer to me!
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