Online advertising isn’t what it used to be — and most folks would agree that’s a good thing. Those annoying, flashing banner ads and pop-up ads of the past screamed “click bait,” and that’s not something you want your professional image associated with.
Luckily, there are better options for paid media in 2020. But at the same time, online advertising has also gotten more complicated as more choices and channels have emerged. If you’re spending money on ads, you don’t want to spend a fortune trying every option and going broke in the process.
Our ad agency in Rockford, IL has done the hard part for you. We’re sharing the best paid media options that will give you the best value for your money:
Google PPC Ads
Also referred to as search engine marketing (SEM), Google pay-per-click ads is one of the biggest forms of digital paid media to date. Rather than investing months of work into an SEO strategy, you can use paid ads to jump to the top of the search engine results page when people are searching for what you offer.
Here’s how it works:
- You (or your ad agency *wink wink) choose keywords to include in your ad. These keywords should closely reflect what users looking for a service like yours will include in their search query.
- You specify how much you’re willing to pay per click (i.e. how much it will cost you each time someone clicks on your ad).
- Your ads will appear on the search engine results page when people are looking for products related to your ad.
- You only pay when someone clicks your ad.
This method is ideal for new businesses that don’t already have a digital marketing strategy, businesses that have a lot of competitors, or those that simply want to increase their visibility to an actively searching audience. It’s especially beneficial since you can specify exactly how much you want to spend. You can find an even more in-depth guide on PPC here.
Other search engines like Bing and Yahoo also offer paid media options. Though their daily user base is much smaller than Google’s, this can be a good thing to keep costs low and laser-focus on a specific niche.
Facebook Ads
Social media ad spend is skyrocketing, but Facebook is a clear frontrunner. More than 97% of social media advertisers agree it’s the most used and most useful of all social media platforms. It could be because Facebook is also the largest, with more than two billion active users.
Facebook ads are easy to target to niche-specific audiences, which can also help you stretch your ad budget further. Set parameters for geographic location, gender, age, language, interests, and a variety of behaviors to maximize every ad.
The platform supports both photos and videos, giving marketers more flexibility in their content strategies. You can also take your pick of a variety of ad formats, such as auto-play videos, carousel ads, and dynamic product ads that deliver personalized experiences.
Like PPC ads, you can control costs by setting a specific dollar amount for each campaign (and adjust up or down as needed). This way, you don’t end up spending more than makes sense for your business and budget.
Retargeting
Have you ever visited a website, looked a product, didn’t buy it, then started seeing ads for it everywhere you went online? That’s retargeting.
Retargeting uses tracking codes that detects the pages and products your website visitors view. If they leave your website without making a purchase, the tracking codes will display ads for the products they viewed. These ads can be displayed on Facebook, Google, YouTube, or other sites connected to retargeting platforms, like Adroll or Retargeter.
Retargeting is a highly effective tool in keeping your products top of mind and encouraging customers to come back and complete their purchase. Studies have found that customers are 70% more likely to convert when presented with retargeted ads. The click-through rate for these ads is 10x higher than the typical display ad and also provide higher conversions.
And even though retargeting can be a little more expensive than PPC ads, the results can more than justify the extra cost.
Native Advertising
If you’ve ever seen an ad that blended so well with the content it was displayed next to, you’ve seen native advertising at work. This type of ad can take a variety of formats, from sponsored posts to search ads to in-feed social media ads. The goal is for the ad to look and function like part of the site it’s hosted on rather than a typical advertisement.
Get Even More Value from Paid Media Options
Choosing the right paid media options is a critical step in seeing results, but you can take your strategy a step further by partnering with our reputable ad agency in Rockford, IL. Our team has the skills, experience, and know-how to help you squeeze more value out of every campaign so you can enjoy the results without the guesswork.
Reach out to BrandDad Digital today for a free consultation and start maximizing your online advertising!
