AnyOnline paid advertising is everywhere. But is it worth the hype?

Organic reach can only get you so far. In the world of business, online advertising and marketing is a critical factor in determining a company’s success. Good advertising can increase traffic, drive sales and enhance your company’s online presence. If you’re interested in expanding your marketing efforts, you might want to consider online paid advertising. In this article, we’ll be taking a close look at paid ads, how useful they are, and why they’re essential for your business.

What is online paid advertising?

The days of billboard and newspaper advertising are over— many businesses have now turned to paid internet advertising to drive traffic and increase brand awareness.

In simple terms, paid advertising is any kind of advertising that you pay for, versus owned or earned advertising. Businesses will pay the owner of a digital space for the use of that space, displaying their website or brand message on a website, app or other online service. Some examples include:

1. Google Search Ads

2. AdWords Ads

3. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Ads

4. Mobile Ads

5. Email Ads

6. Video Ads

The purpose of paid ads is to reach as many potential consumers as possible. As such, sites with high traffic are attractive to many marketers; however, higher traffic may also mean higher costs.

How can paid ads help my business?

According to a shopping study from GE Capital Bank, 81% of shoppers conduct online research prior to making their final purchase. Therefore, online advertising is a great place to reach potential customers, as most of them will already be surfing the Internet for the marketed product.

Here are a few ways in which paid aids could benefit your business:

1. Greater reach

It’s no secret that many of us are constantly browsing the web and consuming digital media. Whether it’s for work, school or entertainment, your audience is likely spending a lot of their time online— which means that you should be too! Moving your marketing efforts online will allow you to have direct access to a global audience, which means that your ads could be seen 24 hours a day.

2. Gain valuable insights

Utilizing valuable metrics and analytics are some of the perks that come with online ads. Paid ads allow marketers to track exactly how many impressions were served, where they were served and when. You can even identify which channels are most popular and use that information to help you make better marketing decisions in the future!

3. Narrow your targeting

When setting up any advertising campaign, it’s crucial for marketers to identify who their customers are. Lucky for us, paid ads for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social channels allow you to narrow your targeting! For example, Facebook lets you manage your target audiences by sending marketing content only to those who are potentially interested in your product or service. You can even explore options such as location-based targeting, demographic-based targeting, or behaviour-based targeting.

4. Build brand awareness

Paid online ads can help you build brand awareness. When users see advertisements for a company (especially when the ad appears high-quality and professional), they will instinctively assume that your company is a trusted brand. It’s a great way to establish your business as an industry leader to prospective customers!

5. Paid ads are flexible

A key benefit of paid advertising is that you can easily adjust your campaign in only a few clicks. Unlike traditional print media, paid ads give marketers the flexibility to respond to any sudden changes. As you’re receiving valuable metrics and analytics from your campaigns, you have the ability to adjust your marketing strategy or even pause the ads altogether! With paid ads, marketers can stay on top of the latest trends and make instant changes.

Risks

Online advertising can be detrimental if done poorly. Without the right analytics and marketing strategies, you could lose a lot of money unnecessarily. For example, a company decides to invest in some Google Ads and discovers that the top search query for their brand is their brand name. Upon learning this, using their brand name as one of the tags for their online ads may seem like a great idea. Sure enough, the analytics show that many people are clicking on that ad and buying from the company’s site. But because the first organic search result for the search query is the company’s brand, they didn’t gain any extra customers from their advertising efforts. Even if they didn’t spend on paid ads, customers would have clicked organically and bought from their site anyway.

Before you jump into paid ads, it’s important to know the benefits, the challenges and the risks. When thinking about how to market your brand online, start by asking yourself:

What are my customers searching for online?

Where and when are they searching for it?

To scale effectively, marketers should clearly track where their leads are coming from.

Conclusion

Paid online advertising attracts customers to your business, increases sales, and establishes your brand as an industry leader. When stakeholders see strong and positive ads, they’re more likely to invest in what you’re offering. An effective paid advertising strategy should strike the right balance between reaching as many users as possible and staying within budget. With the correct execution, online advertising campaigns allow your business to succeed in the digital world.

Any questions? Reach out to us and we’ll do our best to help you get the answers you need!