Would you like to advertise online, but not sure where to start?
These are the best places to advertise online (in no particular order);
Without a doubt, Google is the most prominent, and best place to start (once your website is ready). For anyone who is still not aware of it, Google offer an unrivaled ‘pay-per-click’ advertising model that means that you literally PAY NOTHING to Google for advertisement, UNLESS someone actually clicks on your advert! But more importantly, they offer a variety of ways to ensure that the people who view your advert in the first place are likely to be your target or ideal customers.
2. Local News websites
There are too many to list here, but if you have an actual shop or business, then local news websites could provide a good way to advertise to local buyers. It’s not as good as Google, but if you are a business who provides a high quality (and more expensive) service, which focusses on locals, local news sites can provide a cost effective way of advertising your business.
“The worlds number two search engine”. You tube provide a very powerful way for your to advertise – which combines the best aspects of online advertising, with traditional TV advertising that we are all familiar with. Considerably more costly than Google or local news sites, but potentially much more powerful, particularly if you have the budget to produce some decent video clips. Excellent if you are going through a brand building excercise rather than just a quick sales dash.
Instagram offers an altogether different platform for businesses, and its the fastest growing platform on this list. Provides a very cost effective way to advertise – but is only suitable for some businesses.
Depending on your type of business, and what you are advertising, Linkedin is the place to go. If you are advertising vacancies, or a recruitment business, or have other talent management (i.e. formerly called HR) requirements, Linkedin is the place.
Other sites for advertising jobs and headhunting that you cannot ignore are Seek and the other big jobs portals. Seek dominates.
Unlike Google, or any of the other sites listed above, Gumtree actually ‘cuts right to the chase’, and is a fantastic place where you can directly advertise your service at a reasonable price, where you can provide a fair amount of detail, and a number of photos and even videos specifically spelling out your offering. Gumtree has essentially replaced the classifieds sections in newspapers of old, and the trading post (although the trading post still plod along, poor things).
8. YOUR WEBSITE
Ultimately, YOUR website is THE BEST place to advertise. For several reasons, including;
(a) While you advertise on someone else’s website, you are building a loyal customer base for THAT website, using your hard earned money. If you put that money instead into your own website, you would retain that value instead of giving it away.
(b) Pay Per Click advertising from Google is fantastic, but ultimately, if people click through to your website, and it’s not very good, then will leave again without engaging with you. Paying for Google Adwords when your website is not good enough to win customers is putting the cart before the horse.
(c) Once your website is good enough to attract customers, you will be able to attract customers using the right SEO (search engine optimization, also now inexplicably called “organic search”). SEO / organic search is essentially free, so if you can get this right, you will benefit from great free online advertising for along time into the future.
Marketing Worm
Kimmy.