It is no secret”the advertising industry has been shifting for quite some time. Gone are the days when consumers rely on the local newspaper, White and Yellow Pages, or even radio as reliable sources to locate business services and products. Even television commercials have become less effective due to the fact that viewers can easily fast-forward through commercials using DVR systems. The Internet has created the Now Generation”a group of people who expect your services to come to them, at the point of need.
So where is this point of need, you might ask. The point of need is wherever that particular person may be. Thanks to the cellular phone and laptop computers, the Now Generation has been conditioned to expect to be able to easily access pertinent information about whatever they want, whenever they want.
The more convenient the source of your advertisement is to access for the consumer, the more likely they are to view it. Why purchase a newspaper when every major news source has an extensive Web site with streaming video with to-the-minute updates? Why open up a phone book when the same information can easily be accessed within seconds on a mobile or wireless device? The fact is print advertising is becoming less effective each year, as 54 percent of people solely search the Internet for a desired product or service rather than searching through a phone book, and 63 percent of people search online before making a purchase in a store.
In addition to meeting your customers at the point of need, establishing a strong online presence also has been proven in many studies to increase consumers perception of a company’s level of professionalism.
Now the question is, How is your business targeting the Now Generation? Hopefully your company is well versed in the Internet and has developed a Web site and an online marketing campaign that actively drives traffic to your Web site. Now is the time for you to learn how you can fully utilize the Internet to advertise and market your business to the masses.
Some may advise companies hoping to increase Web presence to utilize pay per click services, in which Web hosts display advertisements when a keyword query matches an advertiser’s keyword list. These sponsored links are generally placed at the top or side of a Web page, or within the page if the Web host so chooses.
While Pay per click (PPC) advertising is one of the most popular, fastest growing ways for businesses to advertise online, it is not the most effective, or cost-effective way to establish your companies Web presence, generate traffic to your Web site, or increase sales.
When sponsoring an ad, you, the advertiser pays per click every time a potential customer clicks on your link. Whether they choose to purchase any of your goods or services, you still have to pay for the advertising. Most pay-per-click companies have the following flaws:
Expensive”As stated earlier, advertisers must pay a predetermined amount for every visitor who clicks on your pay per click ad, even if those visitors do not actually purchase anything. Unproven science”Advertisers use certain keywords to attract customers to their ads and increase sales. The catch is, it is proven that certain key words perform, or attract users better than others. The question to ask yourself as a business owner is, Are these service providers going to supply these top-performing key words for me? Not a chance! Although some services do provide users with a back office of sorts, where the results of multiple ads can be tracked, it will take several weeks to determine how an ad, or specific keywords are effective”and in the mean time, you are losing money! Additionally, manner of these service providers offer tutorials on how to master the are of using pay per click advertising. These services are not cheap”typically ranging in cost from $450 to $1,000, but are not proven to increased the advertisers desired results. No Local Advertising Capabilities”Many businesses viewed the surge of the Internet as an opportunity to grow their business by marketing products and services to a national, and sometimes international, audience. In all actuality, the majority of small- to mid-sized business owners cater to a specific locality, region, or demographic area. Yes, clicks of any type can be viewed as exposure for your company Web site”but the problem is, pay per click does not have a way to geo-target the audience that your advertisement reaches”yet you must pay for every time a disinterested non-geo-targeted Internet searcher accidentally lands on your site, then quickly closes it because you are too far away to provide the desired service. These disadvantages have caused many to search for an alternative method for LOCAL online advertising and Web site traffic generation. Currently, there is only one proven method to strategically generate the traffic you want to your Web site. Find out how.
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