A Brief Guide to Online Advertising

Whether you operate a brick-and-mortar business with a physical location or an online business, having an online presence is crucial. After all, more than 93% of shoppers begin their journey online. 

Online advertising is a great way to keep the traffic and leads flowing your way. Without any printing costs, online ads are cost-effective compared to traditional print ads. Moreover, the results are instantaneous. You don’t have to wait for your target customers to walk into your store; online ads can bring them to your website where they can make a purchase right away. 

What is Online Advertising? 

Digital advertising is a highly targeted, goal-driven strategy. The aim is to reach your target audience and encourage them along their purchase journey. By promoting your brand online, you can boost your visibility in front of your target audience. 

So what is online advertising? Beginner marketers tend to consider organic online marketing strategies as separate from paid advertising strategies. A better approach is an integrated strategy that combines organic marketing and paid ads. 

Online Advertising Methods

• Search Ads – Paid ads in search engines can prove to be highly effective in reaching your target customers. By serving contextual, relevant ads, you can achieve stellar results. Google and Bing are two leading platforms for search advertising. 

• Social Media Advertising – Social media offers an excellent opportunity to reach your target audience. Worldwide, more than 3.6 billion people use social media platforms. A well-designed social media campaign can do wonders. With social media ads, you can target users by gender. Age, gender, behaviour, location and interests.

• Display Ads – Banner ads or display ads make use of appealing graphics to grab attention and persuade your target audience into action. Facebook’s Audience Network and Google Display Network are the leading display ad platforms. 

• Remarketing – Remarketing is an online advertising strategy where you target users who have visited your website or clicked on your ad in the past. By putting your brand in front of them again and again, you increase your chances of converting them into customers.   

• Location-Based Advertising – The ubiquitous presence of smartphones and use of GPS tracking has made geo-targeted advertising a reality. You can now broadcast ads that are targeted at people in a specific location.  

Parting Thoughts 

Although digital advertising is a fantastic tool, mastering it is an entirely different ballgame. With every business vying for attention on the web, you will be competing not only with other ads but also other entertainment content.