In recent years online advertising has been on the up. Companies have begun to see the potential in internet advertising as an additional revenue stream to their offline business. Unfortunately this has kind of spoiled the party for the small online retailers as cost-per-click advertising has become more competitive and expensive as a result. With online advertising now a $50 billion industry even more businesses have taken to Google’s content network advertising to beat the recession including many of the Fortune 500. So now that the game has changed, how does the small cunning advertiser stay one step ahead?
We’ll there’s no simple answer. It’s not a case of simply finding the next thing that other businesses haven’t found yet because there doesn’t seem to be one. The way to keep on top of the game is to know your market inside and out. If you want to advertise through Google you could go down the Content Network Avenue or the Search Network. It’s all very much about whom you are targeting and how you control your adverts to fit that.
The first thing you really need to know is who you are advertising to so that you can tweak how, when and where your adverts show up. Are your demographic more likely to spend time on search engines or browsing websites? If it’s the former then search engine listed advertising could be more for you. Are there specific sites they’re likely to visit or not visit? In content network advertising there are several targeting controls which can help you get the most from your adverts and get them to the right audience.
Demographic Bidding
By adjusting the how much you pay for your keywords advertising and tweaking this aspect of your adverts setup you can control the frequency at which certain age and gender groups see your advert and even create a culmination of the two. I.e. targeting for men aged 18-24. As a result you can ensure that if you have limited resources to spend on advertising you can still ensure that when your adverts do appear they are being provided to the target audience.
Language/Geo-Targeting
Are your target audience from a specific region or speak a specific language? If you are running a service within a specific region then you want to ensure that your advertising is focused for those with in that area. It’s not much use if your advert is getting hits in London when you don’t work outside of Scotland. Likewise with language or cultural advertising you want your adverts to be tied to sites and searches which reflect this.
Ad Scheduling
Timing makes a huge difference. Are you providing a service that suits businesses like a software package? Then advertise during business hours. If you are selling a home improvement service then why not target evening hours when couple could be looking online together?
Site and Category Exclusion
This is a very useful advertising feature which allows you to disassociate yourself with certain sites or searches. It can be the case that your industry can be tied to others in a negative way. A site or search may reflect as aspect of your industry which you do not want to be associated with. With site exclusion you can remove these sites and searches from your adverts results.
Keep an Eye on Your Ads
The most important thing is to keep watching your adverts so that you can constantly tweak them and make them better. The best way to make your ads better is through trial and error. If an ad isn’t working then make small changes. You’ll find that you get a better idea of how to run your adverts though doing this than any so called secret methods out there.
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