Advertising Information

Tips for Using Paid Advertising


Quite a few business out there can't survive without some type of advertising and/or brand recognition, so advertising your business is one of the most important aspects in running certain types of business. It's also one of the most frequently asked questions for "how to". This article is especially important for direct sales reps and those with company websites that need to make themselves "stand out" among hundreds of others that are selling similar products.

So why should you advertise your business? For one or more of the following reasons:

To Gain Exposure/Brand Recognition

This would apply to those who may have a unique product or service which consumers and clients may not know exists. For example, a special tool that solves a problem for a certain group of people - they won't know the product exists unless you advertise.

Gain Immediate Sales

Many forms of advertising may gain you immediate sales. This is ideal for most, but it's also important to realize sometimes your ads may be working even though you don't see sales at the time the ad runs.

Announce new product/service

If you are an established business and expanded within your market, paid ads can announce your new product or service which those who know of your current business may not know about yet.

Now that you know WHY you should advertise, let's look at the TYPES of paid advertising there is:

Banner and Button Ads

These are graphics, normally either 468x60 in size for banners, and 125x125 or 150x150 for button ads. Some advertisers offer a variety of other sizes. Graphic ads generally have a lower conversion rate than text ads, although do well for brand recognition and gaining exposure.

Ezine Ads

Most ezine owners allow only 4-5 line ad with a link in "sponsor" spaces, and vary for solo ads. Be sure to choose only highly targeted ezines to run your ads in. For example, you wouldn't want to run a business opportunity ad in an ezine for recipes. If you sold some type of food, an ezine about recipes would be perfect to run an ad with.

Text Ads/Featured Ads

Many of those who offer advertising also offer some type of home page ad or a featured space on specific pages. Again make sure the website is pulling in the traffic you are looking for.

Now that you know what type of ads there are, here are a few tips to make sure you are making the most of your advertising dollars:

1. TRACK YOUR ADS!

If you don't know where your visitors are coming from, how can you be sure where you are advertising is working? If you don't have accurate stats for your website I recommend grabbing a free tracker from AddFreeStats ( http://www.addfreestats.com )

2. Repeat ads

Run your ads in the same place at least twice, if not three or four, before you make a decision as to if this is a good place to advertise or not. Not only will you pick up more brand exposure, but you will be able to make sure the first time was not an "off" time to advertise (or just an abnormally "good" time). Also try different advertising options within the website to see what works best.

3. Read guidelines

Many advertisers have a list of guidelines. Be sure to read through them, and follow each guideline. Paying for an ad where your website isn't allowed is not only a waist of time for the advertiser, but for you as well. Here is an example of an advertiser's guidelines: http://www.momsmarketonline.com/guidelines.html

About the author: Kara Kelso is a work at home mom of two, and the co-owner of Direct Sales Helpers, which is dedicated to helping mothers succeed in direct sales. For more information, visit: http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Reuters

Internet advertising grows slightly, but analysts worry about the ...
Los Angeles Times, CA - 34 minutes ago
Well, there's one thing that can be said about the new online advertising numbers released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau today: They could have been ...
Advertising spend buoyed by rush to internet guardian.co.uk
Net advertising climbs 21% Scotsman
Web ad sales dipped from previous quarter The Associated Press
MarketWatch - New York Times
all 113 news articles


Techtree.com

Google-Yahoo Ad Deal Put on Hold
Techtree.com, India - 9 hours ago
Further to that Google issued similar statement, "When we announced our advertising agreement with Yahoo in June we agreed to delay its implementation until ...
Google and Yahoo! vs. the advertising world Bigmouthmedia News
Yahoo, Google ad deal gets delayed Bizjournals.com
Google Isn't Going to Wait Forever For Yahoo Wired News
TechCrunch - Washington Post
all 228 news articles


Search Engine Optimization Firm, Epiar Inc., Unveils New Paid ...
MarketWatch - 34 minutes ago
After Months of Testing, Epiar Has Taken Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising to the Next Level with the Launch of Its New Service to the General Public Epiar is ...


InsightExpress Research Identifies Strategies to Help Marketers ...
MarketWatch - 7 hours ago
From January 2007 through August 2008, InsightExpress analyzed a rolling 3-month average of its online advertising campaign norms for key brand metrics ...


Online Advertising Grows 15.2 Percent in First Half of 2008
Wired News - 3 hours ago
By Meghan Keane October 07, 2008 | 11:07:15 AMCategories: Advertising Internet advertising revenues in the US were $11.5 billion for the first half of 2008, ...
Online ad revenue strong first half of 2008: What about the second ... ZDNet Blogs
all 2 news articles


Zogby International and JumpTap Team Up for Mobile Advertising ...
MarketWatch - 6 hours ago
Recently awarded the best advertising and marketing search engine award by Visiongain and selected by IDC as one of the 10 emerging mobile players to watch ...


Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg: Big Opportunity for Brand Advertising ...
BusinessWeek - 6 hours ago
The former vice president of global online sales and operations at Google, who joined Facebook last March, told the lunch audience that the only advertising ...
Facebook COO: Web Needs New Model, New Metrics AdAge.com (subscription)
all 2 news articles


UPDATE 1-Key advertising report downgrades global forecasts
Reuters - 9 hours ago
By Kate Holton LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A leading international media buyer slashed its global advertising spend forecasts for 2008 and 2009 on Tuesday, ...
Key advertising report downgrades global forecasts Reuters
all 11 news articles


blinkx Grows Advertising Sales Team to Meet Growing Online TV ...
MarketWatch - 12 hours ago
"We're confident that our new colleagues will be enormous assets to our team and aid us in taking full advantage of the thriving online video advertising ...
interCLICK Opens Expanded New York City Headquarters, Adds ... Business Wire (press release)
Blinkx expands ad sales team Brand Republic
all 22 news articles


BBC News

UK's Ofcom in consultation until Dec 11 on TV advertising
Forbes, NY - 8 hours ago
The Ofcom said its initial preference is for no change to the overall amount of advertising on television, but it will consider alternative views on the ...
Ofcom proposes no change to amount of TV advertising Brand Republic
ITV may be able to show more ads guardian.co.uk
Watchdog launches TV adverts review The Press Association
BBC News - Telegraph.co.uk
all 18 news articles

Advertising - Google News

home | site map
© 2006