How do you let your target market find you online? How do you gain traction in your business goals and gain online visibility? The Internet is a jungle out there, and knowing where to advertise your business will let you realize that despite the vastness of the Internet, you still have the chance to carve your spot in your chosen niche. Online promotion is not all about the budget. It is about your method and your chosen platform that can carry your intended message to your audience.
Posting ads online is not futile at all! A survey once said that people who visit websites and buys products from that website are those who knew about your business via a paid advertisement. When done correctly, your target ads will find their way to your target audience. And hopefully, your web visitors will be ready to purchase your product.
Here is a list of platforms where you should advertise your business.
Google and Google Ads are the top online advertising platform that most companies invest in to promote their products. As a tech giant, Google can help businesses grow in terms of revenues. Here are commonly-used Google products that you may want to consider.
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Google’s Search Network
This platform will advertise your products above or below the organic search results whenever users type a query in Google.com. This platform uses a complex, real-time auction process for keywords that people use to perform a search. From the investigations, Google will rank ads related to the keyword searches.
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Google’s Display Network
The Display Network ranks written or video ad space on Google-owned or third-party companies that Google previously acquired. This platform may not be as effective as the Search Network as it aims for a more targeted and specific audience.
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Cost per Click (CPC)
When using CPC, you only pay those who click your ad. This method aims to increase site visitors but may be costly.
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Cost per Mille (CPM)
Google will serve your ad to 1,000 people hoping that one of them will click it. This method focuses on promoting your brand awareness but may also be more expensive.
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Cost per Acquisition or Action (CPA)
Google optimizes your campaigns to increase conversions. CPA, however, may be costly and may not be suitable for small businesses.
Bing
Bing is a search engine that uses the same techniques and principles that Google used in displaying ads using keywords, searches, and display networks. The platform is not as popular as Google and may reach fewer audiences and lower prices for ad campaigns. Despite its smaller reach, Bing is still able to get 66 million users.
Surprisingly, these people are not Google users, thus may lead you to reach a different group of people who may be interested in your product. The platform also attracts higher-income individuals between 35-54.
The number of people having a social media page is gaining higher by the year. Because of this trend, using Facebook, the leading social media platform, would be a great move to grab a million users’ attention.
The platform gives you more convenience to choose where to post your ads: on the right corner of the homepage, in the newsfeeds, or on the page directly to the Facebook web browser. There are also ads found in short videos during Facebook Live and Facebook Watch programs, on Facebook stories, Marketplace, or Messenger.
These options would give you the ease of increasing brand awareness and increase visibility to your target audience. When a user taps your ad, Facebook will redirect them to your site or landing page. A visitor finding your page is a crucial moment as most customers may not have the patience to go through a set of complicated steps to buy a product.
To avoid lags and inconvenient situations, ensure that your website is working correctly. You can prevent technical glitches by opting to use a fully managed VPS and letting a more experienced team handle your server to take care of its operations.
As a Facebook-owned platform, Instagram can show ads that one can also find on Facebook, thus increasing its visibility. Instagram users can find these ads on their feeds or within their Stories. You can also pay for sponsored content in advertising your services. In this way, Instagram will hand over information about your product to an Instagram influencer who will share your product to his/her legions of followers.
This platform is best for business-to-business (B2B) enterprises or businesses who want to target educated, skilled professionals who spend lots of hours online.
Before investing in online ads, check your goals and the budget for the online campaign. Consider each platform’s limitations and choose to invest in the one that can lead you to your target market. Most Google users are members of the affluent Gen X. On Facebook, you may reach a smaller, select group of audiences. ; Many Millenials are flocking on Instagram. Meanwhile, LinkedIn is a great platform when targeting well-educated and high-income customers.
