Online Advertising: Where To Start

#SMBFW

The title of this article, Online Advertising: Where To Start was inspired by Kevin Mullett.  Kevin has been a friend and at one time a co-worker for several years.  Last week he told me that the working title for today’s Fort Wayne Social Media and Marketing Breakfast was Online Advertising: Where To Start and he asked if I would sit on the panel. 

I said yes.

(The actual title of the event was changed to: Online Advertising: Let’s Do This!)

I also told him that in preparation, I’d write this article and publish it today.

Some of this I may have the opportunity to bring up in person, but even if I don’t, or you are not at the event, you’ll have my thoughts if you keep reading.

Online Advertising: Where To Start is a subject that a lot of people need guidance on and I have been there myself.

We are going to assume that you have a business.  Or you at least have a business in mind.  If you want to know the steps to take your idea into a full fledged business, start by reading this.

Now on to the topic at hand. 

In order to do online advertising, you need a website.  Not just any website, but a domain that you own.  You can host it in the “cloud”, but unless you have access to the primary domain and can control all the content, you probably don’t have your own website.  This was something that Kevin Mullet convinced me of nearly 5 years ago.

I had over 12,000 articles published on various blogger sites I set up for free on Google’s platform. I really needed my own site so I would not be subjected to the whims of Google making changes.  First I bought domain names but then I jumped in and created this site at ScottHoward.me.

You need your own website with your own domain name.

The following don’t count as your own website with your own domain name:

• A Facebook Page. Even though Facebook is moving towards this business model, this is not a substitute for your own website with your own domain name.
• An Etsy.com site. Not really yours.
• A Tumblr page. Nope.  Sorry.
• Just about any social media account is not your own website with your own domain name, so don’t fool yourself or cut corners.

What about a WordPress site?  There are differences between a site that is hosted by WordPress.com and a site built with WordPress.org but those differences are changing.  Best for you to do your own research at places like here and here.

Okay, so you understand: You need your own website with your own domain name.

Your website needs to be mobile friendly.  Right now the best way to do this is to make sure your website is built with a responsive website design.  Responsive websites are called that because they adjust they layout of the design of your site to fit the screen you are using to view that site.  If you are on your smartphone or tablet, it will render appropriately and look a bit different than if you are viewing the site on your laptop or desktop computer.

Why does mobile friendly matter?  Take a look here and you’ll see that mobile has surpassed desktop/laptop as the way adults are accessing the web.  And Google will penalize your organic search rankings if you are not mobile friendly.

Why does all of this matter?

You need a place to send people when you advertise online.

Again:

You need a place to send people when you advertise online.

That place should be your website, and only your website.

Nearly everything else should be a tool to drive traffic to your website.

I’m talking about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube… you name it and I’ll tell you it should be a tool to get people to your website.

“But what about my Etsy store?”

You can keep your Etsy store alive but You need your own website with your own domain name and from there you can link and send them to your Etsy store.

Advertising online is the payment of money for advertising that appears online.

And now that we have established a place to send people who see your online ads, lets look at the options.

Search Engine Marketing is the big money maker for Google. Those ads you see at the top and side of a Google search are profitable for both Google and the businesses that use this tactic.  Google will sell these to you directly or you can hire professionals and get the benefit of their experience and expertise.

The number of people who click on ads is tiny. But, it can be very profitable.  I’ve heard the expression it’s like crack, once an advertiser tries it and the campaign is properly managed, they’ll be hooked because of the results.  This is one of the marketing solutions I can offer through my companies digital department.

Display Ads have been around forever it seems. Technology has made it possible for them to become so much more effective than they were originally.  There are ways to target the ads precisely to the people who are interested in the product or service and not display them to people who are not your target.

Depending on who you use to run your campaign, a number of tactics can be used to locate the targets you want to invite.  Retargeting is the general term that started this.  Retargeting began with placing a cookie or pixel on you computer web browser when you visited a website.  Then as you visited other websites, ads would follow you around.

Now we can also target you based on what you search for, not just the search engines like Google, but other sites that have search like WebMD or CNN and the like.

A third way to find you is contextually.  We know what you are reading and based on the keywords that are in the stories and headlines  you are reading online, you can be served online ads.

Now there is a fourth way to find you based on where you are.  Geo-Fencing can now be so precise that if you cross a street, and step into a “Geo-Fence” we know.  And we can serve ads to you based on where you go and where you have been.

Almost sounds scary, but it’s an excellent tool for advertising online, to reach only the people you want to target.  Again this Custom Audience Targeting with Display ads. is another marketing solution I offer through the digital department of my company.

This same technology is also available with video.  We call it Video Audience Targeting.

Some of this you can do on your own on sites like Facebook.  I used to manage the social media for an internet based retailer and would spend a few thousand dollars a month on Facebook advertising.  That company I worked for spend over 1 million annually on all of their online advertising.

Want help?  Have questions?  Ask me.

Oh, that #SMBFW hashtag at the beginning of this article? That’s the hashtag we use for the Social Media & Marketing Breakfast Fort Wayne.  And I put it there so anyone following that hashtag during the event or afterward, would find this article.  That’s another way of online marketing that was free.