Online marketing is a vital tool to have for all businesses. Without it, we are missing out on millions of potential customers, for without them, can stifel our business growth. If you are a small business owner, online marketing becomes even more important. However, small business owners may find some challenges with budgeting for online marketing or finding the right fit for their business. We want to make sure that you are equipped with the basics, so you can make the right decision when it comes to online marketing for your business.
Before jumping in to plan a campaign, let's go over some online marketing jargon you will run into.
PPC - Pay Per Click
This term refers to the amount of money advertisers will pay for each customer that clicks on the advertisement.
CPA - Cost Per Action
This is the amount advertisers will pay if the customer takes an action after clicking on the ad. This action can be something like purchasing a product.
CTR - Click Through Rate
This will usually show you a percentage of those who view the ad to those customers who clicked on it.
Conversion Rate
A conversion rate is how many customers click through on the ad and actually become customers. For example, if you had an email newsletter ad campaign, a conversion rate would be those who actually signed up.
ROI - Return on Investment
An ROI will show you how profitable your ad was, so you can make better choices for future ad campaigns.
Now that we have our basic vocabulary sorted out, let's take a look at some of the online marketing areas that you may use.
Facebook Ads
If you have a Facebook account, you may have noticed sponsored ads within your newsfeed or along the right side of your newsfeed. The average ROI can be as high as 400% with a Facebook ad. Facebook has tons of features to help you create the perfect ad that reaches your target audience, boosts content to get it in front of more eyes, and allows you to set a budget for individual ads or for a lifetime.
Google Adwords
With Google Adwords, you will bid for advertisement space on websites. For example, let's say you are selling cat accessories. Every time someone uses the keyword "cat accessories", Google will select ads with the highest bids to display in its search results. The only time you will pay for the ad is when it is clicked on. Once your set budget hits its limit, the ad is taken out of the bidding race.
While using Google Adwords seems cost effective, the cons to using this service is the high cost for in-demand keywords and having relatively small ad space.
Real-time Bidding (RTB)
Real-Time bidding allows you to bid for views. When someone is visiting a website, you will bid within the time it takes the website to load for the chance to have your ad viewed by customers. This provides control with your campaign and keep spending efficient. Some of the downsides to RTB is the constant monitoring that you will need to do for the bidding.
Display Advertising
This type of advertising can also be called "banner ads", and you might see these in places like applications for mobile phones. While tracking and assessing your ad is relatively easy with DA, there are a few cons to using it... Most internet users know these are ads and ignore them. Also, some software is programed to block these types of advertisements, which will affect your reach.
Retargeting
Retargeting allows you to reach out to those you didn't convert the first time. This can be in the form of a cookie, which is a code on the website that is dropped in a browser to "follow" the user.
As the visitor cruises the internet, this cookie will show them the same ad in any other place they will visit.
As we did mention the word "follow", it is important to note that some users will not take kindly to being "watched" or "followed", just so an advert appears wherever they go. Recently, it is required to provide a disclaimer on your website that tells the visitor you use cookies.
Now that you have an idea of what is available for you, we suggest trying out a few to see what fits best with your business. Always remember that our expert team is here to help you build an online marketing strategy that fits your budget and brand image. Send us a message today!
